Two detective stories Essay Example for Free

Two detective stories Essay For my English coursework I am going to explain the similarities and the differences between the two detective stories The Speckled Band written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Forever After written by Jim Thomson. The Speckled Band was written in 1892, the detective in this story was none other than the famous Sherlock Holmes. The story was set in the 1890s so the people reading it at the time could relate to the story. Jim Thomson wrote Forever After but in this story there was no famous character, Jim Thomson had to create all of the characters from new. This means he had more flexibility to write the story. Conan Doyle was English and Jim Thomson was American. Obviously this would change the style of writing. Also The Speckled Band was written in 1892 and Forever After was written in 1960 so there was a large difference in the time it was written. This also means that the style of writing is different. The difference in age will also mean that when people read the story now, it will greatly affect how they can relate to it. In they1890s the people could relate to the speckled band because they where living in the same situation and the same lifestyle, but that was a long time ago so when people look at it now they might not be able to understand the situations and circumstances that they where in. The way of life has changed considerably. In the speckled band was written in the normal way of writing detective stories. There is a detective, a shady, typical villain, a spooky house, a suspect, many red herrings and a very difficult mystery to solve. The surprise in the story is when the mystery has been solved. Holmes already has a reputation before you even pick up the book. This gives Conan Doyle the advantage of not having to create a character. Dr Watson starts off the book by talking about all of the seventy odd mysteries he has witnessed his friend Sherlock Holmes investigate and solve. The he singles out one story in particular that he remembers this is the story of the speckled band. This makes you think that this story is special and is different from all of his other stories if this is the story, which he remembers in particularly. The story begins and a strange woman has arrived one early morning at Sherlock Holmess house. The author describes her as a lady heavily veiled and dressed in black. This told me that she is possibly mourning someones death; this creates a very dark and scary atmosphere, it also makes the reader very curious. This early arrival also makes the reader wonder what story this woman has arrived to tell and her appearance gives the impression that it could be a dark and frightening tale.