The chapters in question were literally forced into the novel -- and were from a failed attempt at a play that Conan Doyle had earlier written. In that play, the hero was the cliched "civilized Briton" in the cliched uncivilized world -- in this case, Dr. John Watson. The play was more or less the standard *Riders of the Purple Sage* plot (Watson saves the innocent maiden from the evil Moons) and did not include the character Sherlock Holmes. SPOLER ALERT! The Utah chapters of "A Study in Scarlet" (without which, the short novel would have been merely a long short story) changed the ending in that the hero (by now, an American whose name I forget) fails to save the maiden and he becomes the murderer of the main (non-flashback) story. We can be grateful that the play didn't sell -- not only because there was no shortage of anti-Mormon plays, but because the character of Sherlock Holmes made a positive impact in literature and re-invented the detective genre. And gave a second career to Basil Rathbone and Jeremy Brett.
*jeep! --Chet "Start by doing what's necessary, then what's possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible." On Sat, 12 Jul 2003 03:11:56 +0800 Mark Gregson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: > > > IIRC one of the very early (perhaps the first) Sherlock Holmes > > > novels had a very anti storyline. Anyone out there who can either > > > confirm or refute? > > Yep, and I've read the novel. "A Study in Scarlet" (1887). The > anti-Mormon stuff is not the focus of the book but prominence is > given to the notion of "avenging angels" i.e. members who kill > selected gentiles and apostates (cf. our earlier discussion about > "Danites"). Arthur Conan Doyle was merely reflecting current > beliefs about the Church. > > This website, > http://www.jesusjournal.com/articles/publish/article_110.html > wants its readers to know that we are just as dangerous as we were > in those "scarlet" times. Sensationalism and gullibility are still > best sellers. > > ========= Mark Gregson [EMAIL PROTECTED] ========= > > -- > ____________________________________________ > http://www.operamail.com > Get OperaMail Premium today - USD 29.99/year > > > Powered by Outblaze > > ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ///// > /// ZION LIST CHARTER: Please read it at /// > /// http://www.zionsbest.com/charter.html /// > ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// //// > > > *jeep! --Chet "Start by doing what's necessary, then what's possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible." ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// /// ZION LIST CHARTER: Please read it at /// /// http://www.zionsbest.com/charter.html /// ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?aaP9AU.bWix1n.YXJjaGl2 Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] TOPICA - Start your own email discussion group. FREE! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/create/index2.html ==^================================================================
