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The Literary Detective: 100 Puzzles in Classic Fiction
This is an omnibus edition of John Sutherland's three collections of literary puzzles, "Is Heathcliffe a Murderer?", "Can Jane Eyre be Happy?", and "Who Betrays Elizabeth Bennet?". Investigating a variety of anomalies, enigmas, and conundrums such as "why does Robinson Crusoe find only one footprint?" and "where does Fanny Hill keep her contraceptives?", Professor Sutherland explores the questions readers often ask and critics rarely discuss. His forensic skills focus on authors from Defoe and Fielding to Wells and Woolf, relishing in particular the 19th-century novelists, Austen, Collins, Dickens, and the Brontes.
782 pages, Hardcover
First published October 5, 2000
About the author
John Sutherland
244 books197 followersJohn Andrew Sutherland is an English academic, newspaper columnist and author. He is Emeritus Lord Northcliffe Professor of Modern English Literature at University College London.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 21, 2024
I haven't read all of this, and probably won't. I've read enough to know I like it, but I find some of it to be overkill. However, English major types would eat this stuff up and probably be eager for more. I'm just not one of those people. Depending on my mood, sometimes I want to know how the sausage is made, and other times I'd rather stay ignorant of the process so I can enjoy the magic of the book more, and there's no telling which way I'll lean at any given moment. It's like Mark Twain says: "We have not the reverent feeling for the rainbow that the savage has, because we know how it is made. We have lost as much as we gained by prying into that matter." It also depends on what the topic is. I usually enjoy knowing the history in a book, or identifying cross-references, but I'm normally all "eh, whatever" about themes, symbols, and motifs. This book contains a mix of those elements.
I'll use Frankenstein, which has two entries in here, as an example. He asks:
How does Victor make his Monsters?
Why is the monster yellow?
I was interested in the first, but feel like the second was a question nobody else asked (though I could be wrong). However, after reading both, I found I liked the answer for the second question more than the first. He doesn't give a definite answer for anything (at least not so far) since said answers died with the authors, and I'm not sure that they would even have the solution. But, he explores many possibilities and backs them up with plenty of sources. (Be sure not to neglect the end notes if you read this.) Sometimes the answers are quite a stretch, but I'll give him this: he leaves no stone unturned in trying to solve the poser.
Some authors, and indeed some books, get much more attention than others. Dickens is well represented, and Oliver Twist alone has three entries; four if you count his discussion of young Master Bates in the "Name Games" section of the third book in which he talks about authors having fun with character names in multiple books. In fact, the whole reason I got this book is because someone mentioned Sutherland discussing "Master Bates" in it... I guess I'm still pretty immature.
If you enjoy book club discussions and getting into the nitty gritty ifs, ands, and buts of a story, and you enjoy classic literature, then you'd probably like this book.
I reckon the review is now pretty much over. The rest of this is just a place for me to keep things straight as I go through the entries I want to read. It could also be a resource for anyone interested in getting this but not able to see the table of contents because Amazon or anyone else doesn't want to share that information. I found this online for $7.00, so the financial risk wasn't too great, but I still would like to have known what I was getting into. I kind of lucked out since I plan to read half of these. However, that's still $3.50 down the drain. That's six hot dogs at Sheetz, or approximately three lunches if you do it right! I guess it was worth it, though.
This is an omnibus of three other books Mr. Sutherland wrote, all linked below. Books I've read or intend to read will have a link to my review. The ones I don't plan to read for now will be in italics. A ✔ means I've read the entry in the book and added the questions from it to that particular review just for my own reference. And what the hell, I'll put the questions on here as well just for shits and giggles as I go along. And since I'm going to do that, I might as well put the questions for the ones I don't intend to read as I pass them by, because why not? Why do I feel the need to be this detailed and all cross-referencey? I have no idea. I assume it's some kind of mental sickness.
Is Heathcliff a Murderer?: Great Puzzles in Nineteenth-Century Fiction
Mansfield Park: Where does Sir Thomas's wealth come from?
Waverley: How much English blood (if any) does Waverly spill?
Emma: Apple-blossom in June?
The Heart of Midlothian: Effie Deans's phantom pregnancy
Frankenstein: How does Victor make his monsters? ✔
Oliver Twist Is Oliver dreaming? ✔
Martin Chuzzlewit: Mysteries of the Dickensian year ✔
Wuthering Heights: Is Heathcliff a murderer?
Jane Eyre: Rochester's celestial telegram ✔
Vanity Fair: Does Becky kill Jos?
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall: Who is Helen Graham?
Mary Barton: What kind of murderer is John Barton?
Henry Esmond: On a gross anachronism
Bleak House: What is Jo sweeping? ✔
Villette: Villette's double ending
Adam Bede: What is Hetty waiting for?
The Woman in White: The missing fortnight ✔
Pendennis, A Dark Nights Work, Rachel Ray: Two-timing novelists
Phineas Finn: The phantom pregnancy of Mary Flood Jones
Middlemarch: Is Will Ladislaw legitimate?
The Way We Live Now: Is Melmotte Jewish?
The Prime Minister: Where is Tenway Junction?
Is He Popenjoy?: Was he Popenjoy?
Portrait of a Lady: R.H. Hutton's spoiling hand
Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde: What does Edward Hyde look like? ✔
The Master of Ballantrae: Who is Alexander's father?
The Picture of Dorian Gray: Why does this novel disturb us? ✔
Tess of the D'Urbervilles: Is Alec a rapist?
The Adventure of the Speckled Band (Sherlock Holmes): Mysteries of the Speckled Band ✔
Jude the Obscure: What does Arabella Donn throw?
Weir of Hermiston: What is Duncan Jopp's crime?
The Invisible Man: Why is Griffin cold?
Dracula: Why does the Count come to England? ✔
Kim: How old is Kim? ✔
Can Jane Eyre Be Happy?: More Puzzles in Classic Fiction
Robinson Crusoe: Why the 'single print of a foot'?
Fanny Hill, or Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure: Where does Fanny Hill keep her contraceptives?
Tom Jones: Who is Tom Jones's father?
The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy: Slop Slip
Mansfield Park: Pug: dog or bitch?
Emma: How Vulgar is Mrs. Elton?
The Last of the Mohicans: Whose side is Hawk-Eye on?
The Pickwick Papers: What does Mr. Pickwick retire from? ✔
Oliver Twist and Great Expectations: Why is Fagin hanged and why isn't Pip prosecuted? ✔
Wuthering Heights: Who gets what in Heathcliff's will?
Jane Eyre: Can Jane Eyre be happy? ✔
Vanity Fair: How many pianos has Amelia Sedley?
Shirley: Will she ever come back?
The Scarlet Letter: What are the Prynnes doing in Boston? ✔
Bleak House: What happens to Mrs. Woodcourt? ✔
Barchester Towers: The Barchester Towers that never was
Adam Bede: Why doesn't the Reverend Irwine speak up for Hetty?
The Mill on the Floss: How good an oarswoman is Maggie Tulliver?
Great Expectations and The Coral Island: How good a swimmer is Magwitch? ✔
Armadale: What, precisely, does Miss Gwilt's purple flask contain?
Felix Holt, the Radical: Lemon or ladle?
Ralph the Heir: Why 'Captain' Newton?
A Pair of Blue Eyes: What is Elfride's rope made of?
Daniel Deronda: Is Daniel Deronda circumcised?
Black Beauty: Is Black Beauty gelded?
The Woodlanders: What does Mrs. Charmond say to grace?
Tess of the D'Urbervilles: Who will Angel marry next?
The Yellow Wall-Paper: What cure for the Madwoman in the attic? ✔
The Sea-Wolf: Who is George Leach?
The Hound of the Baskervilles: Wanted: deaf-and-dumb dog feeder ✔
The Good Soldier: Whose daughter is Nancy?
Mrs. Dalloway: Clarissa's invisible taxi
Who Betrays Elizabeth Bennet?: Further Puzzles in Classic Fiction
Moll Flanders: Why is Moll's younger brother older than she is?
Tom Jones: Who has Susan been talking to?
Pride and Prejudice: Who betrays Elizabeth Bennet? ✔
Mansfield Park: What do we know about Frances Price (the first)?
Emma: Apple-blossom in June - again.
Rob Roy: How old is Frank?
Frankenstein: Why is the monster yellow? ✔
Oliver Twist: Does Dickens lynch Fagin? ✔
A Christmas Carol: How do the Cratchits cook Scrooge's turkey? ✔
Vanity Fair: How many siblings has Dobbin?
Wuthering Heights: Heathcliff's toothbrush
Dombey and Son: Does Carker have false teeth? ✔
Villette: Lucy Snowe, cement-mixer
David Copperfield: Is Betsey Trotwood a spinster? ✔
Ruth: How does Ruth end up in Wales?
Henry Esmond: What is Henry Esmond's 'great scheme'?
Bleak House: What kills Lady Dedlock? ✔
North and South: What are Mr. Hale's 'doubts'?
"Name Games": ✔
A Tale of Two Cities: Where does Sydney Carton get his Chloroform? ✔
The Woman in White: Why doesn't Laura tell her own story? ✔
Great Expectations: Why was Pip not invited to Joe's wedding? ✔
The Mill on the Floss: Should we change the end of the (sic) The Mill on the Floss?
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland: How long is Alice in Wonderland for? ✔
Our Mutual Friend: Does Dickens know his train signals? ✔
The Moonstone: Is Franklin Blake a thief and a rapist?
Middlemarch: Elms, limes, or does it matter?
The Way We Live Now: How criminal is Melmotte and when is he criminalized?
Around the World in Eighty Days: Jules Verne and the English Sunday
Huckleberry Finn: What happens to Jim's family? ✔
Anna Karenina: What English novel is Anna reading?
The Mayor of Casterbridge: Why are there no public conveniences in Casterbridge? ✔
A Scandal in Bohemia (Sherlock Holmes): Cabinets and detectives ✔
Dracula: Why isn't everyone a vampire? ✔
I'll use Frankenstein, which has two entries in here, as an example. He asks:
How does Victor make his Monsters?
Why is the monster yellow?
I was interested in the first, but feel like the second was a question nobody else asked (though I could be wrong). However, after reading both, I found I liked the answer for the second question more than the first. He doesn't give a definite answer for anything (at least not so far) since said answers died with the authors, and I'm not sure that they would even have the solution. But, he explores many possibilities and backs them up with plenty of sources. (Be sure not to neglect the end notes if you read this.) Sometimes the answers are quite a stretch, but I'll give him this: he leaves no stone unturned in trying to solve the poser.
Some authors, and indeed some books, get much more attention than others. Dickens is well represented, and Oliver Twist alone has three entries; four if you count his discussion of young Master Bates in the "Name Games" section of the third book in which he talks about authors having fun with character names in multiple books. In fact, the whole reason I got this book is because someone mentioned Sutherland discussing "Master Bates" in it... I guess I'm still pretty immature.
If you enjoy book club discussions and getting into the nitty gritty ifs, ands, and buts of a story, and you enjoy classic literature, then you'd probably like this book.
I reckon the review is now pretty much over. The rest of this is just a place for me to keep things straight as I go through the entries I want to read. It could also be a resource for anyone interested in getting this but not able to see the table of contents because Amazon or anyone else doesn't want to share that information. I found this online for $7.00, so the financial risk wasn't too great, but I still would like to have known what I was getting into. I kind of lucked out since I plan to read half of these. However, that's still $3.50 down the drain. That's six hot dogs at Sheetz, or approximately three lunches if you do it right! I guess it was worth it, though.
This is an omnibus of three other books Mr. Sutherland wrote, all linked below. Books I've read or intend to read will have a link to my review. The ones I don't plan to read for now will be in italics. A ✔ means I've read the entry in the book and added the questions from it to that particular review just for my own reference. And what the hell, I'll put the questions on here as well just for shits and giggles as I go along. And since I'm going to do that, I might as well put the questions for the ones I don't intend to read as I pass them by, because why not? Why do I feel the need to be this detailed and all cross-referencey? I have no idea. I assume it's some kind of mental sickness.
Is Heathcliff a Murderer?: Great Puzzles in Nineteenth-Century Fiction
Mansfield Park: Where does Sir Thomas's wealth come from?
Waverley: How much English blood (if any) does Waverly spill?
Emma: Apple-blossom in June?
The Heart of Midlothian: Effie Deans's phantom pregnancy
Frankenstein: How does Victor make his monsters? ✔
Oliver Twist Is Oliver dreaming? ✔
Martin Chuzzlewit: Mysteries of the Dickensian year ✔
Wuthering Heights: Is Heathcliff a murderer?
Jane Eyre: Rochester's celestial telegram ✔
Vanity Fair: Does Becky kill Jos?
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall: Who is Helen Graham?
Mary Barton: What kind of murderer is John Barton?
Henry Esmond: On a gross anachronism
Bleak House: What is Jo sweeping? ✔
Villette: Villette's double ending
Adam Bede: What is Hetty waiting for?
The Woman in White: The missing fortnight ✔
Pendennis, A Dark Nights Work, Rachel Ray: Two-timing novelists
Phineas Finn: The phantom pregnancy of Mary Flood Jones
Middlemarch: Is Will Ladislaw legitimate?
The Way We Live Now: Is Melmotte Jewish?
The Prime Minister: Where is Tenway Junction?
Is He Popenjoy?: Was he Popenjoy?
Portrait of a Lady: R.H. Hutton's spoiling hand
Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde: What does Edward Hyde look like? ✔
The Master of Ballantrae: Who is Alexander's father?
The Picture of Dorian Gray: Why does this novel disturb us? ✔
Tess of the D'Urbervilles: Is Alec a rapist?
The Adventure of the Speckled Band (Sherlock Holmes): Mysteries of the Speckled Band ✔
Jude the Obscure: What does Arabella Donn throw?
Weir of Hermiston: What is Duncan Jopp's crime?
The Invisible Man: Why is Griffin cold?
Dracula: Why does the Count come to England? ✔
Kim: How old is Kim? ✔
Can Jane Eyre Be Happy?: More Puzzles in Classic Fiction
Robinson Crusoe: Why the 'single print of a foot'?
Fanny Hill, or Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure: Where does Fanny Hill keep her contraceptives?
Tom Jones: Who is Tom Jones's father?
The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy: Slop Slip
Mansfield Park: Pug: dog or bitch?
Emma: How Vulgar is Mrs. Elton?
The Last of the Mohicans: Whose side is Hawk-Eye on?
The Pickwick Papers: What does Mr. Pickwick retire from? ✔
Oliver Twist and Great Expectations: Why is Fagin hanged and why isn't Pip prosecuted? ✔
Wuthering Heights: Who gets what in Heathcliff's will?
Jane Eyre: Can Jane Eyre be happy? ✔
Vanity Fair: How many pianos has Amelia Sedley?
Shirley: Will she ever come back?
The Scarlet Letter: What are the Prynnes doing in Boston? ✔
Bleak House: What happens to Mrs. Woodcourt? ✔
Barchester Towers: The Barchester Towers that never was
Adam Bede: Why doesn't the Reverend Irwine speak up for Hetty?
The Mill on the Floss: How good an oarswoman is Maggie Tulliver?
Great Expectations and The Coral Island: How good a swimmer is Magwitch? ✔
Armadale: What, precisely, does Miss Gwilt's purple flask contain?
Felix Holt, the Radical: Lemon or ladle?
Ralph the Heir: Why 'Captain' Newton?
A Pair of Blue Eyes: What is Elfride's rope made of?
Daniel Deronda: Is Daniel Deronda circumcised?
Black Beauty: Is Black Beauty gelded?
The Woodlanders: What does Mrs. Charmond say to grace?
Tess of the D'Urbervilles: Who will Angel marry next?
The Yellow Wall-Paper: What cure for the Madwoman in the attic? ✔
The Sea-Wolf: Who is George Leach?
The Hound of the Baskervilles: Wanted: deaf-and-dumb dog feeder ✔
The Good Soldier: Whose daughter is Nancy?
Mrs. Dalloway: Clarissa's invisible taxi
Who Betrays Elizabeth Bennet?: Further Puzzles in Classic Fiction
Moll Flanders: Why is Moll's younger brother older than she is?
Tom Jones: Who has Susan been talking to?
Pride and Prejudice: Who betrays Elizabeth Bennet? ✔
Mansfield Park: What do we know about Frances Price (the first)?
Emma: Apple-blossom in June - again.
Rob Roy: How old is Frank?
Frankenstein: Why is the monster yellow? ✔
Oliver Twist: Does Dickens lynch Fagin? ✔
A Christmas Carol: How do the Cratchits cook Scrooge's turkey? ✔
Vanity Fair: How many siblings has Dobbin?
Wuthering Heights: Heathcliff's toothbrush
Dombey and Son: Does Carker have false teeth? ✔
Villette: Lucy Snowe, cement-mixer
David Copperfield: Is Betsey Trotwood a spinster? ✔
Ruth: How does Ruth end up in Wales?
Henry Esmond: What is Henry Esmond's 'great scheme'?
Bleak House: What kills Lady Dedlock? ✔
North and South: What are Mr. Hale's 'doubts'?
"Name Games": ✔
A Tale of Two Cities: Where does Sydney Carton get his Chloroform? ✔
The Woman in White: Why doesn't Laura tell her own story? ✔
Great Expectations: Why was Pip not invited to Joe's wedding? ✔
The Mill on the Floss: Should we change the end of the (sic) The Mill on the Floss?
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland: How long is Alice in Wonderland for? ✔
Our Mutual Friend: Does Dickens know his train signals? ✔
The Moonstone: Is Franklin Blake a thief and a rapist?
Middlemarch: Elms, limes, or does it matter?
The Way We Live Now: How criminal is Melmotte and when is he criminalized?
Around the World in Eighty Days: Jules Verne and the English Sunday
Huckleberry Finn: What happens to Jim's family? ✔
Anna Karenina: What English novel is Anna reading?
The Mayor of Casterbridge: Why are there no public conveniences in Casterbridge? ✔
A Scandal in Bohemia (Sherlock Holmes): Cabinets and detectives ✔
Dracula: Why isn't everyone a vampire? ✔
July 10, 2025
A great vindication of the approach to literary niceties scorned by L. C. Knights and others - I am surprised Sutherland did not actually answer the famous “How Many Children had Lady Macbeth?” here, but alas. Of course some of the questions are niche, but the answers are always revealing, and at his best Sutherland penetrates deeply into cruces otherwise unresolved. A great book.
August 29, 2023
Unfortunately this one was not for me. There were just too many of the essays about books I hadn't read, or perhaps had read more than 50 years ago. From what I did read, only real enthusiasts would be worried about the issues raised.
Did not finish.
Did not finish.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews