The Return of Sherlock Holmes, Arthur Conan Doyle

Introduction:  The Return of Sherlock Holmes, Arthur Conan Doyle

Arthur Conan Doyle created Sherlock Holmes, the world’s best- known detective character. In the story, ‘The Final Problem,’ in The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, the author kills off his famed detective, and the later public outcry forced him to find a way to bring him back. The Return of Sherlock Holmes is Arthur Conan Doyle’s brilliant way of bringing back the fictional detective to life.

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The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes

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Content: The Return of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle

The Return of Sherlock Holmes includes the following 13 stories:

1. The Empty House
2. The Norwood Builder
3. The Dancing Men
4. The Solitary Cyclist
5. The Priory School
6. Black Peter
7. Charles Augustus Milverton
8. The Six Napoleons
9. The Three Students
10. The Golden Pince-Nez
11. The Missing Three-Quarter
12. The Abby Grange
13. The Second Stain

In the The Return of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle, in The Empty House, someone has shot the agreeable, young man, Ronald Adair. The case stumps detectives, and Dr Watson, who is not known as a problem-solver. Watson is missing his friend Sherlock Holmes, who ‘died’ three years before at the hands of Professor Moriarty.

Along with many others who are congregated outside the home of Adair trying to figure out how someone could have shot the young man in his head, without leaving behind any clues, the doctor bumps into an old man and knocks out some books out of his hands. Although Watson retrieves the books, the old man is quite upset.

Shortly after Watson returns home, the old man appears, and we learn that he is in fact Sherlock Holmes. The reader learns about what happened on the cliff and what Holmes has done the past three years. We also learn that there was one other person present that fatal day, who also knows that Holmes is still alive. That’s why the detective has hidden – he knows that if he presented himself too early, Colonel Moran would kill him. I liked that vulnerability in Sherlock Holmes. He has appeared today because he knows that the only person who could have killed Adair without leaving a trace is Colonel Moran.

Holmes makes his presence known to flush out Moran because he knows that the man will try to kill him. Things are going according to plan when Moran chooses the same hiding spot as Watson and Holmes. But he doesn’t see them because he is so intent on killing his prey. Of course Lestrade arrests him, and once again, Holmes allows him to take the credit for solving the case.

For the professional who is interested in honing her problem skill, the story, The Priory School, is good to practice with. One of the things that made Sherlock Holmes so successful, is his power of observation. He is capable of seeing what most don’t. In this story, the 10-year-old son of a Duke has gone missing from a private school, and missing is a German teacher.

After quite a bit of searching, Holmes and Watson find the teacher dead, killed by a blow to the head. The two take time to look at all the information that they have so far, then separate the important from the unimportant. This reminds us that not every information that we collect while working on a project will be useful. It makes sense that we regularly review what we know and don’t know. By paying attention to what’s going on around him, Holmes solves the case. If the reader is not paying attention it may come as a surprise.

I found a very worthwhile lesson in ‘Black Peter,’ which is to look at alternatives before you make any decision. And in ‘Charles Augustus Milverton,’ I asked myself if it is ever justifiable to commit a crime. Milverton was a fiend, who blackmailed people. Holmes decided that he would break and enter the man’s home to secure documents intended to blackmail his client. While hiding behind the drapes, a woman kills Milverton, and neither Holmes nor Watson go to his rescue. The following morning when Inspector Lestrade asks Holmes for assistance, he says no to the lawman. Did Sherlock Holmes have any duty toward Charles Augustus Milverton?

Conclusion: The Return of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle

The Return of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle, and all the other Sherlock Holmes stories are still relevant today, because they teach us the power of observation, and how to problem solve and make better decisions.

 Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes The Return of Sherlock Holmes The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

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