The Boscombe Valley Mystery [short story]
by Arthur Conan Doyle 
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In The Boscombe Valley Mystery, Inspector Lestrade summons Holmes to a community in Herefordshire, where a local landowner has been murdered outdoors. The deceased's estranged son is strongly implicated. Holmes, employing his trusty magnifying glass quickly determines that a mysterious third man may be responsible for the crime, unraveling a thread involving a secret criminal past, thwarted love, and blackmail. This is the fourth of the twelve stories in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and show more was first published in the Strand Magazine in 1891. show lessTags
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Sherlock Holmes is called to Boscombe Valley in Herefordshire at the request of a young woman. A neighbor who had known her father in Australia has been killed, apparently by his son. Holmes’s client is in love with the son and believes that he is innocent. Even with all the circumstantial evidence pointing to the son’s guilt, Holmes believes the evidence may actually point to his innocence. While the outcome is predictable, Holmes is at his best as he deduces the killer’s physical characteristics and habits from the clues that everyone else has missed.
From BBC Radio 4 Extra:
When a man is murdered, his blood covered son stands accused - but the detective has his own theory.
When a man is murdered, his blood covered son stands accused - but the detective has his own theory.
From BBC Radio 4 Extra:
When a man is murdered, his blood covered son stands accused - but the detective has his own theory.
When a man is murdered, his blood covered son stands accused - but the detective has his own theory.
From BBC Radio 4 Extra:
When a man is murdered, his blood covered son stands accused - but the detective has his own theory.
When a man is murdered, his blood covered son stands accused - but the detective has his own theory.
From BBC Radio 4 Extra:
When a man is murdered, his blood covered son stands accused - but the detective has his own theory.
When a man is murdered, his blood covered son stands accused - but the detective has his own theory.
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The most famous fictional detective in the world is Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes. However, Doyle was, at best, ambivalent about his immensely successful literary creation and, at worst, resentful that his more "serious" fiction was relatively ignored. Born in Edinburgh, Doyle studied medicine from 1876 to 1881 and received his M.D. in show more 1885. He worked as a military physician in South Africa during the Boer War and was knighted in 1902 for his exceptional service. Doyle was drawn to writing at an early age. Although he attempted to enter private practice in Southsea, Portsmouth, in 1882, he soon turned to writing in his spare time; it eventually became his profession. As a Liberal Unionist, Doyle ran, unsuccessfully, for Parliament in 1903. During his later years, Doyle became an avowed spiritualist. Doyle sold his first story, "The Mystery of the Sasassa Valley," to Chambers' Journal in 1879. When Doyle published the novel, A Study in Scarlet in 1887, Sherlock Holmes was introduced to an avid public. Doyle is reputed to have used one of his medical professors, Dr. Joseph Bell, as a model for Holmes's character. Eventually, Doyle wrote three additional Holmes novels and five collections of Holmes short stories. A brilliant, though somewhat eccentric, detective, Holmes employs scientific methods of observation and deduction to solve the mysteries that he investigates. Although an "amateur" private detective, he is frequently called upon by Scotland Yard for assistance. Holmes's assistant, the faithful Dr. Watson, provides a striking contrast to Holmes's brilliant intellect and, in Doyle's day at least, serves as a character with whom the reader can readily identify. Having tired of Holmes's popularity, Doyle even tried to kill the great detective in "The Final Problem" but was forced by an outraged public to resurrect him in 1903. Although Holmes remained Doyle's most popular literary creation, Doyle wrote prolifically in other genres, including historical adventure, science fiction, and supernatural fiction. Despite Doyle's sometimes careless writing, he was a superb storyteller. His great skill as a popular author lay in his technique of involving readers in his highly entertaining adventures. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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.
Work Relationships
Is contained in
Sherlock Holmes: The Complete Novels and Stories, Vol. 1 (Bantam Classics 1/2) by Arthur Conan Doyle (indirect)
Sherlock Holmes: The Complete Novels and Stories, Vol. 1 and 2 (Bantam) by Arthur Conan Doyle (indirect)
The New Annotated Sherlock Holmes: The Short Stories, Volume 1 of 2 (The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes + The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes) by Arthur Conan Doyle (indirect)
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes [and] The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (indirect)
Las Aventuras de Sherlock Holmes ; Sherlock Holmes sigue en pie ; El archivo de Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (indirect)
A Study in Scarlet / The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes / The Hound of the Baskervilles / Sign of Four by Arthur Conan Doyle (indirect)
The Sherlock Holmes illustrated omnibus : The adventures of Sherlock Holmes, The memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, The hound of the Baskervilles, The return of Sherlock Holmes : a facsimile of the stories and the adventure as they were first published in the Strand magazine, London by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (indirect)
A Study In Scarlet, The Sign of the Four, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, The Return of Sherlock Holmes (Sherlock Holmes - Bouquin Complete works - volume 1/2) by Arthur Conan Doyle (indirect)
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, The Return of Sherlock Holmes (Classics Omnibus) by Arthur Conan Doyle (indirect)
The adventures of Sherlock Holmes ; The memoirs of Sherlock Holmes ; The return of Sherlock Holmes ; The hound of the Baskervilles ; A study in ... the Bruce-Partington plans (Masters Library) by Arthur Conan Doyle (indirect)
A Study in Scarlet / The Sign of the Four / The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes / The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur C. Doyle (indirect)
Adventures of Sherlock Holmes / Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes / The Sign Of Four by Arthur Conan Doyle (indirect)
A Study in Scarlet / The Sign of Four / The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes / The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes / The Hound of the Baskervilles (B&N Classics 1/2) by Arthur Conan Doyle (indirect)
As Aventuras de Sherlock Holmes - Um Escândalo na Boémia, O Mistério do Vale Boscombe, O Carbúnculo Azul by Arthur Conan Doyle
El problemas final de Sherlock Holmes (La liga de los pelirrojos - El misterio del valle de Boscombe) by Arthur Conan Doyle
Contains
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- The Boscombe Valley Mystery [short story]
- Original title
- The Boscombe Valley Mystery
- Alternate titles
- The Adventure of the Boscombe Valley Mystery
- Original publication date
- 1891
- People/Characters
- Sherlock Holmes; John H. Watson (M.D.); Mary Morstan (Mary Watson); James McCarthy; Charles McCarthy; William Crowder (show all 10); John Turner; Alice Turner; Inspector G. Lestrade; Patience Moran
- Important places
- Boscombe Valley, Herefordshire, England, UK; Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire, England, UK; Hatherley Farm, Boscombe Valley, Herefordshire, England, UK; Boscombe Pool, Boscombe Valley, Herefordshire, England, UK
- Related movies
- "The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes" The Boscombe Valley Mystery (1991 | IMDb)
- Original language
- English
- Canonical DDC/MDS
- 823.08721
Classifications
- Genres
- Fiction and Literature, Mystery
- DDC/MDS
- 823.08721 — Literature & rhetoric English & Old English literatures English fiction By type Genre fiction Adventure fiction Mystery fiction Detective fiction
- LCC
- PR4621 .A118 — Language and Literature English English Literature 19th century , 1770/1800-1890/1900
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 144
- Popularity
- 228,235
- Reviews
- 6
- Rating
- (3.54)
- Languages
- 6 — English, French, Norwegian, Portuguese (Brazil), Slovenian, Spanish
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 21
- ASINs
- 14
