The Greeley tribune., 1906-06-14
SHERLOCK HOLMES.
Continued from preceding rese).


of publisher were suddenly to stride
in and make me n bid of forty shil-
lings or so for the lc. When the
book at last fell into the hands of Mr..
Andrew Lang. then acting for Messrs.
Iongmans. Green \ Company. the
success of Micah Clarke was assured.
and its authors literary career placed
on firmer footing. The Sign of
the Four followed in 1889, in which
story Sherlock Holmes, who had made
his bow to the public in "a Study in
Scarlet" reappeared and increased DR..
Doyle's rising reputation. His he..rt.
however was in the historical novel.
and in 1890 he followed up the success
| of Micah with "The White Company"
| in the preparation of which he read
French and English, dealing with the
| fourteenth century in England. His
| delight in the work is expressed in his
own words: ''To write such books"
he once said, speaking of Micah Clarke
and The White Company, lone must
have an enthusiasm for the age about
which he is writing. He must think 1t
i a great one. and then he must go de-
/ liberat ately to work and reconstruct it.
( Then is his q splendid joy"
STUDY IN SCARLET FOR S125oo.
However. DR.. Doyle may prefer to
write historical romances, and what
ever his personal estimate of his great
detective may be. the fact remains
1 that in Sherlock Holmes he has
created character whose exploits are
as familiar as household words. and
who has entered into the very fibre
of Anglo-Saxon life and literature. 1t
is actually said that at times DR..
Doyle has expressed wish that 0r.
Watson had never met Sherlock
thought so little of "a Study in Scar
let" the story in which Sherlock
Holmes first appeared, that he sold 1t
outright for S125. The value Of Cher
lock Holmes has gone up since those
days. however.
DIR. Doyle acknowledges some ir-
debtedness to Dupin, the detective in
Poe's short stories. "The Murders in
the Rue Morgue" and "The Purloined
Letter" This is the more interesting
Scarlet" Sherlock Holmes is made to
speak rather contemptuously of
Dupin's skill and acumen. To quote
DR.. Doyle again: ''In work which con-
sists in the drawing of detectives
there are only one or two qualit g
which one can use, and an author is
forced to bark back upon them con-
stantly. so that every detective must
really resemble every other detec'
to a greater or less extent. There is
no great originality required In de.
yising or constructing such man
and the only possible originality which
one can get into a story about detec.
tive is in giving him original plots
and problems to solve. as in his equip
ment there must be of necessity ar
alert acuteness of mind to grasp Is
and the relation which each of then
bears to the other
CONSTRUCTION OF SHERLOCK.
DIR. Doyle went to work, therefore
to build up scientific system in whicl
everything might be logically reasoned
out. Where Sherlock Holmes differed
from his predecessors w.s that he haL
an immense fund of exact knowledge
upon which to draw. in consequence
of his previous scientific education
He was practical. he was sy ematic
he was logical. and his success il
the detection of crime was to a the
result, not of chance or luck, but OF
his characteristic qualities. "Witl
this idea" says DR.. Doyle, 81 wrote
book on the lines I have indicated
and produced "A Study in Scarlet
That was the first appearance of Sher
lock: but he did not arrest much at
tention. and no one recognized him as
being anything in particular. About
three years later, howe p. I was
asked to do a small shilling book for
Lippincotts Magazine. which pub
fishes, as You know, a complete story
in each number. I didn't know what
to write about, and the thought oc
Cured to me. why not try to rig ur
the same chap again?' did it. and the
result was The Sign of the Four
Although the criticisms We're f: vor
able. l don't think that even then Sher
lock attracted much attention to his
Individuality" But this shows Mr.
Doyle's modesty.
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