This read-through of A Study in Scarlet is the first Sherlock Holmes novel I have read, though I have been consuming stories about Sherlock Holmes since childhood. The Sherlock TV show featuring Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman is a notable favourite, as is the movie adaptation featuring Robert Downey Jr., especially A Game of Shadows. So I thought it was about time I read the original stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and met the real Sherlock Holmes once and for all.

I had my reservations heading into A Study in Scarlet, namely the fact it was written in the late 1880s, and therefore firmly stands as a piece of classic literature. We all know how I feel about classic literature and the omniscient perspective. Imagine my joy upon discovering that A Study in Scarlet is written in first-person through Doctor Watson’s perspective. I was beyond happy and could feel myself hooked into the tale within the first chapter. There is something about first-person, especially coming from such a knowledgable yet novice character as Watson, that makes this classic fiction so easy to digest.

This has to do with first-person perspectives, but I wanted to elaborate on the description and exposition in A Study in Scarlet, and possibly the rest of the Sherlock Holmes books. Doctor Watson is by no means a dumb man, in fact, he can hold his own in a great many topics and discussions by the sound of it. Even his elementary understanding of what Sherlock is doing when he studies the space and sets the observations into an equation is enough to see he has a strong capability to acquire knowledge and he’s very open-minded. The detail Sherlock goes into can tread the line of excessive exposition. However, due to the first-person perspective and the admiration and exploration of Sherlock as a character, it doesn’t cross the line. Sherlock is eccentric and highly focused on very minute detail, but this is balanced out by his absolute lack of knowledge outside of his fields of expertise. I don’t know about you, but a character who knows everything can get boring quite quickly, so Sherlock’s direct refusal to learn and retain any information that isn’t relevant to him is as amusing as it is endearing.

We learn so much about Sherlock and Watson in A Study in Scarlet, which is something I wasn’t able to say about characters from other classic novels I’ve read or DNFed. Even if we are learning about Sherlock through Watson’s observations and interactions with him, we are learning as much, if not more, about Watson through his reactions to Sherlock. We see how he changes through dialogue, monologue, action and reflection. We get a real sense of familiarity with the characters and feel immediately involved in the investigation, making for an engaging and emotionally responsive read.

I can see how Sherlock Holmes has been a powerful and popular character since his inception. Not only is he enigmatic, but he is magnetic and you can’t help but want to witness the near-magic of his craft. The introduction of my omnibus copy of the Sherlock Holmes works mentions that the Sherlock Holmes books are the second-most translated works of all time second to the Bible, and that Sherlock Holmes is a character renowned the world over, which isn’t difficult to believe. What struck me about this is he has been a world-famous character since before the 20th century. Imagine creating a character who is more famous than any celebrity and who has such longevity in media and entertainment.

I cannot wait to continue reading the Sherlock Holmes novels. My next read is The Sign of the Four, and I have already visually sectioned the story so my eyes aren’t daunted by the task of picking up the absolute brick of a complete collection as you see pictured.