On this day in 1915, the fourth (and final) Sherlock Holmes book The Valley of Fear by Arthur Conan Doyle was first published as a novel. The story was first published as a serial in the Strand Magazine between September 1914 and May 1915. Legend has it that the story is based on the “real-life exploits of the Molly Maguires and Pinkerton agent James McParland.” One of the unique things about this novel is that – like Doyle’s first Sherlock Holmes novel, a Study in Scarlet – there is quite a bit of “omniscient narration;” exposition that recalls story events that are unknown to Holmes or Watson.
Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by Scottish author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Mr. Holmes is a “consulting detective” based in London whose deductive reasoning abilities “border on the fantastic.” Sherlock Holmes is “famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to adopt almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve difficult cases.”
From Wikipedia:
Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle DL (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a Scottish physician and writer who is most noted for his fictional stories about the detective Sherlock Holmes, which are generally considered milestones in the field of crime fiction. He is also known for writing the fictional adventures of a second character he invented, Professor Challenger, and for popularising the mystery of the Mary Celeste. He was a prolific writer whose other works include fantasy and science fiction stories, plays, romances, poetry, non-fiction, and historical novels.