A Study in Scarlet

About this issue

This novel by A. Conan Doyle follows two parallel narratives. Part I presents Dr. John Watson's return to London from the Afghan War, where he was wounded at Maiwand and subsequently suffered enteric fever. Recovering in reduced circumstances, Watson encounters young Sherlock Holmes at St. Bartholomew's Hospital laboratory. Holmes, a brilliant but eccentric chemist and anatomist, has developed a haemoglobin test for identifying blood-stains—a medico-legal innovation Holmes believes will solve countless criminal cases. The text cuts off during Holmes's discussion of criminal applications. Part II shifts to a backstory set on the Great Alkali Plain, covering "The Flower of Utah," John Ferrier, and "The Avenging Angels," with a narrative continuation by Watson. The novel thus combines detective-mystery elements in London with a parallel American frontier narrative, examining crime investigation and frontier justice.