People started getting interested in reading more and more about the character of Sherlock Holmes and the way he solved the case. It was an entertainment for people when they were travelling and there was nothing else to do.
Sir Arthur Canon Doyle’s was now starting to run out of stories for Sherlock Holmes and even noted a point in his autobiography: “The difficulty of the Holmes work was that every story needed as clear-cut and original a plot as a longish book would do. One cannot without effort spin plots as such a rat.” Canon Doyle’s dissatisfaction was growing when he was approached by the editor of The Strand for a further twelve stories. The second series of stories, which became known as “The Memories of Sherlock Holmes”, highly praised with the story “silver Blaze” which was published in December 1892. The exhausted task of creating these stories convinced the author that he has to free himself and did just that in the story “The Final Problem”. After the story was published, the offices of The Strand magazine were overwhelmed with messages of grief, sympathy and most of all anger.
In all his stories, Sherlock Holmes’ character is generally seen as a tall skinny man – six feet of height, which was way up that the average height in the Victorian time. This reflects his personality that he was overpowering, intimidating and a strong man. He was a man who only talks to the point and did not prefer to talk much if not needed. He had a hawk-like nose and his chin had prominence and square ness, which marks that he was a man of determination. He was also very sharp and eager solve crimes. He would normally wear an ear flapped travelling cap. His dressing was very neat which shows that he was a proud and serious man. Sherlock Holmes was a thinker and his classic position to think was to sit with his fingertips presses together, legs stretched out in front and his gaze directed upwards to the ceiling. He had the piercing eyes, which showed that he was very observant and secretive.
The story of The Red Headed League is about a man called Jabez Wilson who comes to Sherlock Holmes to find out about this company called The Red Headed League in which he use to work and has suddenly dissolved.
He tells Holmes all the history of how he joined the company. The main point in that story is that the company only employs people with red hair and people earn money by just copying the encyclopaedia.
In one of the early stories The Red Headed League, Holmes character different from what he is generally seen as. “Holmes chuckled and wriggled in his chair, as was his habit when in high spirits.” P.g25. this quote suggests that Holmes is acting like a kid who gets happy and playful and senses fun and humour when Mr Jabez Wilson told him about the advertisement of The Red Headed League - “I really wouldn’t miss your case for the world. It is most refreshingly unusual.” P.g30. We also discover some of Holmes mannerism, which people normally would not expect a detective like him to have. Holmes is very observant and quick to notice things – “Sherlock Holmes’ quick eye took my occupation and he shook his head with a smile as he noticed my questioning glances” p.g23.
Another mannerism of Holmes we discover in the story is that he likes to smoke a pipe while he is thinking about the case – “it is quite a three-pipe problem”, p.g33. We also realize that Holmes likes to be alone when he is think “and I beg that you won’t speak to me for fifty minutes” pg.33. This shows that he is very focused and thinks very deeply about the case and does not like to get disturbed. It also shows that Sherlock Holmes likes to work out things himself from the story before going to the place and searching for clues. This shows that he is an organised man and likes to plan what he does before doing it. Something strange that we discover about Holmes’ character in this story is that he takes great pleasure in listening to music – “and then off to violin land, where all is sweetness, and delicacy, and harmony” p.g34. This is strange because Holmes appears to be a proud and serious man who is very intelligent in solving crime. He is a detective who is harsh and tough and he enjoys listening to music, which shows that he even has a softer side and is light-hearted where he wants to take a break from his work and relax “and there is no red-headed league client to vex us with their conundrums.” P.g34
The quote “Sherlock Holmes was not very communicative during the long drive, and lay back in the cab humming the tunes which he had heard in the afternoon” p.g37 suggests that Holmes is very moody. It suggests that his mood changes depending on where he is or what he is doing.
The quote “Holmes sat up in his chair in considerable excitement” shows that Holmes get active when he is exited or looking forward for something. The quotation on page 42 “it saves me from envy” suggests that Sherlock Holmes is very adventures and sees crime solving as an escape from boredom. He enjoys his work and without a case to solve a normal day is very dull for him.
The Speckled Band is a classic ‘locked room’ murder story - a story where there appears to be no evidence of forced entry into or exit from the victim’s room. Most Holmes stories have a clear sense of right and wrong – the ‘goodies’ win and the ‘baddies’ are defeated. However, some people wonder whether it is right that Holmes sets himself up as judge, jury and, in this case…the executioner.
The story of Speckled Bend is about a young women’s strange death. The girl name Julia stoner was murdered in a locked room and which is suspicious because she utter wired words. Her sister thinks she has died of fright ness and shock. She may have possibly bitten by something poisons although there is no evidence of any bruises. The prime suspects in the stories are the gypsies who are the travellers and Dr Roylott who is the stepfather of the two sisters. He is a violent and aggressive man who seems to be after the money of the two sisters.
The clue in the story for Holmes is that inheritance is to be passed onto the daughters in the event of their marriage. This comes to a deduction that Helen is now also in risk because she is engaged to be married. For the same reason Julia’s engagement gave Dr Roylott a motive to kill her strep daughter for her money.
Another clue in the story is the shrill whistling at 3am, which Julia heard several nights before her death. This can be a signal from someone to call an animal or to make someone aware of something.
In her story Helen, mentions that her sister smelled cigar smoke, which means that there must be a passage between the two rooms through which air can pass. The last thing that we discover is that the room was dark when the murder took place because Julia had a matchstick and the box in her hand when she was found. Dr Roylott is a very violent man because Helen’s wrist was bruised. He can also bend metal bars that suggest that he is very strong. Juliet’s last words were “Speckle Band” which means that whatever that was responsible for her death must be linked with Speckle and Band. This makes Dr Roylott a prime suspect because he has a desire to collect animals such as the cheetah and the monkey, which could mean that he might have some other animals which we don’t know about and could have been used as a weapon to kill Juliet.
