Conan Doyle, Arthur - A Study in Scarlet

“A Study in Scarlet” is the first Sherlock Holmes’ story. It was published in 1887 in Beeton's Christmas Annual and at first it Doyle didn’t reach success, his novel was unnoticed, but the second novel “The Sign of Four” published 1890 in Lippincott's Monthly Magazine went viral.
Arthur Conan Doyle had invented a new literary genre based on investigations in the Victorian era.

This novel begins in 1881 when Dr John Watson met an old friend, Stamford, in London. John Watson has just come back from Afghanistan, he was forced to leave because he had an injury, and he was looking for a place to leave. Stamford took Watson to St. Bartholomew’s hospital because he told him that he has friend who is also looking for an apartment: he is Sherlock Holmes. Sherlock Holmes was doing some strange chemical experiments and as soon as Watson arrived, Holmes guessed much information about Watson’s, who was of course astonished, and they decided to share an apartment at 221B Baker Street. Holmes revealed that he is a consulting detective and he received a message from Scotland Yard, they were investigating on a murder. Holmes observed the crime scene; the male corps has been already identified: he is Enoch Drebber, but there is a word written in blood the wall. This word is “Rache”, which in German means revenge and Sherlock Holmes was the only one who understood the real meaning because Scotland Yard and Lestrade, who is the most important detective of Scotland Yard thought it was an anagram. In the crime scene there was a wedding ring, which Sherlock Holmes used to find out who was the murderer. He bought the same ring and he wrote a message on a newspaper. An old woman replied to this message she says that the ring belonged to her daughter and Sherlock Holmes gives her the duplicate and follows her, but she took a cab and she disappears. Scotland Yard arrested a suspect but in the meantime another man was killed, he was Stangerson and above his body there was the same written “Rache”. Sherlock Holmes found out that the murderer was the cab driver: Jefferson Hope who forced his victims to swallow a pill, one was harmless and the other was full with poison.

At this point of the story there is a flashback, and the complete story is told. The main characters of the story are John Ferrier and a girl: Lucy. There were part of the pioneers but they were the only survivors who were rescued by the Mormons. Lucy wants to marry Jefferson Hope but the community doesn’t want Lucy to get married with Jefferson because he is not Mormon. John and Lucy organised to escape through the Salk Lake Mountains but during the journey John was killed and Lucy was forced to married with Drebber. Drebber and Stangerson wanted to marry Lucy but she was in love with Jefferson Hope. Some months after Lucy died and Jefferson Hope started to look for Drebber and Stangerson, as soon as he arrived to London he found out that they were there, and he decided to kill them. Jefferson Hope wrote the name “Rache” because he wanted revenge, and in fact he killed both of them. He was arrested and he died from his aneurysm the night before the trial. In the end Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson went back to their apartment in 221B Baker Street and Sherlock Holmes, who solved the case didn’t have any reward.