The Detective Story Genre

In this essay I will be analysing: The Speckled Band, The Red-Headed

League, and The Blue Carbuncle by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. I will be

showing and comparing the plots of all three stories, the settings,

the structure, and language used, characteristics of Holmes and

Watson, and my own conclusion. All three stories were written in the

1890s.Crime writing was very popular in the 19th century, people found

it to be very entertaining. It all started with a man called Edgar

Allan Poe, he wrote the very first detective story “The Murders in the

Rue Morgue”. Poe was a great inspiration to Doyle; he was the one who

made Doyle what he is today. Doyle just loved Poe’s writing and he

used Poe as a model when he set out to write detective stories

himself. Detective stories then began in the middle nineteenth century

when police forces organised in U.S., France and England. They were

then published in magazines in instalments.

The main plots of the three stories all have one thing in common and

that is that they are all mysteries. The mystery for “The Speckled

Band” is how and why Julia Stoner really died. The story starts with

Holmes waking up Watson because a client (Helen Stoner) has arrived at

221B Baker Street early in the morning. Helen Stoner has a case for

Holmes and she tells him that she is afraid because her sister Julia

died in mysterious circumstances. Holmes and Watson travel to Stoke

Moran, Surrey to solve how Julia had died and why there is a low

whistle in middle of the night which had been the herald of Julia’s

death. Holmes and Watson start to examine Julia’s bedroom and find

that she was killed by a snake which Dr Roylott had been training for

it to poison people to death. Dr Roylott is then ma...

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...lmes methods, but as Holmes always points out he never observes.

Overall I think that the 3 short stories: The Speckled Band, The

Red-Headed League, and The Blue Carbuncle work as great detective

stories because as you keep reading they seem to interest you more so

you never out them down. The stories have become so great because most

of the characters are based on real people who have a strong

connection to the character. Between all three stories I liked The

Speckled Band more because it seems more interesting and the case that

needs to be solved is very mysterious due to the strange death. The

title is even intriguing; it makes you want to read it. When you read

up to the part where Holmes finds out who is killing everyone that

just makes you ask yourself so many questions as to why that happened

so its more exciting and you just have to keep reading.