Book Review of Sherlcok Holmes

Book Review of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

Below is a review of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and published in 1891. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes is a collection containing 12 stories, such as"A Scandal in Bohemia" "The Adventure of the Red-Headed League". In these stories, Sherlock Holmes tries to unravel all the mysteries that interests him. Some of the cases are brought by clients themselves, while the rest of them are passed over by inspectors from Scotland Yard. Most of the cases are very interesting and unique, in "A Scandal in Bohemia" the king of Bohemia asks for help of Holmes to regain the photo which The Woman, Irene Adler uses to threaten him. Finally, Holmes is beaten by The Woman. She knows Holmes has found the place where she hid the photo. Then she flees with the photo. However she promises to keep the photo for own protection only as a return for Holmes' profound detective skills.

Most of the stories are written in the third person, narrated by Holmes' friend Dr. Watson. The protagonist, Holmes is described as a perfect reasoning and calculating machine and most perfect observer. He is equipped with profound knowledge of Chemistry and Geology especially, which he relies on to solve problems. At times, inspectors come to him asking for help. When Holmes finishes deductions and the case is resolved, he has no complains about the inspectors taking all the credits. Such character is not created to show what a all-capable detective can do, but to reflect the true need of the time.

In early 19th century, London was still a city with a low population rate. As time passed, technology and economics became more mature, more and more people came and resided in this place to work for the nearby factories to gain a better life. Such a burst does not only bring prosperity, but also crimes and immoral behaviors. The population