THe Four Sherlock Holmes Novels, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

NOTE: Our local library group is having a “Summer of Sherlock.”  In June, we read Arthur and Sherlock, by Michael Sims.  (This book is about how Sir Arthur Conan Doyle created Sherlock Holmes and who were the models for the detective.)  In July, we will discuss the four novels listed below.  In August, we will discuss three current Sherlock Holmes novels authorized by the Conan Doyle Estate: Moriarty and The House of Silk, by Anthony Horowitz, and The Italian Secretary by Caleb Carr.

Characters
Sherlock Holmes Dr. John Watson
A Study in Scarlet	The Sign of the Four	The Hound of the  Baskervilles	The Valley of Fear
John Rance – constable Lestrade – detective Tobias Gregson – detective Victims: Enoch J. Drebber Joseph Stangerson John Ferrier Lucy – adopted daughter Jefferson Hope For discussion: How were the warning signs placed in the Ferrier’s home?	Gregson Lestrade Athelney Jones – police Mary Morstan Captain Morstan - father Mrs. Cecil Forrester – Mary’s employer Mrs. Hudson – housekeeper Major John Sholto Thaddeus – son Bartholomew – son The sign of the four: Jonathan Small Mahomet Singh Abdullah Khan Dost Akbar Tonga – with Small Baker Street irregulars Wiggins – leader For discussion: In this book in particular the police detectives were more prominent and took the credit for solving the crime.  Why did this not bother Sherlock more?	Sir Charles Baskerville -descendent of Hugo, murdered Mr.  Henry Baskerville – son of Charles’ 2nd brother Stapleton – son of Rodger, Charles’ 3rd brother Beryl – wife John Barrymore – butler Eliza – wife Selden – Notting Hill murderer, escaped, Eliza’s brother John Mortimer Mr. Frankland – neighbor, always filing law suits Hound – phosphorus on mouth to mimic flames	Dr. Moriarty Inspector MacDonald White Mason – local officer Sergeant Wilson – Sussex police John Douglas – Birlstone Manor a.k.a. Birdy Edwards – Pinkerton, also John McMurdo Ivy - 2nd wife Cecil Barker Ames – butler Mrs. Allen – housekeeper Ted Baldwin – bicyclist In America: Ancient Order of Freemasons #341 (Scowrers) Councillor Jack McGinty John McMurdo Brother Morris Ted Baldwin - rival for Ettie Mike Scanlon – McMurdo’s roommate Shafter – boarding house Ettie - daughter

For Discussion:

1. Sherlock felt that his skill as a detective was because he could reason backwards (analytically).  On the other hand, being able to reason forward (synthetically) was more useful in everyday life (A Study in Scarlet, Part 2, Chapter 7).   Do you agree?  When would each type of thinking be useful?
2. In The Sign of the Four, Sherlock listed skills necessary for a good detective.  How did he exhibit these skills?
1. Never guess.  “It is a shocking habit – destructive to the logical faculty” (chapter 1).
2. Never overlook the simple things.  “It is just these very simple things which are extremely liable to be overlooked” (chapter 10).
3. Eliminate all wrong answers to determine correct one. “Eliminate all other factors, and the one which remains must be the truth” (chapter 1).
4. Examine objects used every day to learn about the person. (chapter 1)
5. Also, in The Valley of Fear, Sherlock said he liked to be in the place where the crime happened to see if he could learn anything from the atmosphere.  “I’m a believer in the genius loci” (Part 1, chapter 6). 
3. Referring back to learning about a person by examining what they use every day, what would the things you use and touch every day tell Sherlock about you?
4. Many mystery writers include a red herring, false clue, to throw off the reader.  Were there any red herrings in the novel you read?
5. Three of the four stories (nor Hound of the Baskervilles) almost had two separate stories, one about the crime and Sherlock Holmes’ detective work and the second the back story of the crime.  Did you like this approach?
6. In The Sign of the Four, Sherlock restated a premise by Winwood Reade that “as an individual man is an insoluble puzzle, in the aggregate he becomes a mathematical certainty” (chapter 10).   Do you agree?  Were there examples in this novel or the other three?  What about in our current world?
7. If you read Arthur and Sherlock, by Michael Sims, how did that information influence your reading of the four novels?
8. If the novels were published today would they be any different?

*****

First Semester Success: Learning Strategies  and Motivation for Your First Semester (or Any Semester) of College, by Dr. Arden B. Hamer, is available at amazon.com, wordassocciattion.com and barnesandnoble.com.  Click on the upper right link.

The Heirs, by Susan Rieger

REVIEW:  This was a great read!  I enjoyed every minute of it and, when not reading, was longing to get back into the book.  The author created very interesting and complex characters who I wanted to learn more about.  At times, the story line jumped over a several years span in a chapter and, in one case, on one page, but due to the skill of the author I was always able to follow and never got lost.  There was only one instance where I was confused and that was when wives changed from the beginning of the story to the obituary without any explanation that I found, but this did not impact my enjoyment at all.  The author did an amazing job of tying all of the various story lines together.  Sometimes starting a new chapter (all of the chapter titles are the characters’ names) I would wonder how this was all going to fit together, but it always did and masterfully so.  I highly recommend this book, especially for book groups.  It will lead to interesting and meaningful discussions.  I received a complimentary copy of the book for this review.  

Characters
Falkes	Others
Rupert Eleanor Harry – law professor, Columbia, “the blurter”, affair with colleague Lea – wife Will – Editor, Random House; talent agent Francine – wife Mary - daughter Sam – scientist, MD/ PhD Andrew – partner, separated Gemma – daughter with Susanna Jack – jazz trumpeter, music always came first, could not play when not happy Katherine – wife Ingrid - daughter Tom, federal prosecutor Caroline – wife Lila – daughter, adopted age three	Edward and Virginia Phipps – Eleanor’s parents Marina Cantwell – affair with Edward Louisa - daughter Susanna Goffe – Sam’s best friend since childhood Eleanor’s previous boyfriends: Carlo Benedetti – lawyer Dr. Jim Cardozo Anne Lehman – married Jim Cardozo Ethel – mother Vera Wolinski Hugh and Iain – sons Hannah Bigelow – Looking for lost brother, Anders, four years after Rupert’s death Helen Sonnegaard – late mother Dominic Byrne – Will’s tutor at Cambridge

 For discussion:

NOTE: The page numbers are from the hardback edition.

1. Would you be charmed or annoyed with Ethel Lehman’s endless use of quotes?  Why?
2. On pages 98 and 99 Eleanor told Will that when husbands buy gifts for their wives they are either really buying what they think their mothers would like or what they themselves would like.   She called this “The old spousal gift fallacy.”   Do you agree?  What about wives buying gifts for their husbands gifts?
3. Why did Eleanor set up a trust for Vera?   Do you think Hugh and Iain are Rupert’s sons?
4. Discuss the benefits and negatives of being rude:
1. Rupert was rude all of his life and people did not take offense.
2. On page 222, Eleanor said that she was going to be sixty and that she was going to stop being so accommodating and start being rude because, “Rudeness is sometimes the only proper response.”
3. On page 229, when Rupert was dying Eleanor decided to temporarily give up her “budding rudeness” because they needed the kindness of so many people.
4. Also on page 229 Eleanor reflected that rudeness grows “exponentially with each eruption.”
5. Do you think Louisa was Eleanor’s half-sister by Marina Cantwell and Edward?  Why?
6. What were your thoughts about Eleanor as the story unfolded?  On the one hand, she was a dedicated wife and mother but on the other she was secretly meeting Jim at the movies.
7. Discuss the five sons and their differences.   For example, Harry was called “the blurter” because he said what he thought without any filters. Do you think he should have been able to control these impulses?
8. What do you think your reaction would have been to Vera’s letter about her two sons being Rupert’s children?  
9. It seemed like most of the men in the novel were either in love with or entranced by Eleanor.  Why?
10. What part did Dominic Byrne play in the story?  He only appeared twice, once when Will was at Cambridge (page 108) and at the end when he wrote a letter to Eleanor telling her he was getting married and implying that he was always in love with her but she would not have him (page 244).
11. What did you think about the ending?  What will happen next?

*****

First Semester  Success: Learning  Strategies and Motivation for Your First Semester (or Any Semester) of College, by Dr. Arden B. Hamer, is available at amazon.com, wordassociation.com and barnesannoble.com   Click on the upper right  link.