Sherlock Holmes : The Major Stories with Contemporary Critical Essays

by Doyle, Arthur Conan; Hodgson, John A.

• ISBN13: 9780312089450
• ISBN10: 0312089457
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1993-11-15
• Publisher: Bedford/St. Martin's

Summary

The fifteen Sherlock Holmes stories reprinted in this volume are generally held to be the most significant, innovative and influential tales featuring Arthur Conan Doyle's archetypal detective. Drawn principally from the first three Holmes collections, these selections are each followed by a concise commentary on its relation to Doyle, other Holmes tales, and the genre of detective fiction. The nine accompanying essays, which reflect the recent critical interest in Holmes, examine the stories from a variety of contemporary critical perspectives. The first five essays (by Martin Priestamn, Peter Brooks, Gian Paolo Caprettini, John A. Hodgson , and Alastair Fowler) focus in questions of narrative, deduction, and plot; the next four (by Stephen Knight, Catherine Belsey, Rosemary Hennessey and Rajeswari Mohan, and Audry Jaffe) social, historical, ideological, and gender issues. Each critical essay is preceded by a headnote that discusses the essay's critical approach. An introduction by the editor discusses the relation of Sherlock Holmes to Doyle's own life, reviews the history of the stories' publication and reception, and provides a brief overview of the contemporary critical essays. Additional sources of enrichment and direction for further study are provided by the four appendices: a chronology of Doyle's life; a note on Doyle's favorite Holmes stories; an annotated bibliography of aholmes collections and critical studies; and a list of film and video versions of the stories in the book.

Table of Contents

  About This Book
    
  Arthur Conan Doyle and Sherlock Holmes: Biographical and Critical Contexts
    
PART I. THE MAJOR SHERLOCK HOLMES STORIES
    
    From A Study in Scarlet
    A Scandal in Bohemia
    The Red-headed League
    A Case of Identity
    The Boscombe Valley Mystery
    The Man with the Twisted Lip
    The Blue Carbuncle
    The Speckled Band
    Silver Blaze
    The Musgrave Ritual
    The Final Problem
    The Empty House
    The Dancing Men
    Charles Augustus Milverton
    The Second Stain
    
PART II. CONTEMPORARY CRITICAL ESSAYS
    
    Martin Priestman, Sherlock Holmes--The Series
    Peter Brooks, Reading for the Plot
    Gian Paolo Caprettini, Sherlock Holmes: Ethics, Logic, and the Mask
    John A. Hodgson, The Recoil of "The Speckled Band": Detective Story and Detective Discourse
    Alastair Fowler, Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of the Dancing Men and Women
    Stephen Knight, The Case of the Great Detective
    Catherine Belsey, Deconstructing the Text: Sherlock Holmes
    Rosemary Hennessy and Rajeswari Mohan, "The Speckled Band": The Construction of Woman in a Popular Text of Empire
    Audrey Jaffe, Detecting the Beggar: Arthur Conan Doyle, Henry Mayhew, and "The Man with the Twisted Lip"
    
  Appendices
    A Chronology of Arthur Conan Doyle
    Doyle's Favorite Sherlock Holmes Stories
    Sherlock Holmes on Film
    Select Bibliography
    
  Index