The original short stories of Sherlock Holmes

Written by: Pramadha Mohana, IX D, Delhi Public School, Nacharam, Hyderabad.
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This summer, when I was looking for a good book to read, I stumbled upon “The Original Short Stories of Sherlock Holmes”, taking me back to the time when I had had my first acquaintance with Mr. Sherlock Holmes. My first Holmes‘story, I think, was the case of the Red-Headed League, which I had read when I was about 9 years old.

Remembering this book again was a huge achievement in itself, and not wanting to break the chain I had started so long ago, I re-read “The adventures of Sherlock Holmes” and soon read the other six sequels in the series.

With a deerstalker cap, cape-backed overcoat and pipe, Sherlock Holmes needs no introduction. For years, Sherlock Holmes has amazed readers with his shrewd and perceptive temperament. And evidently, there is not much to be said for Dr. Watson too, except for the fact that he is as devoted to Holmes as I could ever be.
Moving on, the narrative and story approach is so compelling, that at one stage, I wished if I myself could be a part the story, assisting Holmes and admiring his dexterity and powerful instinct.

By the time I was halfway through, I had begun to imagine Holmes as some kind of a superhero who can solve the most taxing of cases presented before his caliber. But every so often, I discovered stories where I realized that even master detectives like Holmes do fail to deliver as he did in “The yellow face” or “The Greek interpreter “.

This had left me feeling quite outlandish, as I would have rather preferred an exaggerated and overdone image of Sherlock Holmes than see him fail in front of his subordinates.

Next, the finish in “Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes” had me quite shaken and bowled over. I suddenly experienced what millions of mystery buffs had experienced before me, reading of Holmes’ ‘death’ in “The final problem”. The fact that Holmes was just fictional did not help and it hurt to know that his long and incredible career was just ‘over’.

As Watson puts it in “The Adventure of the Empty House”, “….Sherlock Holmes was standing smiling at me across my study table. I rose to my feet, stared at him for some seconds in utter amazement, and then it appears that I must have fainted for the first and the last time in my life…”

However, little did I know what I was in for, in the next book “the Return of Sherlock Holmes”, where Doyle had resurrected Holmes in the most idealistic and yet pragmatic way. Considering that Doyle had meant to kill Holmes, and had only brought him back to life, because of the public outrage in 1893, I was impressed. That is exactly why I recommend that everyone must read the Sherlock Holmes series.

As for me, I do not know if it is my love for Sherlock Holmes that made me appreciate Sir Doyle’s writing, or it is the other way round. Either way, I have immensely enjoyed this study in scarlet and will forever prize these stories in remembrance of the genius that is Sherlock Holmes.