Jun 14, 2004 03:28 PM
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(Updated Oct 30, 2008 11:13 PM)
The name ‘ Sherlock Holmes’ needs no introduction to any person interested in detective fiction. His name stands foremost in the pantheon of literary detectives and his name will always be cherished by the aficionados of Crime Fiction. Many imitators have tried to copy his distinctive style but nobody has come even close. Sherlock Holmes’s perceptive analysis and his scientific deductions place him beyond the pale of comparison. The narrative, the gripping pace of the story lures the reader into the dark world of crime, it is perhaps the reason why still Sherlock Holmes continues to be read and enjoyed even after 125 years of his appearance in the Literary stage.
One of his earlier adventures has been catalogued into a book called “ The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes” .Constraints of space forbid me into going into a review of this fantastic book, nevertheless, I would be reviewing a single adventure of The Master Detective which forms a part of the book ie “ The Adventure of the Red Headed League”. This adventure combines all the sizzling ingredients of a Holmes Adventure, a seemingly insoluble mystery with elements of bizarreness, which is solved only by the penetrating insight of Sherlock Holmes. Readers familiar with the Conan Doyle oeuvre are conversant with the fact that he is assisted by Dr Watson , a former Indian Army Surgeon who according to his own admission is weighed down by the apparent denseness which comes over him when faced with a new mystery.
You can understand that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes has created Dr Watson , as a foil to magnify the cleverness of Sherlock Holmes as a detective. As Dr Watson himself says, “I trust that I am not more dense than my neighbours, but I was always oppressed with a sense of my own stupidity in my dealings with Sherlock Holmes. Here I had heard what he had heard, I had seen what he had seen, and yet from his words it was evident that he saw clearly not only what had happened, but what was about to happen, while to me the whole business was still confused and grotesque”.
The Adventure of The Red Headed League opens dramatically with Jabez Wilson, a London pawn broker who seeks the assistance of Sherlock Holmes to shed light on an inexplicable problem which he is facing. To start of, Sherlock Holmes makes a few deductions about Jabez Wilson which is astounding, considering the logical explanations he gives later.
I will first start off with the deductions first, when he lists the remarkable features of Jabez Wilson. (a) He has performed manual labour.
(b) He is a freemason.
(c) He had done a lot of writing lately.
(d) He has been to China.
Sherlock Holmes explains the basis of the deductions to Dr Watson (and the reader),
(a) The right hand of a right-handed manual labourer will became larger than the left. Wilson’s right hand is larger so he is or has been a manual labourer.
(b) Only freemason wear an arc and compass breastpin Wilson is wearing such a pin. Therefore Wilson must be a freemason.
(c) Doing a lot a writing will wear the cuff of the shirt. Wilson’s cuff is worn, so he must have been doing a lot of writing and recently, because shirts don’t last forever.
(d) The only place to receive a certain Tattoo is in China and Wilson has such a tattoo, so he must have received it in China. Mr Jabez Wilson is astounded by the correctness of the deductions so logically explained and so are the readers.
The story begins when Jabez Wilson who has a flaming red crop of hair is selected for a job by an organization known as ‘The Red Headed League’ which offers him $ 1 pound a week to copy certain portions of the encyclopedia Britannica. The conditions are that he should not leave the location i.e., the office before One O’ clock and he should have a flaming red colour of hair, which he has. This job carries on for some time. Then suddenly, the firm is dissolved. It is at this point , Jabez Wilson decides to seek the assistance of Sherlock Holmes in finding the reason behind the sudden dissolution of the Red Headed League. Sherlock Holmes investigates but finds that there are more deeper waters in it than what it seems in the beginning.
I cannot reveal more of the plot, if I do so, I would have to reveal the entire storyline which would be fatal to your reading pleasure. I can tell this with absolute certainty, it is a journey into Victorian London and crime you would enjoy no end. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle has limitless powers in his disposal to entertain you. Happy reading!.
