Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: Detecting Social Orders (Twayne's Masterwork Studies Series, No 152)

Rating:
Summary: Victorian social mores under the Great Detective's glass
Review: This book is an examination of the social mores of Victorian England as revealed through the Sherlock Holmes stories of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and in particular the twelve stories collected together as The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.

It places the Holmes phenomenon within the context of the development of detective fiction, recognising that they were written fairly early in the period where the hero identification changed from the villains (criminals) to their opponents (police and detectives) which resulted from the entrenchment of the middle classes in the fabric of society due to the relatively fairer sharing of society's resources.

Jann identifies the repression of the lower (working) classes inherent in the stories, where the middle and upper class characters have control over their lives but the lower classes seem almost programmed to follow their base urges and can be easily manipulated by Holmes into betraying their criminal activities. As also noted, women in general, regardless of their class, are similarly unable to move outside easily perceived behaviour. Those who can, like Irene Adler, are given masculine traits and then married off to ciphers.

A number of Victorian scandals and their influence on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's writing are identified.

For those students of Victorian history, or those interested in the Holmesian canon, this book provides insight and views from odd angles. I found it an easy read due to Jann's writing style, which detailed her arguments without bogging me down in verly technical language.

Rating:
Summary: Victorian social mores under the Great Detective's glass
Review: This book is an examination of the social mores of Victorian England as revealed through the Sherlock Holmes stories of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and in particular the twelve stories collected together as The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.

It places the Holmes phenomenon within the context of the development of detective fiction, recognising that they were written fairly early in the period where the hero identification changed from the villains (criminals) to their opponents (police and detectives) which resulted from the entrenchment of the middle classes in the fabric of society due to the relatively fairer sharing of society's resources.

Jann identifies the repression of the lower (working) classes inherent in the stories, where the middle and upper class characters have control over their lives but the lower classes seem almost programmed to follow their base urges and can be easily manipulated by Holmes into betraying their criminal activities. As also noted, women in general, regardless of their class, are similarly unable to move outside easily perceived behaviour. Those who can, like Irene Adler, are given masculine traits and then married off to ciphers.

A number of Victorian scandals and their influence on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's writing are identified.

For those students of Victorian history, or those interested in the Holmesian canon, this book provides insight and views from odd angles. I found it an easy read due to Jann's writing style, which detailed her arguments without bogging me down in verly technical language.