Book review of his last bow
Answers
Some Reminiscences of Sherlock Holmes
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is most famous as the creator of the character of Sherlock Holmes, and the author of 56 Holmes stories and 4 Holmes novels. Though the adventures of Mr. Holmes and his friend, companion, and chronicler, Dr. Watson, Doyle achieved fame and a degree of material success he did not get from his medical practice or from his other literary work. After the success of the novels, A Study in Scarlet and The Sign of the Four, and of Holmes’ adventures in 23 stories, Doyle decided to kill off his famous detective in a final and fatal battle with Professor Moriarty at the Reichenbach Falls in “The Final Solution.”
Royal desire (Queen Victoria was a big fan) to have more Holmes adventures resulted in Doyle first producing adventures that took place prior to the Reichenbach Falls incident, but which had not yet been published. And then, with the story, “The Empty House,” Holmes made a triumphant return. Apparently the rumors of Holmes’ death were greatly exaggerated.
Given Holmes’ popularity (Doyle continued to write Holmes stories into the 20th century), it’s not surprising that when World War I broke out, (Doyle did his patriotic duty, organizing a group of volunteers to assist in the war effort) that a young British soldier might ask Doyle whether Mr. Holmes was doing anything for the war effort. That encounter with the soldier resulted ultimately in Doyle’s penning “His Last Bow,” a story published during the war, but which is set just prior to Britain’s entry into the war, with Holmes outwitting a German spy in the months and days before Britain’s entry into the conflict on 4 August 1914.
Some Reminiscences of Sherlock Holmes
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is most famous as the creator of the character of Sherlock Holmes, and the author of 56 Holmes stories and 4 Holmes novels. Though the adventures of Mr. Holmes and his friend, companion, and chronicler, Dr. Watson, Doyle achieved fame and a degree of material success he did not get from his medical practice or from his other literary work. After the success of the novels, A Study in Scarlet and The Sign of the Four, and of Holmes’ adventures in 23 stories, Doyle decided to kill off his famous detective in a final and fatal battle with Professor Moriarty at the Reichenbach Falls in “The Final Solution.”
Royal desire (Queen Victoria was a big fan) to have more Holmes adventures resulted in Doyle first producing adventures that took place prior to the Reichenbach Falls incident, but which had not yet been published. And then, with the story, “The Empty House,” Holmes made a triumphant return. Apparently the rumors of Holmes’ death were greatly exaggerated.
Given Holmes’ popularity (Doyle continued to write Holmes stories into the 20th century), it’s not surprising that when World War I broke out, (Doyle did his patriotic duty, organizing a group of volunteers to assist in the war effort) that a young British soldier might ask Doyle whether Mr. Holmes was doing anything for the war effort. That encounter with the soldier resulted ultimately in Doyle’s penning “His Last Bow,” a story published during the war, but which is set just prior to Britain’s entry into the war, with Holmes outwitting a German spy in the months and days before Britain’s entry into the conflict on 4 August 1914.