The Return of Sherlock Holmes (1905)

Compared to the previous collections of Sherlock Holmes stories, this one was slightly disappointing. Sherlock's methods of detection were, of course, top shelf, but the crimes seemed to be a bit pedantic. Without the overarching narrative of the super-villain Moriarty the assortment of murderers, thieves, and ne'er-do-wells was quite common. I hope that in future stories Holmes takes more of an interest with Scotland Yard/MI-6, as many of the current spin-offs focus on this high-stakes partnership. ( )

A delightful return to the Holmes mystery stories, though they definitely take on a more cynical tone than earlier collections. ( )

A very enjoyable collection of Holmes and Watson mysteries, although there is a decided return to the romantic/melodramatic stylings of the early novels.

After the opening story, which goes to lunatic levels to bring Holmes back (but fair enough), there are some great stories throughout. Watson's narrative voice is pitch-perfect, as is his relationship with Holmes. Beyond this, the various Scotland Yard characters are given more depth, and are able to work WITH Holmes, as opposed to just following him around and always being wrong.

As I said above, though, many of the stories seem to veer toward that very 19th century melodrama feel in their denouements, although Conan Doyle handles it quite emotionlessly, so at least it isn't protracted. And many of the stories - those featuring missing people or objects - often seem to end with the same kind of conclusion (I won't say which, but you'll notice the pattern). Still, these weren't initially published in book form, and so I don't hold vague similarities against them.

An enjoyable collection of stories. I'm two-thirds of the way through the canon already! ( )

Arthur Conan Doyle

The Return of Sherlock Holmes

Collins Classics, Paperback [2013].
12mo. x+370 pp. History of Collins [iii-iv]. Life & Times by Gerard Cheshire [v-x]. Dictionary [343-70].

First published, 1905.
This edition first published, 2013.

Contents

1. The Empty House
2. The Norwood Builder
3. The Dancing Men
4. The Solitary Cyclist
5. The Priory School
6. Black Peter
7. Charles Augustus Milvernon
8. The Six Napoleons
9. The Three Students
10. The Golden Pince-Nez
11. The Missing Three-Quarter
12. The Abbey Grange
13. The Second Stain

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This is actually the second return of Sherlock Holmes after The Hound of the Baskervilles (1902). On the other hand, this most famous, and indeed finest, Holmes adventure is set before “The Final Problem”, the last story from The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes (1893). Only in the first story of this collection, “The Empty House”, do we learn how come the legendary sleuth escaped demise at the Reichenbach Falls. Professor Moriarty, the most dangerous Holmes adversary, was not quite so deadly after all.

The collection is surprisingly good for something written under popular pleasure. It feels like coming home. The stories are perfectly crafted, deliciously remote from anything as sordid as reality, and told with all of Conan Doyle’s consummate skill of a storyteller. Uneven as they are, as they must be, all stories are readable and entertaining; at least half a dozen (numbers 1, 5-8 and 12, to be precise) are prime candidates for any “The Best Sherlock Holmes” collection. Cutting-edge state-of-the-art forensic science (fingerprinting) and locomotion technology (bicycles) are made effective use of occasionally, but for the most part the plots are deeply rooted in Victorian times and much the better for that. Crimes cover a wide range from cheating at exams to blackmail, theft, abduction and even an assassination on Sherlock himself (unsuccessful, of course). The most chilling crime of all, namely murder, is most liberally served. Nine of the stories include at least one dead body. People are done in with anything from the traditional guns and knives to exotic instruments like pokers and harpoons. The morbid nature of human nature ought to be satisfied.

But it’s not the stories, of course, that have immortalised Conan Doyle. It’s the character of Sherlock Holmes – and the long-suffering Dr Watson:

“You see?”
“No, I fear that even now –”
“Watson, I have always done you an injustice. There are others.

I can’t say I agree with those disappointed fans who have complained that Sherlock Holmes is not quite the same man after the Reichenbach Falls. In later volumes, perhaps he is not; I don’t know about that (yet). But in this one, he is very much the same almost godlike and rather cold, yet passionate and curiously human, master of deduction, disguise and disillusionment. Poor Watson! He tells every story and remains a complete cipher. Charles Augustus Milverton, “one of Holmes’ greatest adversaries” in the correct (for once) description on the back cover and rightly renamed “The Master Blackmailer” (1992) in the film adaption with Jeremy Brett, is the only character memorable enough not to be overshadowed completely by the Divine Sleuth. But he appears only in a single story, and not a very long one either. Sherlock Holmes is the man! And he is still very much the same man.

He still knows everything from all sorts of secret writings (“am myself the author of a trifling monograph upon the subject, in which I analyze one hundred and sixty separate ciphers”) to the traces left by all sorts of bicycle tires (“am familiar with forty-two different impressions left by tires. This, as you perceive, is a Dunlop”). When his work is concerned, Holmes has few scruples. He doesn’t mind becoming spuriously engaged or even a classic burglar if the case demands it. It is entirely in character for him to make an “unnecessarily dramatic reappearance” in disguise, having left Watson – of all people! – to survive and brood over his “death” for several years. His main motive is impeccably logical and very true, if very callous: “it is quite certain that you would not have written so convincing an account of my unhappy end had you not yourself thought that it was true.” He still makes fun of the law. In certain stories (I omit all titles for the benefit of those tender readers terrified of spoilers), the hapless Inspector Lestrade and the equally unfortunate Stanley Hopkins are slaughtered in spades by the Sherlockian logic. And he still drops remarks as casual as they are thought-provoking:

One should always look for a possible alternative, and provide against it. It is the first rule of criminal investigation.

Let us hear the suspicions. I will look after the proofs.

What one man can invent another can discover...

...I think there are certain crimes which the law cannot touch, and which therefore, to some extent, justify private revenge.

Once or twice in my career I feel that I have done more real harm by my discovery of the criminal than ever he had done by his crime. I have learned caution now, and I had rather play tricks with the law of England than with my own conscience. Let us know a little more before we act.

This is the same too, and it’s for my part the most fascinating thing about Sherlock Holmes. He is always willing to let the police take all the credit for his work, but he is no outright friend of the law – of any law. He knows the legal system is slow, cumbersome and deeply fallible. He is right to trust his conscience first. It’s just too bad Sherlock’s sense of justice isn’t more widespread among common mortals. Some readers, to judge from reviews, have found the moral situation in these stories rather cut and dried. But for me there is moral ambiguity about Sherlock Holmes which makes him far more compelling than he would have been otherwise.

And yet, the disappointed fans do have a small point. Two classic Holmes addictions, the violin and the cocaine, are notably less prominent in this collection. Their absence makes Sherlock slightly less interesting to me. But on the whole he is the same old charmer. It’s been a pleasure to meet him again. Whether the pleasure will be repeated in the last two collections, His Last Bow (1917) and The Case-Book (1927), remains to be seen. It will be seen shortly. ( )

This collection of short stories did not do it for me. There seemed to be something inherent lacking in it, for I was not able to absorb myself into them as the other works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. It wasn't the worst, but it definitely is not the best among his works.

2 stars. ( )