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Frances Li
Professor Haas
Writing 39B
24 August 2014
Conan Doyle and the Detective Genre: Character and Plot
Nowadays, detective and case solving stories can be seen throughout a bookstore. When
and how did this genre became a popular form of literature? The author of the book An
Introductory to the Detective Story, Professor Leroy Panek traces its origin back to the late
Victorian Era when detective first became an occupation (8). He believes that the incompetence
of the police force and public favor toward heroic figures are reasons that gave rise to the
detective genre (11). Furthermore, George Dove, the author of the book The Reader and the
Detective Story hold a similar view that the detective is the center of the story; he plays an
important role in pushing forward the plot (89). With these elements embedded in his writings,
famous Victorian author Sir Conan Doyle, who wrote fifty-six short stories and four novels
about detective Sherlock Holmes, is indisputably one of the most successful writers and greatest
contributor of the genre. Some of his short stories such as Silver Blaze, and A Scandal of
Bohemia from The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes still carry great value up to this day. His
reasons of success rest in the formulated structure of the stories and in the charisma of the genius
detective Sherlock Holmes.
One of the special characteristics of Sherlock Holmes is that he was modeled after
Doyles medical school teacher Joseph Bell who was a consulting surgeon. Similarly, in the first
novel A Study in Scarlet, Holmes introduced himself to Watson as the worlds only consulting
detective. Many traits of the detective are similar to that of a doctor or a teacher. For example
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Holmes likes to deduce information from a person who he first met. Dr. Bell too, likes to predict
his patients illness before they tell him anything (Panek, 84). Holmes habit of finding the
answer to a puzzle came from the physicians nature to make logical diagnoses when they face
an un-clear disease (85). Holmes also has the trait of a teacher which is shown in almost every
case where he explains his conclusion to Watson. Often he will post a question for Watson to
answer and guide his thoughts. Like in the short story Silver Blaze where they were
investigating in the case of a missing champion horse, Holmes complimented: Excellent,
Watson, excellent! when Watson interrupted him to ask whether the stable-boy locked the door
behind him. In Doyles stories, Holmes is often teaching and explaining to Watson which shows
his superiority in position. A prototype of Sherlock Holmes based on a doctor also gave the
character a highly scientific root, as well as a perfect baseline for Doyle to start his imagination.
Panek said in his book: Anyone could have combined Poe, Gaboriau, and the sensation
novelists to form the next step in the evolution of the detective story. Not everyone, however,
could have added Joseph Bell to the formula (84). The character that Doyle had built up since
the beginning resembling his own medical mentor is one thats destined to be unique.
Sherlock Holmes has always been an appealing detective to the readers because of both
the great intellectual talents he possesses and the wide range of skills he secretly has. In her
book Mastermind: How to Think like Sherlock Holmes, author Maria Konnikova discussed how
the Holmes System is different from the Watsons System, a system that we employ
everyday (2). Holmes has an extraordinary skill of knowing what others dont know. In many
cases, he was able to correctly deduce the identity and personal information of his client with a
glance. He explained to Watson that the trick is just elementary, and begins with basic
observation (14). For example in the Scandal of Bohemia, Holmes was able to deduce the
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background of his client before they even met just by looking at his clients letter. By the time he
sat down with the client face to face, he has already gathered enough details to confidently
declare the man as the King of Bohemia. Konnikova calls this observation skill which Holmes
can perform at the utmost degree as mindfulness, being aware of the small details that normal
people omit unknowingly. Other than his exceeding ability in deduction, the character that Doyle
created is also an expert in a wide range of areas such as boxing, and gun-shooting. For example,
literary critic T.J. Binyon pointed out: In A Study in Scarlet, Watson describes Holmess
knowledge of literature as non-existent; yet Holmes is soon quoting Goethe and Flaubert,
quizzing Watson on his knowledge of Carlyle, and recommending to him a book he describes as
one of the most remarkable ever penned, Winwood Reades Martyrdom of Man. The reader
never sees the process which Holmes acquired his skills but only the extraordinary outcome of
his intelligence (10). Panek would surely agree on this for he commented in his book: He
embodies almost everyone's fantasy of being accomplished without effort (93). The genius
detective that Conan Doyle has sculpted out attracts readers with his seemingly omniscient
deduction skills and his unlimited possibilities that are only bounded by the authors creativity.
Literary critic George Dove attributes the popularity of Doyles detective stories to the
formulated structure that can be found in most of the works. This pattern in plot maintains an
entertaining atmosphere for the readers. Dove believes that detective stories are often relaxing to
read because: from a readers perspective no reading is completely new. And in this sense,
every reading is a rereading (6). In most stories, the story begins with a mystery thats
impossible to explain. Following the development of the plot, there will be new leads and
evidence which will eventually lead to the answer. This pattern is especially apparent in Doyles
detective stories. For example in The Sign of Four, Holmes and Watson came upon a case of
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mysterious pearls received by their client Ms. Morstan. The pearl leads them to a murder case in
the Sholtos family which complicated the puzzle to a peak. Then Sherlock Holmes, the powerful
detective, uses his unique methods and deductions to follow the leads and eventually find the
murderer Tonga, an islander from the Andaman Island. At last, the puzzle is untangled when the
whole story is told by the other criminal, Jonathan Small who was deceived by General Sholto
and attempts to recover his stolen treasure. A similar plot can also be seen in the Silver Blaze.
Holmes first recounted the mysterious case to Watson but no conclusions were made. As he
progress in investigating the case, he finds new leads which eventually helped him solve the case
and retrieve the horse. At the end when the matter settles, Holmes explains everything to Watson
and the horse owner on their way back to London. In simple words, these stories all follows the
structure where a case comes up, Holmes collects evidence to help him make deductions, and
eventually he solves it along with explaining it to the reader through Watson. Doyles detective
stories are predictable in the sense that the readers are insured that the puzzles will be solved
(Dove, 7). The plots of these stories are based on puzzle-solving but are brought to a more
appealing level by its unique the characters. Doyles consistence in using such a formulated
structure led to the establishment of his own style and earned favors from the many readers.
The detective genre has been popular for hundreds of years beginning with Conan Doyle
who set the standard with his popular works. The unique characteristics of Sherlock Holmes and
the stress-free structure Doyle employed are evidently strong reasons for the popularity of
detective stories. Like T. J. Binyon wrote in the Murder Will Out: Holmes has given society its
popular image of a detective: a tall, thin, eagle-eyed figure in cloak and deerstalker, with a
magnifying glass in one hand and pipe in the otherAny future great detective would have to be
sharply differentiated from Holmes in method, appearance, eccentricity, or even nationality (11).
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The detective image Doyle created along with the puzzle solving plot have been planted deeply
in the genre itself. They have guided many generations of detective stories and are still widely
accepted in todays social context.




















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WORKS CITED
Binyon, T.J. "Murder Will Out": The Detective in Fiction. Oxford: Oxford University Press,
1989. Print.
Dove, George N. The Reader and the Detective Story. Bowling Green, OH: Bowling Green State
University Popular Press, 1997. Print.
Doyle, Arthur Conan. The Sign of the Four. Seattle: Amazon Digital Services, 2013. Kindle
eBook. Online.
Doyle, Arthur Conan. "Adventure 1: A Scandal in Bohemia." The Adventures of Sherlock
Holmes. Lit2Go Edition. 1892. Web. <http://etc.usf.edu/lit2go/32/the-adventures-of-
sherlock-holmes/345/adventure-1-a-scandal-in-bohemia/>. July 26, 2014.
Doyle, Arthur Conan. "Adventure 1: Silver Blaze." The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes. Lit2Go
Edition. 1894. Web. <http://etc.usf.edu/lit2go/40/the-memoirs-of-sherlock-
holmes/573/adventure-1-silver-blaze/>. July 27, 2014.
Konnikova, Maria. Mastermind: How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes. New York: Viking, 2013.
Print.
Panek, Leroy. An Introduction to the Detective Story. Bowling Green, OH: Bowling Green State
University Popular Press, 1987. Print.

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