A Study in Scarlet

Publisher Marketing: A Study in Scarlet 1886 by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859 - 1930) Welcome to the world of the beloved Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. A Study in Scarlet is a detective mystery novel written in 1886 by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, introducing his new characters: consulting detective Sherlock Holmes and his friend and chronicler, Dr. John Watson, who later became two of the most famous characters in literature. The title of the book developed from a speech given by Holmes to Doctor Watson on the nature of his work, in which he describes the story's murder investigation as his "study in scarlet." A "study" is a preliminary drawing, sketch or painting done in preparation for a finished piece. He says: "There's the scarlet thread of murder running through the colorless skein of life, and our duty is to unravel it, and isolate it, and expose every inch of it." The story, and its main characters, attracted little public interest when it first appeared. A Study in Scarlet is one of only four full-length novels in the original canon. The novel was followed by The Sign of the Four, published in 1890. A Study in Scarlet was the first work of detective fiction to incorporate the magnifying glass as an investigative tool.