The Case Study of Sherlock Holmes (2009) - Scholarly Commons ...

survival remained unknown to readers, and to Doyle himself, when The Hound of
Baskervilles (1902/2003) was originally published. Therefore “readers [who] had been
lost in the aftermath of Holmes‟s death flooded back to read the latest adventure”
(Duncan, 2008, p. 106). Doyle, having a loyal and well-established fan base, chose not
to publish the book as a complete novel; instead, he released his new Sherlock Holmes
tale as he did every other, in instalments. By publishing a few chapters at a time, Doyle
replicated the short story format and extended the commitment and cultivation of his
readers:
The Hound was first published as a serial in the Strand, between August 1901
and April 1902 (in the American edition, September through May). Chapters I-II
appeared together; Chapters III-VI; Chapters V-VI; Chapters VII-VIII; Chapter
IX alone; Chapters X-XI; Chapter XII alone; Chapter XIII; and part of XIV; the
remainder of XIV with XV. As soon as the final instalment had appeared, book
editions were ready. (Redmond, 2009, p. 25)
In addition to The Hound of the Baskervilles’ (1902/2003) timely publication,
“Holmes‟s profile was further raised thanks to William Gillette who was starring as
Holmes in Sherlock Holmes – A Drama in Four Acts” (Duncan, 2008, p. 106). The fact
that these two different mediums coincided, making each other more profitable,
provides evidence of early mass media integration. It also implies that the audience
wished to experience Holmes through various mediums, and that the different mediums,
or the variety of media, contributed towards the experience and cultivation of the
fandom.
Original Product: The Sign of Four images
I originally read The Sign of Four (1890/2001) after The Hound of the Baskervilles
(1902/2003); having not been very impressed with the gothic novel, I sought what was
to me at the time a lesser-known text. The Sign of Four (1890/2001) is a complete
Holmes tale. There is a man murdered in a locked room, a one legged sailor and his
pigmy sidekick hunting down a treasure chest, a boat chase along the river Thames, and
to top it all off, a damsel in distress whom Watson eventually marries. The novel,
following the success of A Study in Scarlet (1887/2006a), the first Holmes adventure,
was commissioned by “the American based Lippincott‟s Magazine . . . in 1890
[whereby Doyle] produced The Sign of Four in less than six weeks” (Davies, 2007, p.
52