‘Leaning back in his chair with his eyes closed…'
Sherlock Holmes tends to have a great deal of concentration and imagination as he questions Helen Stoner and contemplates the situation, as he has a fair idea of the real events of the story before he leaves his room. The detective work is done within his mind and his visit to the scene of the crime is really only to confirm what he has already deduced.
Sherlock Holmes is a hard working, observant character, unlike the police, the public had lost faith in the police and it was down to Doyle to make Sherlock Holmes a detective who could actually continuously unravel clues, solve crimes and build public hope.
The other great appeal of the compilation of stories is that the modern reader sees a real historical period of living, which has now passed by. As readers like to see life in olden days, Doyle represents this brilliantly in his stories. In ‘The Speckled Band’ there is the reference to the dogcart in which Victorians travelled around in, to the attire of Helen Stoner when she visits Holmes.
‘She raised her veil as she spoke and we could see that she was indeed in a pitiable state of agitation, her face all drawn and gray, with restless, frightened eyes, like those of some hunted animal. Her features and figure were those of a woman of thirty, but her hair was shot with premature gray, and her expression was weary and haggard.’
The reference to the veil shows the audience that something as gone wrong, as people only tend to wear veils either if your getting married or if someone has died as its tradition to wear such garments.
Additionally, Doyle uses such powerful vocabulary to describe Helen Stoners appearance, words such as, pitiable, agitation, drawn, gray, restless, frightened, hunted, gray, weary and haggard. Such powerful adjectives create a great image in the readers mind. Already the reader knows that she is a victim. She is scared and the readers will find out why as the story unravels.
Furthermore, with the historical context the manners and conventions of the period are shown throughout, including housekeepers and servants, the imperial rule in India and a distrust of gypsies is also in keeping with the historical setting.
An important factor in any detective genre is always the setting. In ‘The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes’ the setting that Doyle uses in many of his detective stories are very typical. For instance in ‘The Beryl Coronet’ the setting of Alexander Holder’s house is very grand. As Alexander Holder has a managerial position in a Bank he can afford to live there and also afford to live the life style.
As for ‘The Speckled Band’ Dr Roylott’s mansion is set in a large isolated estate in West Surrey.
‘A heavily timbered park stretched up in a gentle slope,
thickening into the grove at the highest point. From amid
the branches there jutted out the gray gables and high roof-
tree of a very old mansion.’
Lastly, for ‘The Golden Pince Nez’ the setting was in ‘Yoxley Old Palace’ in Kent yet again a large house was created for a setting.
All this tends to tie in with the target audience; it gives the upper class establishments reassurance as it shows them that Sherlock Holmes will be there for them. It also helps Doyle draw in his audience since the people in his stories were rich, educated people like those who were reading his work and the stories were set in places with which the upper classes would be familiar. In contrast, when the less fortunate Victorians read Doyle’s work, they were sent to a fantasy world, where they could dream about living in such grand conditions. All this ties into detective fiction, as the luxurious furniture, expensive artefacts, inside the grand houses gave rise to crime. For instance, in ‘The Beryl Coronet’ the coronet is kept in Alexander Holder’s bureau. Also in grand houses there are a lot of separate, huge rooms, which could lead to a lot of things being hidden without the knowledge of other people living in the same place.
Due to this, a combination of red herrings, abstract clues along with concrete clues are created. All these can keep the reader at the edge of their seat, as they are left guessing as to what may happen next. For example, in ‘The Speckled Band’, the reference to the Gypsies compels the reader to surmise that it may be the group of travellers who have caused Julia Stoner’s tragic death. This particular case was ‘unsolvable’ for the eyes of the police, but when Sherlock Holmes investigates, he uses a different line of inquiry compared to the police. Doyle wants Sherlock Holmes to be the perfect detective, and by doing that he must make it look like the police are not doing their jobs correctly. So when Sherlock Holmes steps in, his role is to gain the publics confidence. Furthermore, Doyle tends to raise Sherlock Holmes’s profile by making other characters praise his judgement and skill, as when Helen Stoner in ‘The Speckled Band’, near the beginning of the play clearly says,
‘…I have heard of you, Mr. Holmes; I have heard of you from Mrs. Farintosh, whom you helped in the hour of her sore need. It was from her that I had your address…’
From such dialog the readers clearly know that the characters in the story have belief in him. Additional, when Dr Watson who is Sherlock Holmes’s sidekick states, in ‘The Beryl Coronet’,
‘…firm faith in his judgement.’
Dr Watson has every bit of confidence in Sherlock Holmes to solve the case and because of this the readers also have more reason to believe in him. As the reader reads on they realise that Watson’s judgement is justified since Holes manages to deduce who the culprit is, through various techniques. This inevitably takes time and Holmes must go through certain stages to find clues and solve the case. As such the structure of the story is important in keeping the reader engaged and adding suspense.
Many of the stories are split into three different sections. The stories begin with an exposition, when the crime is committed and explained to the detective. Early on in ‘The Beryl Coronet’ the readers read about a man who is ‘tall, imposing, massive, strongly marked, sombre yet rich. This adds mystery to the description as the readers gain a visual picture of the character. The readers are lead to ask questions, like, why is a well dressed man, in neat brown gaiters and well cut pearl-grey trousers running towards the house? Holmes’s first reaction to Arthur Holder is,
‘You have come to me to tell me your story, have you not?…’
From this reference, the readers can already tell that the story is about to unravel. In the middle part of the story, the investigation, takes place. In ‘The Speckled Band’ Holmes goes through the deduction of clues in order from him to come to a final section. So the reference to when Holmes states,
‘…My evidence showed the door had been fastened upon the inner side, and the windows were blocked by old-fashioned shutters with broad iron bars, which were secured every night…’
The readers know that Holmes uses his intelligence to come to such a conclusion, about how someone could have entered Helen Stoners room. This shows, that Holmes is going through one clue at a time carefully. So when he does come to his final conclusion he as enough evidence to back his allegations up with. After that, the final section exposes the criminal and the detective explains what happened and how he came to find the culprit, using the clues to support his conclusions. In ‘The Golden Pince Nez’, the reference to Holmes saying,
‘A simple case, and yet in some ways an instructive one… I was forced, therefore, to seriously consider the hypothesis that she had remained within the house… i obtained a very excellent view of the floor, and was able to see quite clearly, from the traces upon the cigarette ash…’
This tells the readers that the crime as been solved. Furthermore, the readers gain more confidence in Holmes as Holmes explains every clue in detail and how he came solve them. This tactic again reassures the readers in having faith in Holmes.
Although some readers may argue that the consistent structure of Doyle’s stories would make them predictable and rather dull, this is not actually the case. In fact Doyle’s stories are full of the kind of mystery and suspense that is typical of detective fiction. The mystery and suspense captivates the reader and compels them to be a part of the story by involving them in the crime scene. In ‘The Beryl Coronet’ Doyle creates mystery and suspense by adding sudden horror and abruptness.
‘Arthur!’ I screamed, ‘you villain! You thief…’ The heavy use of punctuation adds an element of drama and creates tension as Alexander Holder explains to Sherlock Holmes what he believes happened. Alexander Holder in this situation is confrontational and tends to jump to conclusions. Due to Arthur’s gambling past, his father does not give him the benefit of the doubt. Doyle tends to be predictable as the role of the author, as the audience from this know that the first person who has been accused most of the time cannot be the person who really committed the crime. As, it would be too boring and conventional. The readers are left with the question, who really did commit the crime? From this the readers start to take on the role of the detective. The challenge with detective fiction is always for the readers to try and solve the clues themselves before the sleuth does. As, the information is provided early on in the stories. So, early on in ‘The Beryl Coronet’ Arthur Holders first reaction on stealing the beryl coronet is ‘Stolen!’ His language shows the audience that he himself is surprised at being accused for stealing the beryl coronet. Arthur is shocked and cannot believe his own flesh and blood does not believe him. As such, the audience feel sympathetic and compassionate towards him, and want Holmes to investigate the crime scene to prove Arthur Holders innocence. In each of Doyle’s stories the characters are all so different in many ways. For example, in ‘The Beryl Coronet’ as said before Arthur Holders gambling as lead his father to believe he was the guilty party in the crime. ‘The Pince Nez’ Professor Coram he was seen as the innocent man whose trusted secretary had just been murdered. This is misleading to the readers, because nearer to the end, find out that it was down to him why his died secretary died. Thereofre, in order for Doyle to maintain his readers, he had to make sure the characteristic of each character had to be different, mysterious and odd. In ‘The Beryl Coronet’ when Mary Holder realises that Arthur Holder has been accused of stealing the beryl coronet, tries to divert the attention and suspicions of Arthur Holder onto the maid. By doing this, the character covers up for Arthur. By mentioning the maid when Mary knows, the maid is innocent, shows that she is not entirely a good character. However, in Alexander Holders eyes she is his ‘right hand’, and it is difficult for him to accept her part in the crime.
In ‘The Speckled Band’ it is the character of Dr. Roylott, which comes under scouting early into the story. Doyle describes the features of the character of Dr Roylott as being,
‘A large face, seared with a thousand wrinkles, burned yellow with the sun, and marked with every evil passion, was turned from one to the other of us, while his deep-set, bile-shot eyes, and his high, thin, fleshless nose, gave him somewhat the resemblance to a fierce old bird of prey.’
The use of strong descriptive adjectives like burned, evil, and fleshless makes the reader feel, fear and fright due to the horrific simile used to describe Dr Roylott. Doyle cleverly uses the simile of a fierce old bird of prey to describe Dr Roylott as he preys on his innocent stepdaughters. This is ironic due to the fact that Dr Roylott’s deserved death comes by a snakebite, the bite that was supposed to kill Helen Stoner. The readers are left with shock and horror as to what this man is capable of doing. Yet it is not until the end of the story that the mystery is unravelled and the readers are left to question whether this character is yet another red herring created by Doyle to engage the reader.
Furthermore, when Doyle describes Dr Roylott’s appearance, he says,
‘His costume was a peculiar mixture of the professional and of the agricultural, having a black top-hat, a long frock-coat, and a pair of high gaiters, with a hunting-crop swinging in his hand. So tall was he that his hat actually brushed the cross bar of the doorway, and his breadth seemed to span it across from side to side.’
From this the modern readers can tell that the stories are dated, and the vocabulary such as ‘black top-hat’ and ‘long frock-coat’ put the stories into an historical context. The readers can see that Dr Roylott is a well dressed man, but with an evil side to him. Once the readers find out that Dr Roylott has a history of violence their suspicions are aroused. The reference to Helen Stoners description of her stepfather’s violent temper, reassures the readers, that they have a perfect suspect, but now all the readers require is the proof.
‘Violence of temper approaching to mania has been hereditary in the men of the family, and in my stepfather’s... A series of disgraceful brawls took place, two of which ended in the police-court, until at last he became the terror of the village, and the folks would fly at his approach, for he is a man of immense strength, and absolutely uncontrollable in his anger.’
Every character in Doyle’s stories are different and this compels the reader into reading more of ‘The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes’. It allows them to discover and further their understanding of these individuals.
Throughout the fifty-six stories of Sherlock Holmes that were written and published between 1887 and 1902 you got a further glimpse into the character of Sherlock Holmes and all other individuals. Aside from the compelling characters created by Arthur Conan Doyle, one of his most important achievements was felt to be the creation of atmosphere, especially of London in the fog. Even today, people still address letters to 221B Baker Street where Sherlock Holmes was supposed to have lived, asking for help in solving mysteries! This proves that Doyle’s stories became apart of everyday life in Victorian times and even now, in the millennium they have an important impact on readers.
Many authors, after Doyle followed his type of writing. Writers such as Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot, and Ruth Rendell's Inspector Wexford are examples of well-written detective genre stories. Soon after detective genres became one of the most written genre types. However, one big difference in Doyle’s detective writing compared from later writers is that later writers seem to have been more concerned with finding more and more difficult problems to be solved, whereas Doyle concentrated on writing about interesting characters and entertaining tales, and overall Doyle’s stories were far more entertaining, then those that came after him…
By Sonali Patel