Arthur Conan Doyle - The Speckled Band (Sherlock Holmes)

Sherlock Holmes today – my favourite detective of all time! 

  

There's a really interesting programme available on Radio 4 Extra right now (link below!). It's an adaptation of the story “The Speckled Band” and I find it fascinating for a number of reasons:

a) It's from 1945.

b) There's an introduction by Arthur Conan Doyle's son, Adrian Conan Doyle, which precedes the story.

c) Sherlock Holmes is voiced by Cedric Hardwicke - who, would you believe it, is the father of Edward Hardwicke, the actor who played Watson in the Granada TV series in the late 80s to 90s!

Let me just expand on point b) for a bit ...


Introduction by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s son

This is extremely fascinating, because he delves into the creation of Sherlock Holmes by his father and addresses some of the theories that have been proposed by this point in time. What’s amusing is that he seems quite piqued by most of these:

“Who was Sherlock Holmes? Since the death of my father this question has often been renewed, and in this connection I regret to add that on one or two occasions some gratuitous nonsense has been written on this subject by persons possessing no factual knowledge whatever."

The theories he seems most annoyed by are the ones claiming that Dr Joseph Bell served as the inspiration for the great detective (which actually is still one of the most popular theories circulating today, I believe), and those that claim that Arthur Conan Doyle's writing was influenced by Edgar Allen Poe. Basically, he seems to argue that Sherlock Holmes sprung solely from the imagination of his father and was in fact based largely on Arthur Conan Doyle himself. He gives loads of evidence for this too, e.g.:

•  Arthur Conan Doyle seems to have worked as a detective himself, particularly after he became famous for writing the Sherlock Holmes stories.
• As with Sherlock Holmes in the stories, Arthur Conan Doyle received threats on his life, most notably one by a criminal whom he had put into prison.
• He was able to deduce people's professions and characters from their clothing and manners in much the same manner as Holmes. 

He does give some credit to the inspiration that was provided by Dr Joseph Bell at one point, but says that it only helped foster what was already innate in his father: namely his abilities to deduce and the use of cold reason to solve problems.

  

Anyway, I just find it fascinating to listen to a recording of someone who obviously must have known Sir Arthur Conan Doyle very well! And it’s an interesting point of view on the subject! You should definitely have a listen to this if you have the time – it’s only like 5 minutes of the entire programme, and it’s right at the beginning!

 

Why I love this story - AKA a collection of awesomeness 

I have to admit, “The Speckled Band” is probably one of my favourite Holmes stories. I love locked room mysteries, and this is a particularly thrilling one because I don’t think I could ever have guessed the solution.

Besides that the story also has a number of brilliant moments in it, like when Holmes wakes Watson up early in the morning:

It was early in April in the year '83 that I woke one morning to find Sherlock Holmes standing, fully dressed, by the side of my bed. He was a late riser, as a rule, and as the clock on the mantelpiece showed me that it was only a quarter-past seven, I blinked up at him in some surprise, and perhaps just a little resentment, for I was myself regular in my habits.

"Very sorry to knock you up, Watson," said he, "but it's the common lot this morning. Mrs. Hudson has been knocked up, she retorted upon me, and I on you."

xD Holmes is such a child there! 

 

Watson: *blearily* “Huh-whaaat?”

Holmes: “I’M AWAKE. If I can’t sleep, neither will you!”

And almost as an antithesis, there is a really sweet moment later on, when Holmes really seems to worry about Watson’s safety:

"Do you know, Watson," said Holmes as we sat together in the gathering darkness, "I have really some scruples as to taking you to-night. There is a distinct element of danger."

"Can I be of assistance?"

"Your presence might be invaluable."

"Then I shall certainly come."

"It is very kind of you."

These two <3. Sometimes, they just really kill me with their subtle love for each other!

So if you haven't read it I really advise you to either go and listen to the story on Radio 4 Extra, or to read it in some form or other! I'm going to provide a link to the story below ...

Have fun!

Links

Radio 4 Extra Programme 

The Adventure of the Speckled Band (hosted on classiclit)

If you'd rather read it in print, I think this story is part of the short story collection "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" (Waterstones)

Review: How to be a Pirate

I have to admit I enjoyed the second book much more than the first one - even though I did have much fun reading the first installment, too. But here's what made How to Be a Pirate just that little bit better:

- Hiccup, the hero of the story, discovers a few hidden talents of his, and the reader gets a glimpse of the great leader that he will eventually become. I love the slow development in these books - it really feels like watching Hiccup gradually mature, it's not at all rushed, and yet Hiccup still gets his occasional moments to shine.

- I liked Stoick much better in this book - he seemed to care more (obviously) for his son, and the way he fought to rescue him from the Skullions was really touching.

- The plot just fit together really well - it's like in Harry Potter, when Harry will pick up something seemingly insignificant early on in the book, which will then turn out to be the clue to solving the mystery at the end. I love it when authors make their readers pay attention to their writing!

To sum it up: I loved the book from (almost) the beginning (it was a little bit slow to pick up) and would definitely recommend it to any child (or adult!) who wants to have some reading fun.