About the author:
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was born in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1859. He began to write while still at university. He worked as a ship’s doctor and later opened a medical practice in Southsea, England. However, like his character Dr Watson, he didn’t find his work very absorbing and began to write novels in his spare time. Conan Doyle’s literary reputation grew rapidly, and eventually he gave up his medical career to write full-time.
Conan Doyle’s greatest literary achievement was the creation of Sherlock Holmes, a brilliant private detective. Holmes possesses amazing deductive powers and an encyclopedic knowledge of all areas of criminal interest. The adventures of Sherlock Holmes are told through the accounts of Dr Watson, Holmes’ companion in adventure.
List of main characters:
Sherlock Holmes: a brilliant private detective.
Dr John Watson: a doctor of medicine and a close friend and admirer of Sherlock Holmes.
- A Scandal in Bohemia
Wilhelm Gottsreich Sigismond von Ormstein: King of Bohemia.
Irene Adler: a beautiful opera singer.
Godfrey Norton: a handsome lawyer who marries Irene Adler.
- The Speckled Band
Helen Stoner: a 30-year-old woman who believes that her life is in danger.
Dr Grimesby Roylott: Helen Stoner’s stepfather; an angry, violent man.
- The Five Orange Pips
John Openshaw: a young man whose uncle and father died in mysterious circumstances.
Background:
- Bohemia: It was an ancient kingdom in central Europe which was divided into German and Czech-speaking provinces. In 1919, it became the western part of Czechoslovakia but ceased to exist as a province of Czechoslovakia in 1949, when the country was divided into different regions.
- Transport: In the later part of the 19th century, members of the wealthy class usually owned a horse-drawn carriage. Grooms were employed to take care of the horses, and a driver drove the carriage. The steam locomotive was invented in 1804, and by the end of the century, trains were a popular means of long-distance travel.
- The bell cord: It was used in wealthy homes to communicate with the servants’ quarters. It was a cord mounted on the wall, which was attached to wires leading to the servants’ quarters. When pulled, the bell would ring in the servants’ quarters, informing them in which room their service was required.
- The Ku Klux Klan: It is a extremely racist group that favours white supremacy. It was formed by ex-Confederate soldiers in the southern states of the USA after the Civil War (1861-1865). The movement still exists today, but its power is very limited.
