The Valley
of Fear Character Sketches, Setting, Theme, Summary
About Novel:
“The Valley
of Fear” is the last Sherlock Holmes novel penned by Arthur Conan Doyle. The
story was first published in the magazine in the USA in 1914 and got its first
hardcopy out in 1915. The novel is crime fiction, about a murder
investigation and a life of a man who is alive in fact. The novel “The Valley
of Fear” is a part of many school syllabuses. Students are asked to read,
summarize, review and answer the questions about the story. There are many
adaptations of the novel. Also, the novel is taught as a play script in many
schools.
About
Author:
Sir Arthur
Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859- 7 July 1930) was a British writer. He was also
a physician. He is famous for creating a fictional character of detective
Sherlock Holmes. He is known for creating crime friction that readers find full
of mystery and twists. He also wrote fantasy, and humorous stories and created
many fictional characters. “The valley of fear” is his fourth and final novel
about Sherlock Holmes.
Character list: The Valley of Fear
Sherlock Holmes, John Watson, John Douglas/McMurdo/Birdy Edward, Mrs. Douglas, Cecil Barker, Ettie Shafter, Jaccob Shafter, Bodymaster McGinty, James Moriarty, Fred Porlock, Inspector Alec Mcdonald, Ames, Mrs. Allen, Scanlan, Teddy Baldwin, Morris, Evans Pott, Chester Willcock,
SUMMARY
The novel
“The Valley of Fear” penned by Arthur Conan Doyle is a mystery drama about a
murder of a man named John Douglas. Sherlock Holmes and his comrade receive an
encrypted message from Porlock who is Holmes’s nemesis Professor Moriarty’s
associate. Soon after, Holmes gets another coded message from Porlock. Holmes deciphers
the message that warns Douglas of Birlstone is in danger. At the spot, MacDonald, a
policeman friend of Holmes, informs Holmes that Douglas is found dead in his
house.
Sherlock Holmes
along with his companion John Watson arrives at a manor to investigate the
crime. The dead body of John Douglas is found in the study where his face is
mangled. He was shot with the sawed-off shotgun, an American weapon. A card was
laid beside the body. John Douglas and his wife lived in the manor house of Birlstone.
The house was surrounded by water acquired a draw bridge that was raised every
evening at 6 p.m. Every night Douglas, to check the house security, took rounds
through every room of his house. On that day, around 11 p.m. Douglas was shot
dead while he was in the study. Holmes and Watson, while investigating the
crime, found muddy footprints behind the curtain. Also, there was a bloodstain of
a shoe print on the opened window. One of the two dumbbells was missing.
Another clue was a bicycle, which was found concealed outside the house
grounds. At times, Cecil Barker, a good
friend of Douglas acts peculiar when they investigate him. To Holmes, John Douglas's wife’s gloomy
emotions were also apparently fake.
Holmes
recognizes Barker’s footprints and detects that the bloodstain and muddy
footprints are from Barker’s shoes. Meanwhile, many detectives appear in the
story with their theories. Holmes informs Cecil Barker that he is draining the
moat that night. Later, Holmes, Watson, and the police force watch from a distance
that Barker fished up a bundle, and in the end, there was the missing dumbbell in
the bag. Also, there was a knife, boots, and a pair of clothes that matched the
missing convict’s body. Holmes then reveals that Douglas is still alive. Just
then, a secret compartment in the room opens and Douglas steps out. Douglas
tells that a man named Baldwin attempted to kill him. While struggling for his
life, Douglas shot him in the face. Douglas explains that there are people who want
to take his life. That is why to dodge the opponents Douglas made a plan of
his fake death with the help of his second wife and an American friend Barker.
Douglas gives Watson a manuscript, where the details of his past life were given.
Douglas had a unique background.
From here
the part II of the story starts. It is about Douglas's past life in America.
The
detectives came to know about the town of Vermissa valley where the man named
Bodymaster McGinty governed the murders and crimes through the society named the local lodge of a freeman. The society also works under another name: The Showers. BodyMaster McGinty orders his man on who to
kill and who to let go. John McMurdo arrives in Vermissa and became one of his close
followers. McMurdo also acts just as violent as the rest and gains the confidence of
McGinty.
The gang
then got informed about the arrival of a detective named Birdy Edwards to
challenge the McGinty. McMurdo tells the comrades that he has set a plan to
capture Edwards. McMurdo calls Edwards to his apartment, where McGinty and his
prominent members are concealed. McMurdo there reveals that he is Birdy Edward
himself. He joined the gang for a purpose. McGinty is sentenced to death. Edward throws some of the criminals in jail
and sentenced the majority to death. Vermissa becomes free of criminals and
becomes a safer place to live in. Knowing the threat from the gang remains,
Edward, runs away to England to survive himself from the criminals who were
chasing him. He changed his name to John Douglas and married there as his first
wife died in America.
The events
then rejoin to part I from here. Sherlock Holmes tells Douglas that the greater threat is near to him from Professor
Moriarty that why he should leave England. Douglas agrees to leave however he
mysteriously lost overboard on the vessel that would have brought him to
Africa. Later, Sherlock Holmes receives an encrypted message from Moriarty
revealing that Douglas is killed. Sherlock Holmes hopes that he’ll capture
Moriarty but he needs some time.
Theme:
The theme of the novel “The valley of fear” is to have a deep observance, avoiding making out
steady conclusions during unveiling the mysteries. There are backgrounds,
connections, and plots behind every crime. The fear of one’s shady
background chases him till death. The clues can be part of the plot and the
witnesses can be biased is the theme of the valley of fear.
Setting:
A manor
house close to Drawbridge Like In England is the main setting of the story.
Main characters
and their character sketches:
Sherlock
Holmes:
Sherlock
Holmes is a popular fictional character from the novel “The valley of fear” by
Doyle. Sherlock Holmes is a great detective who is on his work of solving the
mystery of a man named Douglas. Sherlock Holmes is a tall and thin man. He has
an aquiline nose and piercing eyes. He talks less and observers more. He keeps
himself reserved most of the time. He is smart, sharp and a great executor. He
knows to connect the clues and can recognize the true faces. He
can unveil the plots and don’t become a fool.
He sometimes
becomes impatient with his followers when they fail to keep up his rapid investigating
outcomes. He proves himself superior to other detectives in the story as he is
a quick executor.
Dr. John
Watson
The character
of Dr. John Watson is taken from the
novel “The valley of fear”. He is a detective and a loyal partner of Sherlock
Holmes. He is smart, brilliant, and has the pace to meet Sherlock Holmes’
standards. Dr. Watson is a tall and
muscular man. He is easygoing and a patient observer. He can take time to
reach the conclusions but they prove real. Dr. Watson’s character appears more reasonable
when he asks the same questions that hook in the reader's minds while Sherlock Holmes
takes out his deductions. In the Valley of Fear, his presence is a great
delight for readers. I like the character very much.
John
Douglas/Jack McMurdo/Birdy Edwards
The
multidimensional character which is more known as Douglas is the main and the
most powerful character of “The valley of fear”. The story revolves around him
from start to end. He is a tall and strapping man with a slim face. He appears
focused, cruel and fearless while we read his days in America as a detective.
He seems anxious while spending his life in England that forces him to make a
weak plan to save his life. He is lucky for having a faithful wife and a
trusted friend. He knows to start a new life with a new beginning. He believes
in himself. For me, he has a life that is full of adventures that can be a
dream of any young.