To what extent do The Speckled Band and The Gatewood Caper fulfil my expectations of a Classic Detective Story?
To what extent do The Speckled Band and The Gatewood Caper fulfil my expectations of a Classic Detective Story? Introduction In this essay I am going to be writing about and comparing each story to our expectations of what a typical classic detective Story should be like. I will be focusing on the following two detective stories; firstly a Victorian melodrama called The Speckled Band written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and then secondly a modern day detective story called The Gatewood Caper written by Dashiell Hammett. I will be analysing these two stories by focusing on plot, character, setting, structure, style of writing and theme. Arthur Conan Doyle was a legendary writer in the golden age of the Victorian era; he was an exceptional writer of classic detective stories. He was born on the 22nd of May in 1859 and died in 1930; he was the creator of the most famous of all detectives Sherlock Holmes. Arthur Conan Doyle was born in Edinburgh, Scotland and came from a family of artists. Conan Doyle was inspired from boyhood by the art of writing and while he was at Southsea he wrote several novels and many short stories. Dashiell Hammett effectively modernised the detective story, as we now know it to be. Hammett was born on the eastern shore of Maryland in 1894. Hammett died in 1961. In 1915 he began working on and off as a detective for the Pinkerton Agency. Soon he was to
Compare and contrast 'The Speckled Band' and Lamb to the Slaughter'
Compare and contrast 'The Speckled Band' and Lamb to the Slaughter' There has been a great deal of famous detective stories that have been written by many authors, all of which are very interesting and exciting. Some examples of very good, successful detective stories are: 'The murders in the Rue Morgue' written by Edgar Allan Poe in 1841. This book was Edgar's first story and it was very successful. 'The Moonstone' by Wilkie Collins which featured Sergeant Cuff and a stolen gem. This was written in 1868. Another set of detective stories was Sherlocks Holmes written stories, which were written during the 1880s. As you can see detective books have been going on since the mid 1800s as well as in the 1900s. 920s onwards - Agatha Christie starts to write her very famous and very successful detective stories with Hercule Poirot and Dorothy L. Sayers with Lord Peter Wimsey, both of the upper class. 970s - P.D. James and Ruth Rendell start to write. In their recent books they feature corrupt policemen. In P.D. James' last three books the murder has not been convicted, either because they died or due to insufficient evidence. 990s - There has been popularity shown by the number of films and T.V series e.g. 'Inspector Morse', 'Taggart,' 'Frost,' 'Dalziel and Pascoe' and so on. From the above you should notice that there has been a lot of well known detective stories about
In the beginning of my second story, written by Charles Dickens, The Signalman, the s
Murder mystery stories coursework Write about the ingredients essential to create a successful mystery story. Introduction I have studied pre-1900 short stories by different authors, which all follow a similar format and historical content of their time. In my essay I will discuss and describe what necessary ingredients are needed to make these murder mystery short stories effective and successful. Short stories became an extremely favoured form of fiction and entertainment during the nineteenth century... In the days before electrical advantages for entertainment, (e.g:-radio, television, films and videos) adventure was generally only discovered/only existed within the imagination of mystery and supernatural stories, and were especially popular in the Victorian age, where people would escape into the mystifying worlds the words described in the stories. (Perhaps these authors' fulfilled the need for excitement in this relatively oppressed society...). It was during this era that many writers began to capture readers' curiosity about death, vengeance, trickery, imprisonment, hanging, ghosts and fear... A first impression may affect/ determine the way the words will communicate with its reader throughout a story. So I feel it important that the begining of a mystery story must be (engaging, compelling, intriguing, appealing, capture the imagination/ attentions of the
Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes Assignment In this assignment, I will analyze and examine how effectively Doyle Portrays Sherlock Holmes. Before I read the Conan Doyle's stories of Sherlock Holmes I already knew that he was a famous detective, apart from that I knew nothing more .However on further discussions I found out that he wore a hat and smoked a pipe; he lived in London and had an accomplice called Dr Watson who helped him solve crimes. Doyle portrays Holmes image as a man who wears a deerstalker hat and smokes a pipe, which immediately the Victorian and modern readers would think and visualize as a very mysterious detective who is very serious about his work. Further more people enjoy reading detective stories because it is a source of entertainment and leisure. Detective stories like Sherlock Holmes contain many red-hearings (false clues) which get the readers minds thinking, keep them guessing of what the answer is or what it might mean which further on in the story might completely be erroneous, and at this point, there might be a twist. At this point, I will also refer to the guesses I made whilst reading the three stories "The read-headed League", "The man with the twisted lip" and "The speckled band". In the first story, my first guess was that the whole concept of the redheaded league was a fraud to see how many people would sit and copy out from an encyclopaedia. My
Both the Adventure of the Speckled Band and Lamb to the Slaughter share some characteristics of murder mysteries. Which story is the most typical one? Which story is most successful in creating suspense?
Both the Adventure of the Speckled Band and Lamb to the Slaughter share some characteristics of murder mysteries. Which story is the most typical one? Which story is most successful in creating suspense? Attracting readers of all ages for hundreds of years, it is evident through these two stories that the murder mystery genre has evolved from a more stereotypical "whodunit" structure, however still continuing to enthral its reader by creating a sense of the unexpected, and engaging them in anxiety through the effective use of language and characters. The Speckled Band and Lamb to the Slaughter share characteristics of murder mysteries and demonstrate the significant difference, which has changed the typical structure through the years. The Speckled Band written in the Victorian times (1882) by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle during the reign of Queen Victoria, features one of the finest ever adventures of the legendary detective Sherlock Holmes whereas on the other hand Lamb to the Slaughter demonstrates a less predictable or typical "whodunit" structure written in the 1950's by Roald Dahl. Those essential elements of a murder mystery are witnessed in both stories including the detectives, villains, motives, atmosphere, and the narration allowing the reader a more direct participation. The Speckled Band looks at how a tragic death has left Helen Stoner, who lives in Stoke Moran
Relevant history & Business environment.
. Introduction - Relevant history & Business environment The heritage of the Jurys group can be traced back to 1881, when William Jury opened his first boarding house in Dublin. The Doyle Hotel Group was then founded in 1964 by Pascal Vincent Doyle, a man of great vision who recognised that, as tourism became more available and more affordable, Dublin was going to need new 'medium' grade hotels. When the Doyle Montrose opened its doors in 1964 it became an instant success - serving local business during the week and providing affordable, quality accommodation for guests coming into Dublin at the weekend. In 1999 the acquisition of the Doyle Hotel Group by Jurys Hotel Group was agreed for a total consideration of $255 million in cash and stock, plus the assumption of $81 million debt. The enlarged company, named Jurys Doyle Hotel Group, became Ireland's largest hotel chain by far and now have, among other things, a presence on two continents, in three capital cities -- Dublin, London and Washington. The Doyle family hold a 25% equity interest in this enlarged company. The combined operations of this group today feature 30 properties, with a further six currently under development. The group employs approximately 4,000 people and offers both its business and leisure customers a wide selection from it 3, 4 and 5 star hotels and inns while generating total revenues of
A comparison of The Speckled band by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle & Lamb to the slaughter by Roal Dahl
A comparison of "The Speckled band" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle & "Lamb to the slaughter" by Roal Dahl Detective mystery fiction started in England in the 1790s. Then later in the 1850s to 1860s authors started writing melodramatic thrillers known as sensation novels perhaps one of the best known of the melodramatic thrillers is the stories written by Wilkie Collins who wrote "The woman in white". By the late 1800s Conan Doyle wrote stories featuring Sherlock Holmes, this type of story was called mystery fiction, and is undoubtedly the most influential mystery fiction novel of the 1970s. These mystery fiction novels were based on Sherlock Holmes who is a detective in murder cases and has a side kick called Watson who very much admires Sherlock Holmes as being very clever in solving crimes by gathering the evidence. In the book he narrates the story and makes clear He's admiration for Sherlock Holmes, this is what influenced other writers in the 20th century to writing mystery fiction stories based on the structure of the Sherlock Holmes. And you can still see the work of Conan Doyle being used as structure for modern day stories and film series, such as the well known "CSI crime" which is set in America and involves a group of homicide detectives who have an important role in using state of the art forensic techniques in order to work out the murders and accomplices, with a
In this essay I' am going to compare & contrast two detective stories. A pre-twentieth century story by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle called 'The Speckled Band' & a modern story by Colin Dexter called Neighbourhood Watch.
By Michael McFarlane Year 10 In this essay I' am going to compare & contrast two detective stories. A pre-twentieth century story by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle called 'The Speckled Band' & a modern story by Colin Dexter called Neighbourhood Watch. I will describe the language, characters, social and historical context, Style, the plot, similarities and differences between the two. I will also state which I prefer & why. The Speckled Band starts off with Miss Stoner going to Sherlock Holmes's house and asking for his help. She tells him of her sister's death and of how her sister had heard a whistle at night for the past week or so. On the night of her death there was a loud scream of terror and just after a whistle Miss Stoner went to inspect quickly but as she neared her sisters room she stumbled out and said silently a 'speckled band'. Miss Stoner was quite worried because her sister was soon to be married and now so is she. As soon as she left Dr Roylott came barging in wanting to know what Miss Stoner had come to see Holmes for. Holmes tried to put off answering Dr Roylott and answered with something about the weather. In disgust Dr Roylott picked up Holmes's poker and bent it then he left. Once Dr Roylott left Holmes picked up his poker and bent it back as straight as possible in one go. Holmes and Watson soon left for Stoke Moran which is the home to DR Roylott
The 18th century England was embroiled in ceaseless controversy - Christianity.
The 18th century England was embroiled in ceaseless controversy. The first half of the century was marked by political movements, the rise of skeptics and deists (enlightenment period) whereas in the second half, revival within the church became the issue at stake. Harris states that the century witnessed deterioration in religious tradition, which resulted from a new spirit of individualism, accompanied by the development of new literary forms.1 Ancient records served as the basis for the claims of Christian theology,2 and the deists questioned their authenticity. The deists also ignored revealed religion, laying emphasis on the religion of nature, which is based on reason. As Cragg infers, gradually reason took the place of theology, and served as a principal factor preoccupying the century's thought. Moreover, its supremacy as a foundation of faith was universally accepted.3 As a result, the deists expressed their objections to Christianity, considering it as a religion contrary to reason. The enlightenment period of the 18th century also came up with biblical criticism. New methods of empirical science were applied to the study of all disciplines, including the Bible.4 Consequently, a number of distinguished writers subjected the Bible to criticism. One of these personalities was Thomas Paine. In his second part of The Age of Reason, he attacked the Bible based on his
Following a careful study of a range of Victorian Short Stories, discuss the ways setting and atmosphere were utilised, to make the stories successful for their designated audience.
Prose Study Following a careful study of a range of Victorian Short Stories, discuss the ways setting and atmosphere were utilised, to make the stories successful for their designated audience. Victorian stories, especially those with a supernatural theme, cleverly utilised a range of devices to make them a literary success to their respective audiences. The range, which we have studied, covered a time period spanning all of Queen Victoria's reign and consequently created tension in similar and different ways, as I will show in this essay. The setting of Dickens' wonderful creation, "The Signalman" differs a great deal from the other stories. "The Signalman" was published in 1865, forty years prior to "The Man with the Twisted Lip", and "the Red Room". Through the development of this genre in the late Victorian era, we also notice a change in the plot and predictability of the later pieces of writing. For example, when Dickens produced "The Signalman", the latest technological development was the Steam Train. However, in "The Man with the Twisted Lip", Conan Doyle, wished to intrigue his audience by writing about a private investigator, seeing as at the time the Police Force were failing to fulfil their potential as 'Law Enforcers'. In the same way, the genre of "The Red Room", which is of course a gothic mystery, accentuated the horror of haunted rooms, secret passages and