How Does Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Create Suspense in His Writing?

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Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was a British physician and writer, mostly well known for his stories “Sherlock Holmes”, which are generally in the field of crime fiction. He was a prolific writer whose other works include science fiction stories, historical novels, plays and romances, poetry, and non-fiction.

In the following paragraphs I will be talking about the three stories ‘Red Headed League’, ‘Silver Blaze’ and ‘scandal in Bohemia’.

The story ‘Scandal in Bohemia’ starts of very odd, “To Sherlock Holmes, she is always the woman’. This has already given the reader a hint of suspense as it is something unusual. It was always thought that Holmes had no feelings and no emotions for anyone, but according to this opening the above phrase is incorrect. Conan Doyle has already captured the reader’s attention in a different kind of way, whereas in his other stories such as ‘Red Headed League’ He has the reader interested in a different style. ‘And found him in deep conversation with a very stout, florid-faced, elderly gentleman with fiery red hair.’ This is one part from the opening, notice how it differs from Scandal in Bohemia, yet you still want to know what happens next-why Holmes was in such ‘deep conversation’ and why Doyle has described the elderly gentlemen in a very descriptive way.

However, in ‘Silver Blaze’, Doyle grabs the reader’s attention by shocking them, making it seem that there is going to be a change. ‘I’m afraid Watson, I shall have to go’. This opening may worry the reader to thinking that something has happened to Holmes resulting him in leaving hence it makes the reader want to read on.

Doyle knows how to have the reader questioning till the end, by giving clues to the final conclusion and not giving all the inf...

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... expected to see, said Holmes.’ All throughout the story the Red-headed League, Watson cannot grasp the concept of what Holmes is thinking. This is what creates the suspense.

One of the main ways that Doyle creates suspense is by giving that eerie and mysterious effect in his description. Not only does this bewilder the reader, but it also wants the reader to read until the end. The Red-headed League best describes the puzzling experience. Jabez Wilson is basically getting paid a lot of money for doing practically nothing; he also has strict orders which baffle the readers mind with questions. “Well you have to be in the office or at least in the building the whole time”. Already this has brought up questions, but that is how Doyle wants the reader to feel, he wants them to feel this way so they keep on reading to get the correct answers hence it creates suspense.

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