The Complete Sherlock Holmes, Volume I (Barnes & Noble Classics Series)

by Arthur Conan Doyle

  “He could not hope to frighten Sir Henry to death as he had done the old uncle with his bogie hound.”

  “The beast was savage and half-starved. If its appearance did not frighten its victim to death, at least it would paralyze the resistance which might be offered.”

  “No doubt. There only remains one difficulty. If Stapleton came into the succession, how could he explain the fact that he, the heir, had been living unannounced under another name so close to the property? How could he claim it without causing suspicion and inquiry?”

  “It is a formidable difficulty, and I fear that you ask too much when you expect me to solve it. The past and the present are within the field of my inquiry, but what a man may do in the future is a hard question to answer. Mrs. Stapleton has heard her husband discuss the problem on several occasions. There were three possible courses. He might claim the property from South America, establish his identity before the British authorities there, and so obtain the fortune without ever coming to England at all; or he might adopt an elaborate disguise during the short time that he need be in London; or, again, he might furnish an accomplice with the proofs and papers, putting him in as heir, and retaining a claim upon some proportion of his income. We cannot doubt from what we know of him that he would have found some way out of the difficulty. And now, my dear Watson, we have had some weeks of severe work, and for one evening, I think, we may turn our thoughts into more pleasant channels. I have a box for ‘Les Huguenots,’he Have you heard the De Reszkes?35 Might I trouble you then to be ready in half an hour, and we can stop at Marcini’s for a little dinner on the way?”

  ENDNOTES

  1 (p. 14) Thomas Carlyle: This great Scottish essayist and historian, born in 1795, first gained prominence by publishing a history of the French Revolution in 1837. His highly unorthodox style puzzled and enraged many readers but inspired many more. He died on February 4, 1881, days before Watson and Holmes met.

  2 (p. 19) Gaboriau . . . Lecoq: French author Émile Gaboriau (1832-1873) was the creator of the detective novel. Between 1866 and 1869 he wrote five such works in which his detective, the simple Monsieur Lecoq, solves a host of baffling crimes.

  3 (p. 19) even a Scotland Yard official can see through it: This remark is not as sarcastic as it may appear. Scotland Yard, a nickname for the London Metropolitan Police, had not yet gained its reputation for crime investigation. That came later, partly as a result of adopting the scientific techniques of Sherlock Holmes. Scotland Yard is so named because the building in which the service was housed was once the site of the home of Scottish kings when they visited London.

  4 (p. 22) Cremona fiddles and the difference between a Stradivarius and an Amati: For three generations, the Amati family of Cremona, beginning with Andrea (c.1510-c.1578) and extending through his grandson Nicolò (1596-1684) were celebrated violin makers. Together with Nicolò’s pupils, Antonio Stradivari (c.1644-1737) and Andrea Guarneri (c.1626-1698), they created what are still considered the finest violins and violas ever made. Cremona is synonymous with great string instruments.

  5 (p. 27) “They say that genius is an infinite capacity for taking pains”: A common corruption of Thomas Carlyle’s well-known saying, from his History of Friedrich II of Prussia, Called Frederick the Great (1858-1865), book 4, chapter 3: “ ‘Genius’ (which means transcendent capacity of taking trouble, first of all).” By quoting this saying Holmes revealed that, for whatever reason, he misled Watson when he pretended to be ignorant of Carlyle’s very existence. As Carlyle was the leading British man of letters of his day, no educated man of the time could have been unaware of his importance. In addition, as Carlyle’s death had occurred just weeks before the conversation about him that Watson records, Holmes certainly would have read about him in the newspapers he so regularly devoured.

  6 (p. 30) Hallé’s concert: From 1861 until his death in 1895, pianist and conductor Charles Hallé gave a series of seasonal concerts in London that included piano recitals, operatic performances, and symphony orchestras. He was knighted in 1888.

  7 (p. 30) Norman Néruda: Born in Germany, Wilhelmine Néruda (1839-1911) was a musical prodigy as a child. She gave her first violin recital at the age of six, then toured Europe three years later, when she made her London debut. After she married Swedish composer Ludwig Norman, she used the name Norman-Néruda. After Norman’s death, she married Sir Charles Hallé, with whom she played many concerts. She retired upon his death in 1895, but resumed her career again in 1898.

  8 (p. 36) Henri Murger’s Vie de Bohème: Louis-Henri Murger (1822-1861) was among the first French writers to depict the lifestyle of young students, painters, and writers who scorned conventional mores. His Scènes de la vie de bohème (Scenes of Bohemian Life; 1847-1849) formed the basis of Giacomo Puccini’s opera La Bohème (1896).

  9 (p. 38) Vehmgericht . . . the Ratcliff Highway murders: Every item in this list refers in some way to the history of crime. The Vehmgericht in Germany and the Carbonari in France and Italy were secret criminal tribunals, operated by “holy bands” sworn to secrecy on pain of death. Aqua tofana was a secret poison supposedly invented and used by a Sicilian woman named Tofana at the end of the seventeenth century to dispatch no fewer than 600 souls. The Marchioness de Brinvilliers was a notorious poisoner in seventeenth-century France. Charles Darwin’s thesis of natural selection—the “survival of the fittest,” as the philosopher Herbert Spencer put it—was sometimes popularly interpreted to describe a direct and ruthless struggle for the resources that support life, evoked by Alfred, Lord Tennyson in his line “Nature, red in tooth and claw.” Thomas Malthus predicted disastrous results when populations grew faster than the food supply, which would produce strife among peoples. The last item is a series of sensational crimes the public still remembered seventy-five years later—the “7 Pear Tree Murders,” which took place in 1811 on Ratcliff Highway in the East End of London.

  10 (p. 55) From the Sierra Nevada . . . silence: American readers may be pardoned for raising both eyebrows at this wildly exaggerated description. Such fanciful notions of American geography were not uncommon among Europeans. Dickens sets part of Martin Chuzzlewit (1843-1844) in the miasmal swamps a short train ride away from New York, and Puccini’s lovers in Manon Lescaut (1893) wander in the deserts outside New Orleans.

  11 (p. 60) Joseph Smith: Joseph Smith (1805-1844), founder of the Mormons, was born in Palmyra, New York, where he experienced spiritual visions beginning at an early age. He established his church in Fayette, New York, in 1830 and moved west several times in search of freedom from persecution, ending up in Commerce, Illinois, which he renamed Nauvoo. After political squabbles and charges of corruption, he was murdered by a mob in 1844 at Carthage, Illinois. After Smith’s death, Brigham Young (1801-1877) became leader of the Mormons. He led the migration to Utah in 1846 and 1847, established a settlement at Salt Lake City, in a state the Mormons established and called Deseret, and later became governor of Utah.

  12 (p. 68) Danite Band: Although such a group did exist, its activities were not nearly as sensational as those depicted here. The group existed for only a few months in 1838, and while it did retaliate against people who had run afoul of the Mormons, it was far from the bloodthirsty group portrayed in this story. Conan Doyle later apologized to the Mormons for this exaggeration when he spoke to them in Salt Lake City while on an American speaking tour.

  13 (p. 101) wounded leg. I had a Jezail bullet through it: On page 7 of A Study in Scarlet this bullet was said to be in Watson’s shoulder. This discrepancy has fueled a minor industry of explanations, from the ingenious to the bizarre. The most probable is that Conan Doyle simply misremembered where he had located the wound. In only his second Sherlock Holmes story, he hadn’t foreseen that generations of sharp-eyed devotees would scan every line for inconsistencies with the fervor of medieval scholastics explicating Holy Writ.

  14 (p. 114) a genuine Corot . . . that Salvator Rosa . . . the Bouguereau: This collection indicates that Sholto
not only had fine taste in art, but the means to collect expensive works. Jean Baptiste Camille Corot (1796-1875) was a French landscape painter of the Barbizon School; Salvator Rosa (1615-1673), from Naples, was known for landscapes and battle scenes; Adolph William Bouguereau (1825-1905), a French painter much admired in his day, is remembered now chiefly for his sentimental renderings of mythological scenes and for his strenuous opposition to the Impressionists.

  15 (p. 119) Holmes declares . . . sedative: Holmes claims, probably facetiously, that Watson has reversed the dosages for these two drugs. Two drops of castor oil produce little effect, while large doses of strychnine are fatal.

  16 (p. 138) Jean Paul: Pen name of Johann Paul Friedrich Richter (1763-1825), German novelist who was immensely popular in the nineteenth century. Holmes refers to one of his Analects entitled “The Grandeur of Man in His Littleness.’ Richter’s work was introduced to the English public by Thomas Carlyle.

  17 (p. 169) great mutiny: Also known as the Indian Mutiny and the Sepoy Mutiny or the Sepoy Rebellion, it was an uprising, in 1857 and 1858, against British rule in India. Indian soldiers, known as sepoys, who were employed by the British East India Company, massacred the Europeans at Meerut, then joined with other Indian forces as the rebellion spread, but were eventually suppressed by British troops.

  18 (p. 176) After Wilson took Delhi . . . Nana Sahib made himself scarce over the frontier: Brigadier-General Archdale Wilson (1801-1874) assumed command of the Bengal Artillery after initial British losses, and did much to turn the tide in the English favor. Sir Colin Campbell (1792-1863) became commander-in-chief in India shortly after the mutiny began. Nana Sahib, adopted son of an Indian prince, was one of the Indian leaders of the mutiny.

  19 (p. 190) Wallenstein: Bohemian statesman and general Albrecht Wenzel Eusebius von Wallenstein, duke of Friedland (1583-1634), commanded the armies of Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II during the beginning of the Thirty Years War (1618-1648). He was assassinated after his alienation from the Emperor.

  20 (p. 226) Duchess of Devonshire fashion: Georgiana Spencer Cavendish (1757-1806), ancestor of Princess Diana and wife of William, fifth duke of Devonshire, was not only the leader of London’s high society, but one of the most popular figures in the history of English social life.

  21 (p. 238) Hafiz: This (or Hafez) is the pen name for Mohammad Shams od-Din Hafez, a fourteenth-century Persian poet who was known for passionate poems spiritualizing his ideal woman, much as Dante did for Beatrice. The name Hafez, which means “keeper,” is given to one who has memorized the Koran, which he did at an early age. Scholars have not been able, however, to trace Holmes’s quotation to Hafez.

  22 (p. 260) Jackson’s army . . . Hood . . . Lee: Thomas Jonathan (“Stone-wall”) Jackson (1824-1863), John Bell Hood (1831-1879), and Robert E. Lee (1807-1870) were generals in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War.

  23 (p. 271) Gravesend: Although a ship leaving London would necessarily pass Gravesend, the mention of its name here is an ironic comment on the fate of the Lone Star.

  24 (p. 309) Regency: The period between 1811 and 1820, when the prince of Wales, later George IV, was appointed regent to rule England because of the insanity of his father, George III.

  25 (p. 321) Palmer and Pritchard: The reference is to two notorious doctors: William Palmer (1824-1856) was hanged for poisoning one of his friends, while Edward Pritchard (1825-1865) was hanged for poisoning his wife and mother-in-law.

  26 (p. 482) Queen Anne house: Houses designed by Italian architect Andrea Palladio (1508-1580) became fashionable during the reign of Anne Stuart (1665-1714), queen of England from 1702 to 1714.

  27 (p. 517) Vernet, the French artist: There was indeed a French artist of that name: Émile Jean Horace Vernet (1789-1863) was a painter known for battle scenes.

  28 (p. 518) the Diogenes Club: Diogenes (412-322 B.C.), was a Greek Cynic philosopher who exhibited contempt for riches and honors, and proclaimed self-sufficiency for the individual. He was said to carry a lamp around Athens during the daytime, insisting he was searching for an honest man. The joke here is that while clubs were formed as places where men could share similar interests with other men of their class, this club makes every man an island unto himself.

  29 (p. 547) Bertillon . . . measurements: Alphonse Bertillon (1853-1914), while working for the Paris police as chief of identifications in 1880, invented a system for identifying people through records of body measurements and markings. His system was later superseded by fingerprinting, but for a decade it was the most sophisticated form of identification.

  30 (p. 579) Bertillon: See note directly above.

  31 (p. 581) Clarendon: Edward Hyde (1609-1674), first earl of Clarendon and a Royalist statesman and historian, served as chief minister and lord chancellor, and wrote History of the Rebellion and Civil Wars in England.

  32 (p. 616) Swan: In 1860 English chemist and physicist Sir Joseph Wilson Swan (1828-1914) invented a primitive electric light; in 1880 both Swan and Thomas Edison produced a practical light bulb.

  33 (p. 674) Kneller . . . Reynolds: German-born Sir Godfrey Kneller (1646-1723) was a court painter for Charles II, William III, and other monarchs; he became the leading portrait painter of his time. Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723-1792), one of the great names in English painting, was also known for portraits.

  34 (p. 675) Rodney . . . Baskerville . . . Pitt: British admiral George Brydges Rodney (1718-1792), won a number of important naval battles against the French, Spanish and Dutch. William Pitt (1759-1806) was prime minister for eighteen years under George III.

  35 (p. 695) the De Reszkes: Jean de Reszke (1850-1925), renowned Polish tenor, was the leading singer in Paris between 1884 and 1889. He often appeared with his brother Edouard and sister Josephine.

  COMMENTS & QUESTIONS

  In this section, we aim to provide the reader with an array of perspectives on the text, as well as questions that challenge those perspectives. The commentary has been culled from sources as diverse as reviews contemporaneous with the work, letters written by the author, literary criticism of later generations, and appreciations written throughout the history of the stories. Following the commentary, a series of questions seeks to filter Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories through a variety of points of view and bring about a richer understanding of these enduring works.

  Comments

  G. K. CHESTERTON

  In attempting to reach the genuine psychological reason for the popularity of detective stories, it is necessary to rid ourselves of many mere phrases. It is not true, for example, that the populace prefer bad literature to good, and accept detective stories because they are bad literature. The mere absence of artistic subtlety does not make a book popular. Bradshaw’s Railway Guide contains a few gleams of psychological comedy, yet it is not read aloud uproariously on winter evenings. If detective stories are read with more exuberance than railway guides, it is certainly because they are more artistic. Many good books have fortunately been popular; many bad books, still more fortunately, have been unpopular. A good detective story would probably be even more popular than a bad one. The trouble in this matter is that many people do not realize that there is such a thing as a good detective story; it is to them like speaking of a good devil. To write a story about a burglary is, in their eyes, a sort of spiritual manner of committing it. To persons of somewhat weak sensibility this is natural enough; it must be confessed that many detective stories are as full of sensational crime as one of Shakespeare’s plays.

  There is, however, between a good detective story and a bad detective story as much, or, rather more, difference than there is between a good epic and a bad one. Not only is a detective story a perfectly legitimate form of art, but it has certain definite and real advantages as an agent of the public weal. . . .

  The narrowest street possesses, in every crook and twist of its intention, the soul of the man who built it, perhaps long in his grave. Every brick has as human a hieroglyp
h as if it were a graven brick of Babylon; every slate on the roof is as educational a document as if it were a slate covered with addition and subtraction sums. Anything which tends, even under the fantastic form of the minutiæ of Sherlock Holmes, to assert this romance of detail in civilization, to emphasize this unfathomably human character in flints and tiles, is a good thing.

  —from The Defendant (1901)