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A Study in Scarlet
"There's the scarlet thread of murder running through the colourless skein of life, and our duty is to unravel it, and isolate it, and expose every inch of it."
Arthur Conan Doyle's first Sherlock Holmes novel spans two continents and four decades — from the Great Alkali Plain of Utah in 1847 to a gaslit crime scene on the Brixton Road in 1881. A tale of love, religious tyranny, twenty years of vengeance, and the birth of the world's greatest consulting detective.
The Geography of Crime
From 221B Baker Street to the deserts of Utah, the chase crosses London, Cleveland, St. Petersburg, Paris, Copenhagen, and Liverpool. Click any marker to explore its story.
Click a place on the map to explore its story, see historical images, and follow the links
About the Novel
Published in Beeton's Christmas Annual in November 1887, A Study in Scarlet introduced the world to Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson. The novel is divided into two parts: Part I follows the investigation of a mysterious murder in an empty house off the Brixton Road, while Part II leaps back four decades to the deserts of Utah to reveal the heartbreaking backstory of love, religious oppression, and a vow of revenge that would span twenty years and three continents.
This page extracts 22 characters, 30 places, 13 pieces of evidence, and 55+ factual connections into an interactive knowledge graph using the Detective tool.
Characters (22)
The Detectives
- Sherlock Holmes — Consulting detective; the only one in the world
- Dr. John Watson — Army surgeon; wounded at Maiwand; Holmes's flatmate and chronicler
- Inspector Lestrade — Scotland Yard; discovered RACHE on the wall
- Inspector Gregson — Scotland Yard; traced the hat to Charpentier's
The Victims & the Avenger
- Enoch J. Drebber — Victim; found dead at 3 Lauriston Gardens; Cleveland, Ohio
- Joseph Stangerson — Victim; stabbed at Halliday's Private Hotel
- Jefferson Hope — Cabman and avenger; pursued Drebber and Stangerson for twenty years
The Baker Street Circle
- Stamford — Watson's old dresser at Barts; introduced Watson to Holmes
- Wiggins — Leader of the Baker Street Irregulars
- Baker Street Irregulars — Street urchins employed by Holmes
- Mrs. Sawyer (disguise) — Old woman who collected the ring; actually Hope in disguise
The Charpentier Household
- Madame Charpentier — Ran the Torquay Terrace boarding house
- Alice Charpentier — Harassed by Drebber
- Arthur Charpentier — Sub-lieutenant; ejected Drebber; arrested by Gregson
The Utah Story
- John Ferrier — Rescued by Mormons on the Great Alkali Plain; adopted Lucy; killed by pursuers
- Lucy Ferrier — Ferrier's adopted daughter; loved Hope; forced to marry Drebber; died of a broken heart
- Brigham Young — Mormon leader; ordered Lucy to marry within one month
- Elder Stangerson — Mormon elder; given charge of Ferrier and Lucy
- Elder Drebber — Mormon elder; father of the victim Enoch Drebber
- Cowper — Told Hope that Lucy had married Drebber and was dying
Supporting Characters
- John Rance — Constable who found the body; described the drunk man at the gate
- Harry Murcher — Constable; patrolled Holland Grove beat
- Murray — Watson's orderly; saved his life at Maiwand
Places (30)
Baker Street & Central London
- 221B Baker Street
- St. Bartholomew's Hospital
- Criterion Bar
- Holborn
- University of London
- Scotland Yard
- Euston Station
- London
Crime Scenes & Investigation
- 3 Lauriston Gardens
- Brixton Road
- Audley Court, Kennington Park Gate
- Halliday's Private Hotel
- Torquay Terrace, Camberwell
The American West
- Salt Lake City
- Great Alkali Plain
- Sierra Blanco
- Eagle Ravine
- Nevada Mountains
- Carson City
- Nauvoo, Illinois
- Utah
The International Chase
- Cleveland, Ohio
- St. Petersburg
- Paris
- Copenhagen
- Liverpool
Watson's War
- Afghanistan
- Candahar
- Peshawar
- Bombay
Evidence (13 items)
The physical clues that Holmes used to reconstruct the crime.
Timeline
- 1847 May 4 — John Ferrier and five-year-old Lucy found dying on the Great Alkali Plain near Sierra Blanco
- 1847 Brigham Young's Mormon caravan of nearly 10,000 rescues Ferrier and Lucy; they settle in Utah
- 1860 Jefferson Hope rescues Lucy from a stampede; they fall in love; Brigham Young orders Lucy to marry a Mormon within one month
- 1860 Countdown numbers appear daily on Ferrier's property; Hope returns to rescue them through Eagle Ravine
- 1860 Aug 4 — John Ferrier killed by Mormon pursuers (shot by young Stangerson)
- 1860 Lucy forced to marry young Drebber; dies within a month of a broken heart
- 1860 Hope takes Lucy's wedding ring from her body and vows revenge
- 1878 Watson takes his Doctor of Medicine at the University of London
- 1878 Watson attached to Fifth Northumberland Fusiliers; serves in Afghanistan; wounded at Maiwand by a Jezail bullet
- 1881 Watson meets Stamford at the Criterion Bar; introduced to Holmes at Barts
- 1881 Holmes and Watson move into 221B Baker Street; Holmes reveals he is a consulting detective
- 1881 Drebber's body found at 3 Lauriston Gardens; RACHE on the wall; Holmes deduces the killer's profile
- 1881 Stangerson found murdered at Halliday's Private Hotel
- 1881 Jefferson Hope arrested at 221B Baker Street; confesses at Scotland Yard; dies of aortic aneurism
Selected Facts & Stories
"You have been in Afghanistan, I perceive." — The first words Sherlock Holmes ever spoke to Watson, immediately deducing his military service from his tan, haggard face, and injured arm.
Ch. 1 · Meeting
Holmes had just discovered a reliable test for haemoglobin at Barts when Watson first met him. He shouted "I've found it!" and rushed to shake Watson's hand before Stamford could introduce them.
Ch. 1 · Science
Holmes deduced the murderer was over six feet tall, had small feet, smoked Trichinopoly cigars, had a florid face and long fingernails, used poison, and arrived in a four-wheeled cab — all from the crime scene at 3 Lauriston Gardens.
Ch. 3 · Deduction
Lestrade discovered the word RACHE written in blood on the wall and thought it meant the name Rachel. Holmes corrected him: it is the German word for "revenge."
Ch. 3 · RACHE
On May 4, 1847, John Ferrier and a five-year-old girl were found dying of thirst on the Great Alkali Plain. A Mormon caravan of nearly ten thousand rescued them — on condition that Ferrier adopt the faith.
Part II · Utah
Jefferson Hope rescued Lucy from a cattle stampede in Salt Lake City and fell in love. He had been prospecting for silver in the Nevada Mountains and visited Ferrier's farm whenever he could.
Part II · Romance
Mysterious countdown numbers from 29 to 2 appeared daily on Ferrier's property — a warning from the Mormon secret organization. On the last night, Hope crawled to the house and planned their escape through Eagle Ravine.
Part II · Threat
Lucy pined away and died within a month of the forced marriage. Hope broke into the room where her body lay, kissed her forehead, and took the wedding ring from her finger.
Part II · Tragedy
Hope tracked Drebber and Stangerson from Salt Lake City to Cleveland to St. Petersburg to Paris to Copenhagen and finally to London, where he became a cab driver to follow them.
Part II · Pursuit
Hope lit a candle, revealed his face to Drebber, held Lucy's wedding ring before his dying eyes, and forced him to choose between two pills — one poisoned, one harmless. Drebber chose death.
Ch. 7 · Murder
Holmes tested the poison pills on a sick terrier at 221B: the first pill was harmless, but the second killed the dog instantly — proving the alternating poison method.
Ch. 6 · Experiment
Jefferson Hope died in his cell the night after his arrest when the aortic aneurism burst. He was found with a placid smile on his face. The newspapers credited Lestrade and Gregson, mentioning Holmes only as "an amateur."
Ch. 7 · Aftermath
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