Publisher's Synopsis
This is a study of the Sherlock Holmes canon: it is a detailed social history, a consideration of Doyle's new genre of detective fiction as a response to the scientific rationalism of the late 19th century. For the first time in the history of English literature readers have been given a moral agent, in the form of Mr Holmes, who can actually prove that he is right.;The Masterwork Studies are readable explorations of classic texts. The goal of each Masterwork Study is to encourage creative thinking, enabling students to arrive at sound analyses of their own. Each volume illuminates themes and concepts of a classic text using clear and conversational language.
