A Study in Scarlet
(Sherlock Holmes #1)
by Arthur Conan Doyle
murder mystery, classic
copyright 1887
read (again) in February 2016
rated 8/10: really quite good
The very first Sherlock Holmes mystery ! A great character, an excellent book... No wonder Sherlock Holmes has survived so long :-)
I started reading this book from Google Books, as a scan of an old edition. Two interesting points in that edition: the contemporary introduction and the difficulty of reading a pdf from a scan.
The introduction was written at a time when Holmes was well established and Doyle was still writing. It is fascinating to read a contemporary view of the writer and his works. In particular, it is news -- to me -- that Doyle preferred to write historical novels ! I already knew that Holmes has been killed off by his author (perhaps twice) and resurrected by public demand. I had not considered the possibility that Doyle could have preferred to write a different style of novel. I wonder if any of those non-Sherlock stories are still available ?!
Then there is the difficulty of reading a pdf...
I'm glad that Google is having old books scanned and made available online. Full marks for that ! But a pdf is a very poor format for online reading. There is no automatic word wrap as the viewing size is enlarged.
On my tablet screen, each page shows as being the height of the screen but narrower, with a rather small font. I enlarge the page view to cover the width of the screen, some text disappears at the top or bottom. No worries, except -- all of a sudden the pdf remembers that it is a double page scan !
I now need to read from the top of the left hand page, scroll down to the bottom. Then up and right, to see the second page. Then down again. Just a little bit awkward. Even worse: if I scroll just a fraction too far, or slide my scrolling finger in an odd direction -- the tablet decides that I have requested a jump to another page ! And, because only part of the pages are visible, I can't immediately tell whether I have gone forward or backward... Add the occasional jump to the list-of-books webpage and it is a real pain in the neck to read online.
Are Google working with Gutenberg, to get PDF scans converted to softcopy text versions ? I hope they are. Or, perhaps they should.
Luckily I have the original hardcopy book which I read many years ago. I enjoyed the introduction of the online edition. I finish reading the paper copy.
And so I read the very first adventure of Sherlock Holmes and Dr John Watson. And am struck by the excellent way in which the recent BBC(?) TV series has captured the style of the characters.
I am also reminded of the history of the Mormons.
South Park lead me to read about the pulling of divine messages from a hat... All very silly, all quite typical of the "inspiration" of some religious leaders. A Study in Scarlet lead me to read more of the history of the Mormons. The harmless eccentrics who knock on the doors of the unbelievers are a distant echo of the religious fanatics who brought guns and flames and war to the doors of the unbelievers -- and of the believers. Perhaps the practice of preaching in pairs is a leftover from those darker times, when no individual could be trusted to maintain, alone, the current teachings of the faith.
So Scarlet is a thought provoking view into the history of a major religion. An insight into the preferences of a popular author. An introduction to a fictional character who has survived for over a century. An example of why online pdf files are to be avoided.
It is also, a very enjoyable book.
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