Wordsworth Editions A Study in Scarlet & The Sign of the Four

Bought this as daughter doing Sign of the Four for GCSE and wanted to be able to discuss it with her.Maybe it was good for its time, or maybe Doyle was still finding his voice at that time (these are the first two Holmes stories), but I found Sign of the Four in particular pretty poor. There is no real mystery to solve, it is fairly obvious who the baddie is throughout. We also have a deeply uninteresting and unconvincing romantic subplot involving Watson and an odd plot device near the end whereby the apprehended criminal tells the backstory at some length to tie in with what Holmes has already worked (and told us) in the previous chapters.Study in Scarlet is slightly better, although structured rather oddly in that at the end of the first half Holmes solves the murder introducing a person we have not yet met. We then jump back 30 years and get the backstory of how the murderer got his motivation. Strange, as there is no element of tension as we know exactly where this story is going.Not recommended.

This is where it all begins, where Dr Watson, returning from the theatre of war in Afghanistan and now in London, at a loose end and not in fine fettle, bags a small flat in Baker Street with a friend of a friend whom he meets by chance. His new room-mate is described as something of an odd fish, he is of course Sherlock Holmes, who has yet to make his name from his peculiar deductive abilities and is something of a benign mystery to Watson.The story is a bit more convoluted then it need be, because not only do we have Lestad, the rodent-like policeman who goes to Holmes for help and takes all the credit, but another, fatter and more pompous detective rival, Gregson in tow, so the story seems a bit crowded compared to the film adaptations. What's more, just as Holmes reveals the killer, it seems the story ends and another, entirely unrelated story, told in the third person rather than by Watson, begins! Eh? Only by flicking forward did I find that this did indeed tie in with the former story and is an extensive background account. Then it does pull together. But I wonder how many folk have 'finished' the yarn thinking, 'Well! That was something of nothing!'Study in Scarlet formed the basis of the first in the Sherlock series with Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman; that said - whisper it - I think they made a great deal more of this story in the modern adaptation, they really played up the more sinister aspects of it and cut out most of the extensive background of the novella, which took us to Colorado in the United States and would seem rather extraneous on screen. There are oddities though; Holmes manages to procure at no notice a sick dog on which to test a potentially fatal poison - nice to have one at hand, isn't it - and also fails to detect that a visitor to their Baker Street abode is an imposter in an elaborate disguise, rather unlikely bearing in mind how extensive his detective abilities are supposed to be. Still, this introduces us to a new world, new characters and it's almost easy to forget that Conan Doyle is creating this out of nothing rather than recording real-life detective work.

Needed this for school. Very good value and helpful contextual notes. However print is small and paper is thin. I would not recommending highlighting / annotating this. But excellent value if you just want to read it!

Study in scarlet, starts of with the introduction of Holmes and Watson, two of the most famous characters in fiction. The case itself is great and well written with Holmes doing his thing, while Watson narrates his intricacies. I found myself thinking that I will be getting through this in no time at all. My only fault with it, is that fact that half way through the story leaves London and the two heroes and tells the back story of the murder. All the things that make a Holmes and Watson story great missed for half the book.The Sign Of Four - much better, all Holmes and Watson and the investigation. Conan-Doyle has had a think about what he wants his Holmes books to be about and settled on it. This is the story that will make me want to read more.

If only I were to read product descriptions with as much vehemence as I do the stories of the great detective I would have realised that The Sign of Four is contained in this wonderful volume of Sherlock Holmes stories and not bought it separately. So, to cut to the chase: Sherlock Holmes; great detective; great stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle; great edition by Wordsworth. What more do you need? Go forth and buy this.