A popular example of a literary detective, or any detective for that matter, is the acclaimed Sherlock Holmes, an early 20th century fictional character created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Doyle’s mystery stories that feature the famous detective provide great entertainment for generations as well as showcase the quintessential principles of a good detective. The short story, “The Adventures of the Speckled Band” depicts a typical day of investigation for Detective Holmes. A key convention that makes “The Adventure of the Speckled Band,” an exemplary detective story is the attention to detail. Details are important for every detective story because without them, no mystery can be solved. Although the story was relatively short, Doyle made sure to give great details on the characters and their surroundings.
The structure of the story is very simplistic and can be found in most detective stories. The tale begins with a woman who has a mysterious problem that can only be solved by the great Sherlock Holmes. Details and clues are given to the detective as he investigates the mystery. During his adventure, he approaches obstacles and conflicts, but succeeds in solving the mystery successfully, and they live happily ever after. The end. Doyle’s use of this basic story structure: the introduction, the confrontation, and the resolution, works well with a detective story. A detective’s method to solving a mystery is parallel to a writer’s structure to a short story. Similar to an author, a great detective will know how to piece together different fragments of a story with a goal to create a complete and detailed picture.
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