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The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes #2
The Red-Headed League
Another great one from Conan Doyle.
Holmes is engaged initially by a pawnbroker. He's upset by the loss of a well-paying, part-time job. One that doesn't require many hours and, when it does require work, doesn't interfere with his busiest times at the pawn shop. To Sherlock Holmes, it may be much more than it appears. Could it be the beginning of a larger mystery? Using minute details of the small one, he works to solve the serious one. "Depend upon it," said Holmes to Watson in "A Case of Identity." "There is nothing so unnatural as the commonplace."
Librarian's note: this entry is for "The Red Headed League," the second of 12 short stories from the 1892 collection, "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes." It was first published in "The Strand Magazine." Collections and other stories by the author are located elsewhere on Goodreads. The series includes four novels and 58 short stories. Entries for the short stories can be found by searching Goodreads for: "a Sherlock Holmes Short Story."
Holmes is engaged initially by a pawnbroker. He's upset by the loss of a well-paying, part-time job. One that doesn't require many hours and, when it does require work, doesn't interfere with his busiest times at the pawn shop. To Sherlock Holmes, it may be much more than it appears. Could it be the beginning of a larger mystery? Using minute details of the small one, he works to solve the serious one. "Depend upon it," said Holmes to Watson in "A Case of Identity." "There is nothing so unnatural as the commonplace."
Librarian's note: this entry is for "The Red Headed League," the second of 12 short stories from the 1892 collection, "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes." It was first published in "The Strand Magazine." Collections and other stories by the author are located elsewhere on Goodreads. The series includes four novels and 58 short stories. Entries for the short stories can be found by searching Goodreads for: "a Sherlock Holmes Short Story."
24 pages, Audio Cassette
First published January 1, 1891
About the author
Arthur Conan Doyle
11.2k books23k followersSir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for A Study in Scarlet, the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Holmes and Dr. Watson. The Sherlock Holmes stories are milestones in the field of crime fiction.
Doyle was a prolific writer. In addition to the Holmes stories, his works include fantasy and science fiction stories about Professor Challenger, and humorous stories about the Napoleonic soldier Brigadier Gerard, as well as plays, romances, poetry, non-fiction, and historical novels. One of Doyle's early short stories, "J. Habakuk Jephson's Statement" (1884), helped to popularise the mystery of the brigantine Mary Celeste, found drifting at sea with no crew member aboard.
Doyle was a prolific writer. In addition to the Holmes stories, his works include fantasy and science fiction stories about Professor Challenger, and humorous stories about the Napoleonic soldier Brigadier Gerard, as well as plays, romances, poetry, non-fiction, and historical novels. One of Doyle's early short stories, "J. Habakuk Jephson's Statement" (1884), helped to popularise the mystery of the brigantine Mary Celeste, found drifting at sea with no crew member aboard.
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June 8, 2024
“As a rule,” said Holmes, “the more bizarre a thing is the less mysterious it proves to be. It is your commonplace, featureless crimes which are really puzzling, just as a commonplace face is the most difficult to identify.”
I suspect it is the quirkiness of The Red-Headed League which makes it one of my favourite Sherlock Holmes stories. It is far from complex, but it is very entertaining, and reveals several sides to Sherlock Holmes’s personality. I love to read how he would “chuckle, and wriggle in his chair, as was his habit when in high spirits”, about his classification of the case as a “three-pipe problem”, and the way he insisted on dashing off to hear the famous violinist Sarasate play for a few hours, as he found the German music he would play in the concert (as opposed to Italian or French) a stimulus to his analytical abilities:
“It is introspective, and I want to introspect.”
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle also had a soft spot for this one, placing The Red-Headed League at second, in his list of his twelve favourite Sherlock Holmes short stories, out of the fifty-six he wrote.
Yet The Red-Headed League is actually only his second Sherlock Holmes short story. The fictional private detective, or “consulting detective” as he is known in the stories, first appeared in print in a novel “A Study in Scarlet”, in 1887. However, most readers get to know him through the short stories. The first collection of these is “The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes” which was published at the end of October 1892. This contains the twelve monthly stories which had been published in “The Strand Magazine” between July 1891 and June 1892, with the original illustrations by Sidney Paget. The Red-Headed League had first been published in the magazine the previous year, in August 1891.
The story, narrated as ever by his friend Doctor John Watson, begins when an excited Sherlock Holmes “pulled me abruptly” into the room. He has a visitor already, a Mr. Jabez Wilson, who is relating:
“a narrative which promises to be one of the most singular which I have listened to for some time … As far as I have heard, it is impossible for me to say whether the present case is an instance of crime or not, but the course of events is certainly among the most singular that I have ever listened to.”
As we too listen to Mr. Jabez Wilson’s account, we realise that is is indeed bizarre, although as yet there seems nothing sinister about it, and no crime has been committed. Indeed, Mr. Jabez Wilson seems an unremarkable sort of man, even “pompous, and slow”, but he does have “fiery red hair” to distinguish him. The astute detective, however, notices far more:
“Beyond the obvious facts that he has at some time done manual labour, that he takes snuff, that he is a Freemason, that he has been in China, and that he has done a considerable amount of writing lately, I can deduce nothing else.”
Those readers who are already well acquainted with Sherlock Holmes’s powers of deduction relish this sort of detail, not least for the reaction it provokes in the object of such close examination. Sherlock Holmes gives a detailed explanation of his deductions, only to meet with Mr. Jabez Wilson’s knowing comment:
“Well, I never! … I thought at first that you had done something clever, but I see that there was nothing in it after all”
leading to Sherlock Holmes’s reply, as rueful as ever:
“I begin to think, Watson, … that I make a mistake in explaining.”
Incisive his thoughts may be, and expert at analysing human behaviour, but for some reason Sherlock Holmes never seems to anticipate this reaction!
And so begins the curious story which Jabez Wilson has to tell. He is a pawnbroker, but only just making a living in his profession. In fact the only reason he can afford an an assistant is because the man he has taken on, is willing to work for half the usual pay, in order to learn the business. A couple of months earlier, this assistant, Vincent Spaulding, had drawn Wilson’s attention to an advertisement in the paper, with the heartfelt words:
“I wish to the Lord, Mr. Wilson, that I was a red-headed man.”
Jabez Wilson proceeded to show Holmes and Watson the newspaper cutting. It announced that there was a vacancy in an organisation called “The League of the Red-headed Men”. Vincent Spaulding was surprised that Jabez Wilson had never heard of an organisation which could be so useful to him, and explained that it had been set up some years ago, by a local man who had then emigrated to America, and made his fortune. This millionaire, Ezekiah Hopkins, was very eccentric. He was himself red-headed, and wished to give a helping hand to all red-headed men:
“From all I hear it is splendid pay, and very little to do” said Vincent Spaulding.
Jabez Wilson agreed that it was worth a look, and the two of them shut up shop for the day, and marched along Fleet Street to the office where interviews would be held. Vincent Spaulding had assured his boss that “there are more vacancies than there are men,”, and that Jabez Wilson’s hair was of the exact fiery hue which was required, so he decided he stood a good chance. He would certainly need to, for the City ran amok with red-headed men:
“From north, south, east, and west every man who had a shade of red in his hair had tramped into the City to answer the advertisement. Fleet-street was choked with red-headed folk, and Pope’s-court looked like a coster’s orange barrow.”
Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson listened to the increasingly odd tale, of how Jabez Wilson went into a room, to be interviewed by a man with even redder hair than his own. A strange enough interview it proved to be, with a man called Duncan Ross, who much admired his hair. In fact he was so impressed by it that he gave it a great big tug, making Jabez Wilson yell with pain, in order to ensure that it was not false. (If you are not laughing by now, I would be most surprised. Certainly Holmes and Watson were both engrossed by the story—and most entertained.)
When Jabez Wilson enquired as to the work he would be expected to perform, he was assured that it was nominal. In fact it would fit in with the duties at his pawnbroker’s shop very well, as it would just be for four hours in the mornings. The work was to copy out the “Encyclopædia Britannica”, supplying his own pens, ink and paper. For this he would receive £4 a week, regularly. The only condition was that during these hours he must not on any account leave the office. Jabez Wilson accepted these conditions, although at home later, he began to regret it, and think it must all be an elaborate hoax.
Nevertheless he turned up the next day to perform his duties, and was duly rewarded at the end of the week with the four promised golden sovereigns. This went on for eight weeks, and Jabez Wilson was quite content with the work (except that he was rather looking forward to progressing to the letter “B”!) when the entire project came to a sudden end.
Sadly he held up a card to show the two listening men. It announced that the Red-headed League had been dissolved.
“Sherlock Holmes and I surveyed this curt announcement and the rueful face behind it, until the comical side of the affair so completely overtopped every other consideration that we both burst out into a roar of laughter.”
Of course Jabez Wilson did not care for such a reaction from the consulting detective, and indignantly demanded to know if Sherlock Holmes considered that he had been the victim of a practical joke. For himself, he said, he keenly felt the loss of a regular income of four pounds a week.
What is the reader to make of this crazy situation? Should Holmes and Doctor Watson pursue it to get to the truth?
Of course they do. They ask questions. Was there any trace of Duncan Ross, the man who had interviewed Jabez Wilson? There was no joy there. Duncan Ross was evidently a pseudonym, as the rooms had been rented by a solicitor, whose forwarding address turned out not to be a solicitor’s office but “a manufactory of artificial knee-caps”.
The case becomes curiouser and—if possible—more comically absurd. Sherlock Holmes goes to visit Jabez Wilson’s pawnbroker’s shop, and seems to be interested in details which his friend Doctor Watson cannot fathom at all. Why does he rap his stick on the pavement? Why does he examine the knees of the assistant Vincent Spaulding? Why is he so fascinated by the fact that the assistant has a white splash of acid upon his forehead, and that his ears are pierced for earrings? And why is he so interested in the buildings and premises around the pawnbroker’s shop?
Sherlock Holmes decides that this is quite a three pipe problem, and proceeds to sit down, smoke his pipe, and analyse the information he has. Then he leaps up, and announcing that listening to a famous violinist will help him reach a conclusion, the two go off to their concert. While they are listening to their music, you can decide whether or not to unclick this spoiler, to see what happens next, and learn the solution. Many of us might feel placed in the same position as Doctor Watson:
“I trust that I am not more dense than my neighbours, but I was always oppressed with a sense of my own stupidity in my dealings with Sherlock Holmes. Here I had heard what he had heard, I had seen what he had seen, and yet from his words it was evident that he saw clearly not only what had happened, but what was about to happen, while to me the whole business was still confused and grotesque.”
But here it is:
Apart from narrating the story, Doctor John Watson’s role is atypically limited. He does not contribute to the action of the story in any way, or even help to solve the case. However, he is essential to the story. It is only through Doctor Watson that we can see what is happening: that is, what Doctor Watson himself experiences, as distinct from Sherlock Holmes’s own reasoned deductions.
It is down to Doctor Watson’s good nature, eager attitude, and the camaraderie between the two friends, that this story has such life, and is not merely a dry account of a crime and its solution. By putting us in Doctor Watson’s shoes, the author makes the story far more accessible, as we feel an empathy with him that we may not feel for the brilliant incisive mind of Sherlock Holmes. It was a stroke of genius to pair these two, and paved the way for many imitations, also depicting an extraordinary detective and their more plodding but loyal side-kick.
We are intrigued by the problem-solving genius of Sherlock Holmes, and may even fantasise a little of having such abilities ourselves. But we are also interested in the human side: the interaction between the two friends. It is tempting to think of Sherlock Holmes as being capable of solving any puzzle. Almost always, he seems to employ pure reasoning. Yet in The Red-Headed League we see multiple sides of Holmes. We see him move from quiet contemplation to almost frenetic activity. Doctor Watson thinks his friend has fallen asleep over his pipe, and yet moments later Holmes is virtually pushing him out of the door to go to a concert. He even comments that Sherlock Holmes has a “dual nature”.
In The Red-headed League we see his extremes of behaviour, but also see that Sherlock Holmes is also capable of complicated, nuanced emotions. He calls his friend “dear Watson”, but usually pushes away any attempt to find out what he is thinking. We are not even sure of his motives in solving cases. Sherlock Holmes implies that he is not interested in anything “ordinary”. Admittedly he does hand criminals over to the police, but he is primarily interested in the case as an intellectual challenge, an entertaining puzzle to be solved. In The Red-Headed League, he also implies that his reward partly came settling a private score with the perpetrator, and not from any sense of justice.
Interestingly, in the TV series starring Jeremy Brett (who, in my view, gives the most authentic depiction of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s character), the identity of the villain in the episode from 1985, is changed to be that of his arch enemy Professor Moriarty. He has masterminded the crime itself, which has been carried out by his star pupil.
This story is particularly enjoyable, not only for the more than usual amount of humour it contains, but also for the simplicity of the eventual crime. From such a bizarre set of premises, Doctor Watson and readers alike expect to read a complicated explanation. Yet the truth is far simpler. The third aspect which lifts this story above some others, for me, is that we see a dynamic Sherlock Holmes, in so many guises. He veers wildly from one extreme to the other, seeming to be far more eccentric than he appears in some of the later stories.
Sherlock Holmes may be of the most recognisable figures in all of world literature, and there have been dozens of adaptations of this story alone. We all have an idea about what he looks like, and how he behaves, but this early story may surprise you.
And Sherlock Holmes’s own view of such a bizarre crime?
“‘It saved me from ennui,’ he answered, yawning. ‘Alas! I already feel it closing in upon me. My life is spent in one long effort to escape from the commonplaces of existence. These little problems help me to do so.’”
And surely we can all give three cheers that he feels this way.
I suspect it is the quirkiness of The Red-Headed League which makes it one of my favourite Sherlock Holmes stories. It is far from complex, but it is very entertaining, and reveals several sides to Sherlock Holmes’s personality. I love to read how he would “chuckle, and wriggle in his chair, as was his habit when in high spirits”, about his classification of the case as a “three-pipe problem”, and the way he insisted on dashing off to hear the famous violinist Sarasate play for a few hours, as he found the German music he would play in the concert (as opposed to Italian or French) a stimulus to his analytical abilities:
“It is introspective, and I want to introspect.”
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle also had a soft spot for this one, placing The Red-Headed League at second, in his list of his twelve favourite Sherlock Holmes short stories, out of the fifty-six he wrote.
Yet The Red-Headed League is actually only his second Sherlock Holmes short story. The fictional private detective, or “consulting detective” as he is known in the stories, first appeared in print in a novel “A Study in Scarlet”, in 1887. However, most readers get to know him through the short stories. The first collection of these is “The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes” which was published at the end of October 1892. This contains the twelve monthly stories which had been published in “The Strand Magazine” between July 1891 and June 1892, with the original illustrations by Sidney Paget. The Red-Headed League had first been published in the magazine the previous year, in August 1891.
The story, narrated as ever by his friend Doctor John Watson, begins when an excited Sherlock Holmes “pulled me abruptly” into the room. He has a visitor already, a Mr. Jabez Wilson, who is relating:
“a narrative which promises to be one of the most singular which I have listened to for some time … As far as I have heard, it is impossible for me to say whether the present case is an instance of crime or not, but the course of events is certainly among the most singular that I have ever listened to.”
As we too listen to Mr. Jabez Wilson’s account, we realise that is is indeed bizarre, although as yet there seems nothing sinister about it, and no crime has been committed. Indeed, Mr. Jabez Wilson seems an unremarkable sort of man, even “pompous, and slow”, but he does have “fiery red hair” to distinguish him. The astute detective, however, notices far more:
“Beyond the obvious facts that he has at some time done manual labour, that he takes snuff, that he is a Freemason, that he has been in China, and that he has done a considerable amount of writing lately, I can deduce nothing else.”
Those readers who are already well acquainted with Sherlock Holmes’s powers of deduction relish this sort of detail, not least for the reaction it provokes in the object of such close examination. Sherlock Holmes gives a detailed explanation of his deductions, only to meet with Mr. Jabez Wilson’s knowing comment:
“Well, I never! … I thought at first that you had done something clever, but I see that there was nothing in it after all”
leading to Sherlock Holmes’s reply, as rueful as ever:
“I begin to think, Watson, … that I make a mistake in explaining.”
Incisive his thoughts may be, and expert at analysing human behaviour, but for some reason Sherlock Holmes never seems to anticipate this reaction!
And so begins the curious story which Jabez Wilson has to tell. He is a pawnbroker, but only just making a living in his profession. In fact the only reason he can afford an an assistant is because the man he has taken on, is willing to work for half the usual pay, in order to learn the business. A couple of months earlier, this assistant, Vincent Spaulding, had drawn Wilson’s attention to an advertisement in the paper, with the heartfelt words:
“I wish to the Lord, Mr. Wilson, that I was a red-headed man.”
Jabez Wilson proceeded to show Holmes and Watson the newspaper cutting. It announced that there was a vacancy in an organisation called “The League of the Red-headed Men”. Vincent Spaulding was surprised that Jabez Wilson had never heard of an organisation which could be so useful to him, and explained that it had been set up some years ago, by a local man who had then emigrated to America, and made his fortune. This millionaire, Ezekiah Hopkins, was very eccentric. He was himself red-headed, and wished to give a helping hand to all red-headed men:
“From all I hear it is splendid pay, and very little to do” said Vincent Spaulding.
Jabez Wilson agreed that it was worth a look, and the two of them shut up shop for the day, and marched along Fleet Street to the office where interviews would be held. Vincent Spaulding had assured his boss that “there are more vacancies than there are men,”, and that Jabez Wilson’s hair was of the exact fiery hue which was required, so he decided he stood a good chance. He would certainly need to, for the City ran amok with red-headed men:
“From north, south, east, and west every man who had a shade of red in his hair had tramped into the City to answer the advertisement. Fleet-street was choked with red-headed folk, and Pope’s-court looked like a coster’s orange barrow.”
Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson listened to the increasingly odd tale, of how Jabez Wilson went into a room, to be interviewed by a man with even redder hair than his own. A strange enough interview it proved to be, with a man called Duncan Ross, who much admired his hair. In fact he was so impressed by it that he gave it a great big tug, making Jabez Wilson yell with pain, in order to ensure that it was not false. (If you are not laughing by now, I would be most surprised. Certainly Holmes and Watson were both engrossed by the story—and most entertained.)
When Jabez Wilson enquired as to the work he would be expected to perform, he was assured that it was nominal. In fact it would fit in with the duties at his pawnbroker’s shop very well, as it would just be for four hours in the mornings. The work was to copy out the “Encyclopædia Britannica”, supplying his own pens, ink and paper. For this he would receive £4 a week, regularly. The only condition was that during these hours he must not on any account leave the office. Jabez Wilson accepted these conditions, although at home later, he began to regret it, and think it must all be an elaborate hoax.
Nevertheless he turned up the next day to perform his duties, and was duly rewarded at the end of the week with the four promised golden sovereigns. This went on for eight weeks, and Jabez Wilson was quite content with the work (except that he was rather looking forward to progressing to the letter “B”!) when the entire project came to a sudden end.
Sadly he held up a card to show the two listening men. It announced that the Red-headed League had been dissolved.
“Sherlock Holmes and I surveyed this curt announcement and the rueful face behind it, until the comical side of the affair so completely overtopped every other consideration that we both burst out into a roar of laughter.”
Of course Jabez Wilson did not care for such a reaction from the consulting detective, and indignantly demanded to know if Sherlock Holmes considered that he had been the victim of a practical joke. For himself, he said, he keenly felt the loss of a regular income of four pounds a week.
What is the reader to make of this crazy situation? Should Holmes and Doctor Watson pursue it to get to the truth?
Of course they do. They ask questions. Was there any trace of Duncan Ross, the man who had interviewed Jabez Wilson? There was no joy there. Duncan Ross was evidently a pseudonym, as the rooms had been rented by a solicitor, whose forwarding address turned out not to be a solicitor’s office but “a manufactory of artificial knee-caps”.
The case becomes curiouser and—if possible—more comically absurd. Sherlock Holmes goes to visit Jabez Wilson’s pawnbroker’s shop, and seems to be interested in details which his friend Doctor Watson cannot fathom at all. Why does he rap his stick on the pavement? Why does he examine the knees of the assistant Vincent Spaulding? Why is he so fascinated by the fact that the assistant has a white splash of acid upon his forehead, and that his ears are pierced for earrings? And why is he so interested in the buildings and premises around the pawnbroker’s shop?
Sherlock Holmes decides that this is quite a three pipe problem, and proceeds to sit down, smoke his pipe, and analyse the information he has. Then he leaps up, and announcing that listening to a famous violinist will help him reach a conclusion, the two go off to their concert. While they are listening to their music, you can decide whether or not to unclick this spoiler, to see what happens next, and learn the solution. Many of us might feel placed in the same position as Doctor Watson:
“I trust that I am not more dense than my neighbours, but I was always oppressed with a sense of my own stupidity in my dealings with Sherlock Holmes. Here I had heard what he had heard, I had seen what he had seen, and yet from his words it was evident that he saw clearly not only what had happened, but what was about to happen, while to me the whole business was still confused and grotesque.”
But here it is:
Apart from narrating the story, Doctor John Watson’s role is atypically limited. He does not contribute to the action of the story in any way, or even help to solve the case. However, he is essential to the story. It is only through Doctor Watson that we can see what is happening: that is, what Doctor Watson himself experiences, as distinct from Sherlock Holmes’s own reasoned deductions.
It is down to Doctor Watson’s good nature, eager attitude, and the camaraderie between the two friends, that this story has such life, and is not merely a dry account of a crime and its solution. By putting us in Doctor Watson’s shoes, the author makes the story far more accessible, as we feel an empathy with him that we may not feel for the brilliant incisive mind of Sherlock Holmes. It was a stroke of genius to pair these two, and paved the way for many imitations, also depicting an extraordinary detective and their more plodding but loyal side-kick.
We are intrigued by the problem-solving genius of Sherlock Holmes, and may even fantasise a little of having such abilities ourselves. But we are also interested in the human side: the interaction between the two friends. It is tempting to think of Sherlock Holmes as being capable of solving any puzzle. Almost always, he seems to employ pure reasoning. Yet in The Red-Headed League we see multiple sides of Holmes. We see him move from quiet contemplation to almost frenetic activity. Doctor Watson thinks his friend has fallen asleep over his pipe, and yet moments later Holmes is virtually pushing him out of the door to go to a concert. He even comments that Sherlock Holmes has a “dual nature”.
In The Red-headed League we see his extremes of behaviour, but also see that Sherlock Holmes is also capable of complicated, nuanced emotions. He calls his friend “dear Watson”, but usually pushes away any attempt to find out what he is thinking. We are not even sure of his motives in solving cases. Sherlock Holmes implies that he is not interested in anything “ordinary”. Admittedly he does hand criminals over to the police, but he is primarily interested in the case as an intellectual challenge, an entertaining puzzle to be solved. In The Red-Headed League, he also implies that his reward partly came settling a private score with the perpetrator, and not from any sense of justice.
Interestingly, in the TV series starring Jeremy Brett (who, in my view, gives the most authentic depiction of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s character), the identity of the villain in the episode from 1985, is changed to be that of his arch enemy Professor Moriarty. He has masterminded the crime itself, which has been carried out by his star pupil.
This story is particularly enjoyable, not only for the more than usual amount of humour it contains, but also for the simplicity of the eventual crime. From such a bizarre set of premises, Doctor Watson and readers alike expect to read a complicated explanation. Yet the truth is far simpler. The third aspect which lifts this story above some others, for me, is that we see a dynamic Sherlock Holmes, in so many guises. He veers wildly from one extreme to the other, seeming to be far more eccentric than he appears in some of the later stories.
Sherlock Holmes may be of the most recognisable figures in all of world literature, and there have been dozens of adaptations of this story alone. We all have an idea about what he looks like, and how he behaves, but this early story may surprise you.
And Sherlock Holmes’s own view of such a bizarre crime?
“‘It saved me from ennui,’ he answered, yawning. ‘Alas! I already feel it closing in upon me. My life is spent in one long effort to escape from the commonplaces of existence. These little problems help me to do so.’”
And surely we can all give three cheers that he feels this way.
December 19, 2019
Update: “The Red-headed League” is #2 on Arthur Conan Doyle’s list of his favorite Sherlock Holmes stories. I wasn’t all that impressed with it the first time I read it, but I decided to reread it with an open mind, and you know? I liked it quite a bit more the second time around. The concept is quirky and unique, it’s fun to see Sherlock in action here, and it’s a mystery that actually gives the reader enough clues to solve the puzzle for themselves. 3.75 stars.
The League of Extraordinary Redheads
Sherlock Holmes has a new case, brought to him by an elderly, overweight pawnbroker with fiery red hair. After Sherlock, as usual to begin these stories, takes a couple of minutes to impress Dr. Watson and the pawnbroker with a quick display of his amazing observational and deductive talents, they get down to business.
Jabez Wilson, the pawnbroker, tells Sherlock and Watson that he was invited to join the Red-Headed League two months ago. As a member of this obscure group, he was paid four pounds per week to sit for four hours a day and copy out the Encyclopaedia Britannica by hand. And now the League has mysteriously closed up shop, with just a sign on the door saying that it’s dissolved. Wilson, disappointed with the abrupt loss of this useful supplement to his income, asks Sherlock Holmes to investigate. (WHY? It's four pounds.* And nobody ripped him off, so why hire a detective?) But Sherlock, wiser than I, understands that there's a bigger game afoot.
*ETA: Wait, hold the press. My Stanford U. source for "A Scandal in Bohemia" tells me that "Three hundred pounds would equal more than $100,000 today," which means that £4/week = over $1300/week in current money. Okay, now I'm more impressed.
Actually, I figured this one out. But I think maybe I read it once before, many years ago, so I'm not patting myself on the back too hard. And reading about a massive crowd of redheads was fun.
The League of Extraordinary Redheads
Sherlock Holmes has a new case, brought to him by an elderly, overweight pawnbroker with fiery red hair. After Sherlock, as usual to begin these stories, takes a couple of minutes to impress Dr. Watson and the pawnbroker with a quick display of his amazing observational and deductive talents, they get down to business.
Jabez Wilson, the pawnbroker, tells Sherlock and Watson that he was invited to join the Red-Headed League two months ago. As a member of this obscure group, he was paid four pounds per week to sit for four hours a day and copy out the Encyclopaedia Britannica by hand. And now the League has mysteriously closed up shop, with just a sign on the door saying that it’s dissolved. Wilson, disappointed with the abrupt loss of this useful supplement to his income, asks Sherlock Holmes to investigate. (WHY? It's four pounds.* And nobody ripped him off, so why hire a detective?) But Sherlock, wiser than I, understands that there's a bigger game afoot.
*ETA: Wait, hold the press. My Stanford U. source for "A Scandal in Bohemia" tells me that "Three hundred pounds would equal more than $100,000 today," which means that £4/week = over $1300/week in current money. Okay, now I'm more impressed.
Actually, I figured this one out. But I think maybe I read it once before, many years ago, so I'm not patting myself on the back too hard. And reading about a massive crowd of redheads was fun.
May 4, 2022
One of the most memorable of the Sherlock Holmes short stories, and apparently a personal favourite of Conan Doyle himself. I read this many years ago but have just listened to it again on audio (55 minutes long). The first half of the story is played for laughs, successfully so with the bizarre events of the Red-Headed League and the hapless Jabez Wilson providing plenty of comic material. Despite Watson’s amazement at the skill of Holmes, the “mystery” isn’t really that hard to work out. It’s perhaps more of a mystery as to why Watson can’t do so.
I don’t think I’ve encountered the first name “Jabez” outside of this story. Perhaps it deserves a revival.
I don’t think I’ve encountered the first name “Jabez” outside of this story. Perhaps it deserves a revival.
December 24, 2020
Relato interesante que enfrenta a un notable criminal con el detective más famoso de la historia de la literatura.
An interesting story that confronts a notorious criminal against the most famous detective in the history of literature.
An interesting story that confronts a notorious criminal against the most famous detective in the history of literature.
December 5, 2020
A pawnbroker answers a curious newspaper advertisement. The employer is looking for people with red hair.
He gets the job and is asked to start copying the Encyclopedia Brittanica by hand.Why exactly ?
An enjoyable Holmes mystery,watched as a TV adaptation as well.
He gets the job and is asked to start copying the Encyclopedia Brittanica by hand.Why exactly ?
An enjoyable Holmes mystery,watched as a TV adaptation as well.
July 12, 2023
The more bizarre a thing is the less mysterious it proves to be. It is your commonplace, featureless crimes that are really puzzling, just as a commonplace face is the most difficult to identify.
3.6 stars rounded to 4
3.6 stars rounded to 4
September 30, 2024
Eine sehr skurrile und schräge Geschichte, bei der man sich über die Naivität des Pfandleihers nur wundern kann.
Pfandleiher Wilson hat rote Haare und bekommt dadurch einen sehr gut bezahlten Job angeboten. Für die Liga der rothaarigen Männer soll er die Encyclopaedia Britannica abschreiben.
Als eines Tages das Büro geschlossen und sein Arbeitgeber spurlos verschwunden ist, schaltet er Sherlock Holmes ein.
Dem gelingt es natürlich, das Rätsel zu lösen.
Ich mag Sherlock Holmes. Es macht Spaß, ihm quasi beim Denken und Kombinieren Gesellschaft zu leisten :)
Pfandleiher Wilson hat rote Haare und bekommt dadurch einen sehr gut bezahlten Job angeboten. Für die Liga der rothaarigen Männer soll er die Encyclopaedia Britannica abschreiben.
Als eines Tages das Büro geschlossen und sein Arbeitgeber spurlos verschwunden ist, schaltet er Sherlock Holmes ein.
Dem gelingt es natürlich, das Rätsel zu lösen.
Ich mag Sherlock Holmes. Es macht Spaß, ihm quasi beim Denken und Kombinieren Gesellschaft zu leisten :)
February 11, 2024
قراءة أخرى:
رغم تذكري لمعظم تفاصيل القضية إلا أني استمتعت بطرافتها وغرابتها من السطر الأول هذه المرة. حالة القارئ الذهنية وتوقعاته تؤثران بشدة على حكمه فيما يقرأ.
قراءة قديمة:
تثائبت كثيرًا بداية هذه القضية، هي غريبة وأصبحت مشوقة في المنتصف لكن انتهت بشكل رتيب. يبدأ كل شيء مع إعلان وظيفي من جماعة تُدعى عصبة ذوي الشعر الأحمر يعرضون فيه وظيفة بمرتب عالي وساعات عمل قصيرة شرط أن يكون الشخص ذو شعر أحمر... وخلف هذا الإعلان لغز يتحدى شيرلوك. الحبكة بسيطة والأحداث لم تكن بتشويق القضية السابقة.
رغم تذكري لمعظم تفاصيل القضية إلا أني استمتعت بطرافتها وغرابتها من السطر الأول هذه المرة. حالة القارئ الذهنية وتوقعاته تؤثران بشدة على حكمه فيما يقرأ.
قراءة قديمة:
تثائبت كثيرًا بداية هذه القضية، هي غريبة وأصبحت مشوقة في المنتصف لكن انتهت بشكل رتيب. يبدأ كل شيء مع إعلان وظيفي من جماعة تُدعى عصبة ذوي الشعر الأحمر يعرضون فيه وظيفة بمرتب عالي وساعات عمل قصيرة شرط أن يكون الشخص ذو شعر أحمر... وخلف هذا الإعلان لغز يتحدى شيرلوك. الحبكة بسيطة والأحداث لم تكن بتشويق القضية السابقة.
August 3, 2016
الفكرة التى بنيت عليها الحبكة او الحكاية عامة ، و التى كانت عن تلك (الأمور الغريبة التى تستدعي مجال للشك فى وقوع جريمه) يعني الأمور اللي بتستدعي شك اللي بيلاحظها و بتوحي له بأن هناك من يخطط او يعد لجريمة ما (جريمة لم تتم بعد و لكنها في طريقها للوقوع) . هي فعلا جيدة و كان بامكان الكاتب استغلالها بطريقة امثل .. الا ان حكايته قد جاءت عادية و ربما اقل من عادية ! ، و عموما يجب ان نراعى انه فى تلك الايام كانت هذه الحكاية العادية
رائدة !
و هي و مثيلاتها من كتابات ادجار الان بو و دويل كانوا ما افسح المجال لما أعقبهم من تطور في قصص الغموض و الرعب والألغاز البوليسية
رائدة !
و هي و مثيلاتها من كتابات ادجار الان بو و دويل كانوا ما افسح المجال لما أعقبهم من تطور في قصص الغموض و الرعب والألغاز البوليسية
October 14, 2020
الإنسان لا يساوي شيئا أما الأعمال فتساوي كل شيء
September 18, 2019
مع انها أقل من مستوى سابقتها فضيحة في بوهيما
ولكن جميل ذلك الايقاع الذي يتبعه الكاتب جعلنا دائما نشعر بالحلقة المفقودة والتي يلتقطها شخص واحد فقط وهو السيد هولمز
January 7, 2024
Perhaps the best from the series, mainly for the interesting and mischievous idea of finding such an awkward way to cheat someone and make him happy with the same stroke.
It matters less that the victim isn't the smartest guy on Earth, but greed counts, so here is a place for Sherlock in the story.
Wonder what should have been happened if the scammers had spent just a few pounds more.
It matters less that the victim isn't the smartest guy on Earth, but greed counts, so here is a place for Sherlock in the story.
Wonder what should have been happened if the scammers had spent just a few pounds more.
May 28, 2022
I think there was some time inconstansy in the plot, but not a bad story.
July 29, 2021
This Holmes yarn stands out for its humor, which plays out in the form of an utterly ridiculous scheme perpetuated on Holmes' witless client by a notorious bank robber. I loved Holmes' explanation to Watson of his motivations for sleuthing:
"'It saved me from ennui,' he answered, yawning. 'Alas! I already feel it closing in upon me. My life is spent in one long effort to escape from the commonplaces of existence. These little problems help me to do so.'"
Perhaps that explains his cocaine habit as well!
"'It saved me from ennui,' he answered, yawning. 'Alas! I already feel it closing in upon me. My life is spent in one long effort to escape from the commonplaces of existence. These little problems help me to do so.'"
Perhaps that explains his cocaine habit as well!
December 29, 2020
Sherlock Holmes, bueno como siempre, esta aventura me parece muy buena aunque no es de mis favoritas. Un pelirrojo busca los servicios de Holmes con relación a una misteriosa Liga de los pelirrojos. No hay mucho que decir sin contar algunos detalles, por lo que lo recomiendo mucho para pasar un buen rato)
January 1, 2022
Many years ago I read the entire collection of Sherlock Holmes adventures written by Conan Doyle, both short stories and novels. I recently found the audiobook of this story and I decided to refresh my memory.
It’s a pleasant story that starts from a bizarre event narrated to Holmes by a new client. The structure is quite simple, like many short stories: exposition of the facts, action by Holmes and Watson, conclusion with mystery revealed and explanation.
The strangeness of the fact that Holmes and Watson investigate, (the owner of a pawnshop responded to a curious ad looking for red-haired people) is the thing that attracts the most in the tale. The downside is that, as a short story, everything happens very quickly and the final explanation is essential, without spending too many words.
Nota per l’audiolibro in italiano
Come narratore Francesco Pannofino è sempre fantastico. La musica di fondo (violino e chitarra) invece è spesso fastidiosa e le numerose pause inserite durante la narrazione, dove si sente solo questa, spezzano un po’ troppo il ritmo.
It’s a pleasant story that starts from a bizarre event narrated to Holmes by a new client. The structure is quite simple, like many short stories: exposition of the facts, action by Holmes and Watson, conclusion with mystery revealed and explanation.
The strangeness of the fact that Holmes and Watson investigate, (the owner of a pawnshop responded to a curious ad looking for red-haired people) is the thing that attracts the most in the tale. The downside is that, as a short story, everything happens very quickly and the final explanation is essential, without spending too many words.
Nota per l’audiolibro in italiano
Come narratore Francesco Pannofino è sempre fantastico. La musica di fondo (violino e chitarra) invece è spesso fastidiosa e le numerose pause inserite durante la narrazione, dove si sente solo questa, spezzano un po’ troppo il ritmo.
May 31, 2020
"My life is spent in one long effort to escape from the commonplaces of existence. These little problems help me to do so."
Probably one of my favorite Sherlock Holmes short stories and the perfect cosy read for a Sunday afternoon.
(Not to mention, I needed something short to boost my reading challenge. *cough*)
4 stars
Probably one of my favorite Sherlock Holmes short stories and the perfect cosy read for a Sunday afternoon.
(Not to mention, I needed something short to boost my reading challenge. *cough*)
4 stars
November 7, 2019
Una aventura amena y muy pizpireta, del mejor detective!!
Muy ingeniosa y divertida
Muy ingeniosa y divertida
September 14, 2022
4.5 stars. Thoroughly enjoyed this curious story that started out about a mysterious red-headed league that had a paying vacancy and a man who accepted the position for eight weeks and then POOF it and anyone involved in it vanishes! He takes the case to Holmes. And it is a crazy one indeed!
After all is said and done the inimitable Sherlock Holmes makes the following comment.
It saved me from ennui, Alas! I already feel it closing in on me. My life is spent in one long effort to escape from the commonplaces of existence. These little problems help me to do so.
Hallelujah for keeping us entertained Mr. Holmes!
After all is said and done the inimitable Sherlock Holmes makes the following comment.
It saved me from ennui, Alas! I already feel it closing in on me. My life is spent in one long effort to escape from the commonplaces of existence. These little problems help me to do so.
Hallelujah for keeping us entertained Mr. Holmes!
November 3, 2021
Arthur Conan Doyle's, Funny, chuckle a minute, slap dash criminal short story, Red headed hairy league of red headed gentlemen, phony gut laugh, A lonely pawnbroker is so upset about his lucrative little money maker going belly up (being paid to hand write out an encyclopedia at an uptown office, what the...), he visits old Sherlock tells him his sad sack of story, Sherlock completely see's something else and formulates his mental powers and uncovers a sneaky bank heist currently in progress, Mr Clay the shadiest sneakiest London gang boss and his lads planned and have dug a tunnel from under the poor Pawn brokers shop to the Bank of Steal all my gold, and slide of with 35,000 Napoleons. Once again Sherlock strikes again, Watson shaky pistol in hand, Sherlock cocaine bong in his pocket, and Jones gob smacked in the face again.
July 17, 2016
مغامرات شارلوك هولمز , تأليف السيد آرثر كونان دويل
" عصبة ذوي الشعر الأحمر " هي القضية الثالثة في مغامرات شارلوك هولمز , تدور أحداث هذه القصة حول إعلان في أحد الجرائد عن وظيفة شاغرة بأجر جيد جدا و لكن الشرط الوحيد هو أن يكون هذا العامل ذو شعر أحمر , فيتقدم أحد السماسرة الكهول بطلب من خادمه و إصرار منه إلى هذه الوظيفة والتي وجد كل الشروط الموجودة في الإعلان توافق خصائصه ليتضح أن كل هذا ليس سوى خطة ماكرة لسرقة أحد البنوك , و بالكبع كان شارلوك و صديقه واطسون في إنتظار هذه العصابة بعد كشف مخططاتها .
" عصبة ذوي الشعر الأحمر " هي القضية الثالثة في مغامرات شارلوك هولمز , تدور أحداث هذه القصة حول إعلان في أحد الجرائد عن وظيفة شاغرة بأجر جيد جدا و لكن الشرط الوحيد هو أن يكون هذا العامل ذو شعر أحمر , فيتقدم أحد السماسرة الكهول بطلب من خادمه و إصرار منه إلى هذه الوظيفة والتي وجد كل الشروط الموجودة في الإعلان توافق خصائصه ليتضح أن كل هذا ليس سوى خطة ماكرة لسرقة أحد البنوك , و بالكبع كان شارلوك و صديقه واطسون في إنتظار هذه العصابة بعد كشف مخططاتها .
May 21, 2019
The criminal was intelligent, cleverly manipulating the red headed man since he knew the man could use money and had a greedy nature. As usual, Sherlock Holmes did a great job solving the case. Holmes thrives on challenges. "It saved me from ennui....Alas! I already feel it closing in upon me. My life is spent in one long effort to escape from the commonplaces of existence. These little problems help me to do so."
July 29, 2013
Oh good god, gingers?! A whole league of them?!?!?!
February 12, 2019
I don't want to say this was an easy case, but the fact that I guessed it before it was revealed still remains.
Read with a LibriVox audiobook.
Read with a LibriVox audiobook.
June 25, 2023
Creo que este caso no fue tan divertido como los otros, pero de todas maneras me pareció muy curiosa la idea de que existiera una liga de pelirrojos que quisiera emplear a alguno para copiar de nuevo toda la Enciclopedia Británica.
Ahora, creo que de lo que nunca me cansaré, cuando no son ochocientas páginas de explicación, es del final de los relatos, es decir, el momento en el que Sherlock le revela a Watson toda la cadena de su razonamiento y Watson queda absolutamente perplejo por cómo funciona la mente de su amigo. Además, siento que, como lectora, siempre intento adivinar en dónde va a acabar todo, pero, igual que Watson, quedo perdidísima porque la mente de Sherlock es algo muy peculiar.
Ahora, creo que de lo que nunca me cansaré, cuando no son ochocientas páginas de explicación, es del final de los relatos, es decir, el momento en el que Sherlock le revela a Watson toda la cadena de su razonamiento y Watson queda absolutamente perplejo por cómo funciona la mente de su amigo. Además, siento que, como lectora, siempre intento adivinar en dónde va a acabar todo, pero, igual que Watson, quedo perdidísima porque la mente de Sherlock es algo muy peculiar.
August 12, 2021
I remember coming across this book in my literature textbook in high school. I wasn't required to read it, but I did so nonetheless because I liked to read and that textbook had a decent collection of short stories in it. It's been a while since I read it, i'll admit, but I do remember it being a fun read.
February 22, 2021
8.5/10
Re-read
One of the most unusual cases Sherlock ever had and a fun reading experience. Not only it's interesting but also not so hard to solve, well most of it at least.
Re-read
One of the most unusual cases Sherlock ever had and a fun reading experience. Not only it's interesting but also not so hard to solve, well most of it at least.
October 10, 2017
Barely made three stars on this one. Worst Sherlock story I've read/listened to so far. Great setup but extremely anti-climatic and almost pointless.
December 20, 2021
it was a very forgettable read.. Its just been 2 days and I can't say I remember enough to write a review that will justify my reading experience.
January 1, 2021
4 Stars. What is it with this pawnbroker? Is he really credulous enough to believe such nonsense? P.T. Barnum, the 19th century circus king, is supposed to have said, "There's a sucker born every minute," and Jabez Wilson, Sherlock Holmes' new client with flame red hair, makes the grade. Wilson is upset; he has lost his part-time job. When his assistant pawnbroker showed him an advertisement in the "Morning Chronicle" about a Red-Headed League of similarly attributed men, and the organization's desire to hire a like person with pay of 4 pounds a week, he jumped at the chance - income being down at the shop and all. This story appeared in "The Strand" in 1891, and in "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" in 1892. I read it in 2020's "Sherlock Holmes the Complete Novels and Stories." What were Wilson's responsibilities in this new post? From 10am to 2pm every day, he copied the Encyclopedia Britannica starting with the letter 'A.' Can you imagine hand copying Wikipedia on foolscap paper as your job? Crazy, but all Wilson wants is to get it back! Holmes sees through the smoke, and begins to ask questions. You'll enjoy the action. (December 2020)
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