HomeGroupsTalkMoreZeitgeist
Search Site
This site uses cookies to deliver our services, improve performance, for analytics, and (if not signed in) for advertising. By using LibraryThing you acknowledge that you have read and understand our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Your use of the site and services is subject to these policies and terms.

Results from Google Books

Click on a thumbnail to go to Google Books.

The Valley of Fear (The Penguin English…
Loading...

The Valley of Fear (The Penguin English Library) (original 1915; edition 2014)

by Arthur Conan Doyle (Author)

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingConversations / Mentions
3,009794,529 (3.72)1 / 133
Classic Literature. Fiction. Mystery. HTML:

The Valley of Fear is the last Sherlock Holmes novel by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, first published in book form in 1915. Loosely based on the activities of the secret Irish organization that was the Molly Maguires and of undercover Pinkerton agent James McParland, the novel is split into two parts. Firstly Holmes investigates a murder and finds that the body belongs to a different man. In the second part, the story of the man who was originally thought to have been the murder victim is given.

.… (more)
Member:judeandmartin
Title:The Valley of Fear (The Penguin English Library)
Authors:Arthur Conan Doyle (Author)
Info:Penguin Classics (2014), Edition: UK ed., 232 pages
Collections:Your library
Rating:
Tags:fiction, crime

Work Information

The Valley of Fear by Arthur Conan Doyle (1915)

  1. 20
    Red Harvest by Dashiell Hammett (JonathanGorman)
    JonathanGorman: The Valley of Fear reminded me a lot of Red Harvest and I can't but help to wonder if Hammett had read Valley of Fear. (At the least they probably draw from some of the same inspirations.
  2. 20
    A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle (hpfilho)
  3. 02
    The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett (benmartin79)
Loading...

Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book.

Group TopicMessagesLast Message 
 Baker Street and Beyond: the valley of fear3 unread / 3mbarresi3, September 2009

» See also 133 mentions

English (67)  Spanish (3)  Italian (2)  French (2)  Greek (1)  Portuguese (Brazil) (1)  Dutch (1)  Portuguese (Portugal) (1)  Swedish (1)  All languages (79)
Showing 1-5 of 67 (next | show all)
I don’t know if it were me or the book, but I had little idea of what was going on after chapter 1 😂 something something freemasons? ( )
  Amzzz | Feb 10, 2024 |
The second half was a bit slow but I enjoyed the ending. ( )
  Dances_with_Words | Jan 6, 2024 |
I went into "The Valley of Fear" hesitantly, as I'd heard that it was the dud of the canon. Well, I can't say I agree...

The first half of the book is a satisfying little mystery. It's certainly clear that Conan Doyle was bored with Holmes by now, as he continued to fill the gaps in the timeline rather than further the adventures, and indeed he spends as much time with other characters as he does with the formerly addicted detective. However, the author's ability to write the Holmes/Watson relationship has never been smoother, and the opening scenes between them are delightful. The characters and setting of the mystery are all interesting enough. However, pretty much every trope, clue and element of the solution has been used in a previous work, suggesting to me that Conan Doyle probably should have stopped after "The Hound of the Baskervilles".

The second half, meanwhile, is a very enjoyable story. Unfortunately, it doesn't feature Holmes or Watson or - for that matter - the other elements which are referred to in the opening chapter, and which I assumed would play a role. Also - as in a few of the short stories - Conan Doyle's attempts to write authentic American and gangster dialogue comes off as both lazy and forced. Again, nothing here is new: the secret society, the romantic melodrama, the sometimes-awkward exposition. Indeed, the novel's entire structure is reminiscent of the first two novels, only I'd argue "Valley of Fear" bests both of them. It's easily more believable than the ludicrous [b:The Sign of Four|608474|The Sign of Four (Sherlock Holmes, #2)|Arthur Conan Doyle|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1299346921s/608474.jpg|2922650], and much better written than the at-times ponderous [b:A Study in Scarlet|102868|A Study in Scarlet (Sherlock Holmes, #1)|Arthur Conan Doyle|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1266472643s/102868.jpg|1997473].

In closing, no: there's nothing new here. And if you're reading the canon in order, you'll probably be annoyed by the promise of a follow-up to earlier stories which is never taken up. For newcomers to Holmes, I'd suggest reading the short stories and then [b:The Hound of the Baskervilles|8921|The Hound of the Baskervilles|Arthur Conan Doyle|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255670340s/8921.jpg|3311984]. After that, if you're still craving Holmes, this might be an enjoyable - if unsatisfying - dessert. ( )
  therebelprince | Oct 24, 2023 |
Like A Study in Scarlet, this novella is in two parts—the mystery being solved by Holmes and the backstory of the principle character in the mystery. Each part has a bit of a twist near the end. The mystery section is interesting enough, though doesn’t stand out much from the others I’ve read so far. I was spoiled on the twist (people seem to care a lot less about spoiler tags and warnings when leaving a low rating), so it’s difficult to say how I would have felt about it. It didn’t seem particularly inspired, that’s all I can really say. The backstory portion I found interesting and unnecessarily long in turns. It’s very difficult for me to get into the head of someone who is so brutal and uncaring. The twist, though, was probably one of the most surprising twists I’ve read. I did not see it coming and mentally applauded Doyle for the misdirect. I raised the story at least half a star, maybe a full star, just because of that twist.

I have to say that screen writers over the years have really done a number with Moriarty. I am sure I’m not the only person who has read these stories after seeing and hearing about Holmes over the years and imagining Moriarty as a dastardly foil for the great detective, only to realize that book Moriarty is nothing compared to his on-screen counterparts. This book had even less Moriarty than the short story in which he was introduced (“The Final Problem” in The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes), and now that I’ve read both stories with the infamous villain in them, I really can’t believe how big of a deal the character became. We really only know he’s brilliant because we’re told he is. There’s no proof given; Sherlock says he’s a criminal mastermind, so that’s all we need to make up stories about his treachery. Anyway, all of that aside, this was a more memorable Holmes story for me, so that’s something (though it has nothing to do with Moriarty). ( )
  Kristi_D | Sep 22, 2023 |
"Well, Holmes," I murmured, "have you found anything out?"
He stood beside me in silence, his candle in his hand. Then the tall, lean figure inclined towards me. "I say, Watson," he whispered, "would you be afraid to sleep in the same room with a lunatic, a man with softening of the brain, an idiot whose mind has lost its grip?"
"Not in the least," I answered in astonishment.
"Ah, that's lucky," he said, and not another word would he utter that night. ( )
  Jon_Hansen | Aug 14, 2023 |
Showing 1-5 of 67 (next | show all)
no reviews | add a review

» Add other authors (108 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Doyle, Arthur Conanprimary authorall editionsconfirmed
Doyle, Arthur Conanmain authorall editionsconfirmed
Bolen, JohnNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Del Buono, OresteContributorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Edwards, Owen DudleyEditorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Gallone, MariaTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Judge, PhoebeNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Orbik, GlenCover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Timson, DavidNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed

Is contained in

Has the adaptation

Is expanded in

Has as a student's study guide

You must log in to edit Common Knowledge data.
For more help see the Common Knowledge help page.
Canonical title
Original title
Alternative titles
Original publication date
People/Characters
Important places
Important events
Related movies
Epigraph
Dedication
First words
"I am inclined to think –" said I.
Quotations
Last words
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
Disambiguation notice
The Valley of Fear is the fourth and final Sherlock Holmes novel by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The story was first published in the Strand Magazine between September 1914 and May 1915, and the first book edition was published in New York on 27 February 1915.
Publisher's editors
Blurbers
Original language
Canonical DDC/MDS
Canonical LCC

References to this work on external resources.

Wikipedia in English (3)

Classic Literature. Fiction. Mystery. HTML:

The Valley of Fear is the last Sherlock Holmes novel by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, first published in book form in 1915. Loosely based on the activities of the secret Irish organization that was the Molly Maguires and of undercover Pinkerton agent James McParland, the novel is split into two parts. Firstly Holmes investigates a murder and finds that the body belongs to a different man. In the second part, the story of the man who was originally thought to have been the murder victim is given.

.

No library descriptions found.

Book description
Sherlock Holmes, investigating an English country house murder, uncovers the grim story of... The Valley of Fear

In this mining valley in the United States a secret society made life a nightmare.

Cold-blooded murder of women and children...

Intimidation...

Two men, bitter rivals in love...

One man broke this regime of terror. Hatred and revenge followed him across the Atlantic to his English home.

But in the final sequel to these events, Sherlock Holmes sees the hand of that criminal genius, Professor Moriarty!
Haiku summary

Legacy Library: Arthur Conan Doyle

Arthur Conan Doyle has a Legacy Library. Legacy libraries are the personal libraries of famous readers, entered by LibraryThing members from the Legacy Libraries group.

See Arthur Conan Doyle's legacy profile.

See Arthur Conan Doyle's author page.

Current Discussions

None

Popular covers

Quick Links

Rating

Average: (3.72)
0.5
1 7
1.5 3
2 40
2.5 15
3 170
3.5 48
4 251
4.5 9
5 132

Penguin Australia

2 editions of this book were published by Penguin Australia.

Editions: 0141035447, 0241952972

Tantor Media

3 editions of this book were published by Tantor Media.

Editions: 1400100402, 1400109450, 1400115167

Recorded Books

An edition of this book was published by Recorded Books.

» Publisher information page

Urban Romantics

2 editions of this book were published by Urban Romantics.

Editions: 1909175692, 1909175307

 

About | Contact | Privacy/Terms | Help/FAQs | Blog | Store | APIs | TinyCat | Legacy Libraries | Early Reviewers | Common Knowledge | 203,242,171 books! | Top bar: Always visible