The Valley of Fear
 Dust-jacket illustration for The Valley of Fear |
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| Author | Arthur Conan Doyle |
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| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | Sherlock Holmes |
| Genre(s) | Detective novel |
| Publisher | George H. Doran Company |
| Publication date | 1915 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback) |
| ISBN | NA |
| Preceded by | His Last Bow |
| Followed by | The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes |
The Valley of Fear is a Sherlock Holmes novel by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The story was first published in the Strand Magazine between September 1914 and May 1915. The first book edition was published in New York on February 27, 1915.
The Valley of Fear is also notable for the involvement of Professor Moriarty, which contradicts the timeline of the stories. In "The Final Problem", Dr. Watson was first alerted by Sherlock Holmes to the existence of Professor Moriarty. In the same story, Professor Moriarty dies in the confrontation with Sherlock Holmes, as explained in "The Adventure of the Empty House", leaving no time in between the two events for any other story regarding the Professor. However, in The Valley of Fear, Professor Moriarty has been mentioned by Sherlock, and Dr. Watson had appeared to know both about the Professor's evil acts, and how little he is known. Few film and television adaptations have included these allusions to Professor Moriarty, as the story is otherwise a stand-alone tale. Among the few film adaptations are the 1935 British film "The Triumph of Sherlock Holmes," starring Arthur Wontner as Holmes and Ian Fleming as Watson, and the 1984 animated Sherlock Holmes and The Valley of Fear, starring Peter O'Toole as the voice of Holmes.
The plot of the novel is based very loosely on the real-life activities of the Molly Maguires and, particularly, of Pinkerton agent James McParland.
The novel is divided into two parts: in the first, Holmes investigates an apparent murder and discovers that the body belongs to another man; and in the second, the story of the man originally thought to have been the victim is told.
| Sherlock Holmes books by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle | |
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Novels: A Study in Scarlet · The Sign of the Four · The Hound of the Baskervilles · The Valley of Fear Short story collections: The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes · The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes · The Return of Sherlock Holmes · His Last Bow · The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes Main characters: Irene Adler · Inspector Bradstreet · Tobias Gregson · Mycroft Holmes · Sherlock Holmes · Stanley Hopkins · Inspector Lestrade · Sebastian Moran · Professor Moriarty · Mary Morstan · Doctor Watson Related topics: Canon of Sherlock Holmes · 221B Baker Street · Sherlockiana |
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See also
External links
- The Valley of Fear, available at Project Gutenberg.
- The Valley of Fear, online at Ye Olde Library
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