The Valley of Fear Character Sketches, Setting, Theme, Summary-fusionstories

 

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.