A Study in Scarlet
by Arthur Conan Doyle
Series: Sherlock Holmes #1
Published: 1887
Genres: Classic, Mystery
Format: eBook (108 pages)
Source: Purchased
A Study in Scarlet is the first published story of one of the most famous literary detectives of all time, Sherlock Holmes. Here Dr. Watson, who has just returned from a war in Afghanistan, meets Sherlock Holmes for the first time and they become flat-mates at the famous 221B Baker Street. In A Study in Scarlet Sherlock Holmes investigates a murder at Lauriston Gardens as Dr. Watson tags along with Holmes while narratively detailing his amazing deductive abilities.
I loved the writing in A Study in Scarlet. The dialogue was catchy and natural. I found the book surprisingly easy to read especially considering how old it is. The thing that really stands out in this book and the thing that has made it last for so long are the characters. Sherlock is very cheerful, eccentric, sarcastic, loves to be flattered, and is bluntly honest. And of course the thing that makes his character so fun to watch on TV in the modern adaptation – his cocky genius. I couldn’t hate this guy if I tried. I loved seeing these two iconic characters meet (Sherlock and Watson) to set the stage for the rest of the Sherlock Holmes series.
The first half of this book was a fascinating mystery. I was glued to the story, turning pages, dying to know what happens next. Then we get to Part 2. The second half of the book was the longest, most drawn out and boring flashback I have ever read. We find out the solution to the mystery at the end of Part 1. Part 2 goes into why he did it. Apparently Mr. Doyle doesn’t believe in recapping what happened. We get to live it. If we’re going to live through it, at least make it interesting. It was not at all interesting because almost nothing happens for most of Part 2. I skimmed a lot of it. It also felt very disjointed to go from a mystery in London to the American West. It felt like I was reading two different stories that had nothing to do with each other. Part 2 is only tied in to Part 1 by the very end.
Portrayal of Mormons
I have to say as a Mormon, reading Part 2 of this story was a little difficult for me since Mormons are not painted in a good light for this part of the story. But let’s start with this hilarious quote first.
In the central portion of the great North American Continent there lies an arid and repulsive desert…
– Arthur Conan Doyle, A Study in Scarlet p. 63
Repulsive! Arid! My home this is! Yoda and I are highly offended. Okay not really. But he kept describing the whole state of Utah like it was entirely covered in the Salt Flats where everything was covered in “alkali dust” and used words like “barren”, “misery”, “despair,” and my personal favorite “gloomy.” The whole thing just made me laugh. While it is true that the west side of the Great Salt Lake is all those things, the pioneers settled on the EAST side of the lake which was your more run-of-the-mill desert with snakes and cacti and stuff. And regular desert dirt that almost nothing can grow in thank you very much. I mean if you’re going to insult my state at least get it right. :)
The thing I struggled with the most was the portrayal of Mormonism as a cult. And when I say cult I mean a group forcing people to do things by threats or brain-washing. Mormons believe the point in life is to make choices. There is a point in the story where Mormon pioneers find a starving, wandering man and his daughter and say they can join them only if they become Mormon. Brigham Young (or any Mormon) would NEVER force anyone to be Mormon. Not cool Mr. Conan Doyle. I did some research and in Mr. Doyle’s defense, he believed these things to be true at the time. Still – forcing people to do things is against our religion and always has been.
The murderer’s motive was based on their hatred of the practice of plural marriage (or polygamy). While Mormons did practice it, it was portrayed in the book that if you didn’t get married to more than one person you were kicked out (and then hunted down by a secret band of murderers. Say what?? That most definitely didn’t happen). Not everyone practiced plural marriage. Many early Mormons were monogamous and were in fine standing with the church. I won’t go into tons of detail in this review, but if you’re interested the official Mormon (also known as Latter-Day Saints or LDS) website has more information on plural marriage and Mormonism. It’s an interesting article that talks about the trials the people who lived it faced, how long it was practiced and more. And just to be thorough Mormons don’t practice polygamy today and haven’t since 1890.
Overall, I adored the first half of the novel and meeting the most iconic characters in literature, but I found the second half to be boring and the anti-Mormonism made me uncomfortable. I would give the first half of the novel 4 stars and the second half like 1/2 a star.
Content Rating: None.
This post contains affiliate links and I receive a small percentage of sales made through these links.
About Arthur Conan Doyle
Arthur Conan Doyle was born the third of ten siblings on 22 May 1859 in Edinburgh, Scotland. His father, Charles Altamont Doyle, was born in England of Irish descent, and his mother, born Mary Foley, was Irish. They were married in 1855.
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
My name is Jessica. I love to read Young Adult and classic literature. I’ve been a book blogger for six years and I haven’t gotten tired of it yet. I’m a very curious reader. Writing about all the questions and thoughts I had while reading a book is the best hobby ever.
I read this book a million years ago, and I am planning on reading through the entire Holmes collection sometime in the future. I am disappointed to hear that a huge focus of the mystery deals with incorrect views on Mormons. :(
The quote about Utah is hilarious!! I used to live there and it’s beautiful. It is never fun though to see your religion portrayed as something it’s not. I think that happens with all religions and hopefully we can just teach each other to be tolerant and try to learn more before making judgement. I had NO idea that this book including all that as part of the story. Wow. I tried to read a Sherlock book a few years ago and just couldn’t get through it.
Utah is beautiful! And maybe I wasn’t here in the pioneer times but I find it hard to imagine it like Doyle did. The mountains and freeways are covered in pretty wild grasses.
It’s hard to read about racism, sexism, anti-religious etc things in books. It’s even harder when you know that these were accepted thoughts of the time because it still makes you uncomfortable but they weren’t trying to be offensive. I like your comment about being more tolerant of others. Thank you so much for your wonderful comment!