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His Last Bow
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The Complete Sherlock Holmes - His Last Bow
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His Last Bow (His Last Bow)
Discussion Questions
1) Why did Holmes come out of retirement to solve this case?
How does Holmes outsmart Van Bork? Who assists him, and how?
2) What is Holmes’ ultimate objective in this case? Why does this require him to disguise himself?
3) What are the stakes in this case? What does Holmes risk happening if he does not pull this off successfully?
4) What is the “east wind” Holmes is referring to?
No comments on this yet!I wasn't overall a huge fan of this book, and this story is really why. It feels so artificial to me, and I don't think Holmes made the leap at all well... either to international espionage, or even to old age.
The first couple of pages were a little confusing ( I suppose they were meant to be) and I couldn’t really imagine Dr. Watson as a chauffeur. I’m surprised he didn’t give the game away because Watson was always much too honest a fellow to pull off a disguise.There were one ore two stereotypes being deployed in this story, not least the handsome athletic physical specimen that was Von Bork. It felt more 1930s than 1910s.
The way that Holmes had all Von Bork’s moves covered by his accomplices reminded me very much of how he finally cornered Moriarty.
Will he now have to hide deeper in the South Downs countryside to avoid the might of the Kaiser’s network of spies and their thirst for revenge?
Maybe that spade he uses for farming could be of some help.
https://gazetteer.sherlock-holmes.org...
His Last Bow (His Last Bow)
Availability His Last Bow: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/2350
Background Information
"His Last Bow. The War Service of Sherlock Holmes", later titled "His Last Bow: An Epilogue of Sherlock Holmes", is one of 56 short stories about Sherlock Holmes written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. It was first published in September 1917 in The Strand Magazine and collected as the last of an anthology of eight stories titled His Last Bow: Some Reminiscences of Sherlock Holmes the following month. The narration is in the third person, instead of the first person narration usually provided by the character of Dr. Watson, and it is a spy story, rather than a detective mystery. Due to its portrayal of British and German spies on the eve of war, its publication during the First World War, and its patriotic themes, the story has been interpreted as a propaganda tool intended to boost morale for British readers.
Publication History
"His Last Bow" was first published in the UK in The Strand Magazine in September 1917, and in the US in Collier's in the same month. The story was published with three illustrations by Alfred Gilbert (best known as sculptor of the Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain) in the Strand, and with five illustrations by Frederic Dorr Steele in Collier's. It was included in the short story collection His Last Bow, which was published in the UK and the US in October 1917.
A Short Summary
"His Last Bow" is a collection of Sherlock Holmes stories by Arthur Conan Doyle, featuring the titular story where Holmes emerges from retirement to aid the British government on the eve of World War I, showcasing his patriotism and skills.
Legacy
The story is the last chronological installment of the series. The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes, set before the story, was published later.
Holmes' patriotic passage has been widely quoted, and was later used in the final scene of the Basil Rathbone film Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror (1942), loosely based on "His Last Bow", though set during World War II.