Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Off to a Good Start

Finished reading:

A Study in Scarlet by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Genre: Detective Mystery Fiction

The story initially appeared in Beeton's Christmas Annual 1887, illustrated by D. H. Friston.  It came out in book form in 1888.

This is the first Sherlock Holmes story, and it is also where Holmes and Watson first meet.  The novel is readily available as a free E-book, and it is one of my choices for the Vintage Mystery Reading Challenge (see sidebar for link).

There are two parts.  Part one takes place in London, England, circa 1881, and part two tells of an earlier event in Utah.  The last two chapters conclude the story.

I enjoyed this introduction to the character of Sherlock Holmes and his strategy for solving a crime by "reasoning backwards".

Magazine edition cover, 1887 


War And Peace Readalong Update:  I'm beginning at the beginning again and have attended Anna Pavlovna's soirée and become re-acquainted once more with several of the families and the story's characters.  This time I am making a few notes as I read so I don't get bogged down with trying to sort out who is who.  For instance, Liza Meinen is married to Prince Andrey (aka, André) Bolkonsky and is endearingly referred to as the "little princess".  Hippolyte (French) or Ippolit (Russian), I learned, is one and the same person, son of Prince Vassily.  So, you see what I mean.  It can be a bit confusing.      
Posted by at 1:00 PM
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1 comments:

Bev Hankins said...

Love, love love Sherlock Holmes! Glad to see him as your first read. I've added your link to the review/progress page for the Vintage Challenge.

January 05, 2011 1:48 PM

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Books Read 2012

1. Half-Blood Blues/Esi Edugyan(18/01/12) A gripping and heart wrenching story.

Books Read 2011

1. A Study in Scarlet /Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (04/01/11) - a Sherlock Holmes detective mystery set in London & Utah, 19th century.
2. Light Lifting/Alexander MacLeod (06/01/11) - seven wonderful stories.
3. Nature Girl/Carl Hiaasen (25/01/11) - a humorous tale set mainly in Florida.
4. Ines of My Soul/Isabel Allende (04/02/11) - 16th century South America.
5. The Sentimentalists/Johanna Skibsrud (08/02/11)
6. The Gardens of Kyoto/Kate Walbert (22/02/11)
7. The Razor's Edge/W. Somerset Maugham (13/04/11) - first person narrative.
8. Friends, Lovers, Chocolate/Alexander McCall Smith (18/04/11) - mystery featuring Isabel Dalhousie, 2nd book in a series.
9. What I Didn't See:Stories/Karen Joy Fowler (29/04/11) - I enjoyed these unusual stories.
10. The Uncommon Reader/Alan Bennett(07/05/11) - very entertaining.
11. The End of the Affair/Graham Greene(16/05/11)
12. The Hours/Michael Cunningham(30/05/11)
13. A Midsummer Night's Dream/William Shakespeare (08/06/11) - The New Folger Library edition, annotated. Great comedy.
14. Angel Wing Splash Pattern/Richard Van Camp (02/07/11) - 5th Annual Canadian Book Challenge
15. You Went Away/Timothy Findley (03/07/11) - 5th Annual Canadian Book Challenge
16. Fierce/Hannah Holborn (15/07/11) - 5th Annual Canadian Book Challenge
17. a Song for Nettie Johnson/Gloria Sawai (29/07/11) - 5th Annual Canadian Book Challenge
18. Taft/Ann Patchett (15/12/11)
19. A Wrinkle in Time/Madeleine L'Engle (31/12/11)