His farewell performance
His farewell performance (Original: His Last Bow ) is one of Arthur Conan Doyle written collection of eight crime - short stories about his famous detective Sherlock Holmes and his friend Dr. Watson , published in the UK in 1917.
Emergence
After Doyle brought his master detective back to life in the first of a total of thirteen stories in The Return of Sherlock Holmes (1905) after his alleged death in The Last Problem (published in The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes in 1893 ), he published between 1908 and 1913 at irregular intervals further stories about the criminological genius. These texts, accompanied by a short foreword and rounded off by the current story His Farewell Presentation, were finally summarized in 1917 in His Farewell Presentation.
content
The book contains eight short stories, each about 30-40 pages in German. The letters in square brackets [] denote the now firmly established abbreviations.
Wisteria Lodge (Wisteria Lodge [WIST], 1908)
- A young, excited man comes to Holmes at 221b Baker Street and tells him that he had spent the last night with a casual acquaintance. When he got up the next morning, the house called Wisteria Lodge would have been deserted. Even before he reports this, a Scotland Yard inspector appears who wants to arrest him for the murder of the missing homeowner. But Holmes is not convinced of his guilt and soon sees connections with a former South American ruler who fled.
The Cardboard Box [CARD], 1893
- A single lady receives a package that contains two freshly severed human ears. After Holmes, who is called in by the perplexed police, has examined the gruesome gifts, he is certain that one of the ears belongs to a woman who is closely related to the recipient. Holmes soon realizes that the organ belongs to the single woman's recently missing sister and that behind this nauseating cargo lies a double homicide.
The Red Circle (REDC), 1911
- A woman wonders about the strange quirks of her subtenant. She only saw the young man once, namely when the rental agreement was signed. Since then, the strange person has not left their room for a minute and is meticulous to ensure that no one sees them. After lying in wait near the room, Holmes concludes that the lodger is not the same person who signed the lease.
The Bruce-Partington Plans [BRUC], 1908
- The top-secret plans for the Bruce Partington submarine have been stolen. A young agency employee who was supposed to be guarding the plans is found dead and with some of the drawings next to a subway track. However, the most important sketches are missing. Sherlock Holmes now has to get it back as soon as possible to prevent another nation from building this highly modern weapon.
The Dying Detective [DYIN], 1913
- The horrified Dr. Watson learns from Holmes' landlady that the detective has been in bed seriously ill for three days. However, the investigator refuses to consult a doctor. Confident that he has a rare tropical disease, he sends Watson to a plantation owner who is familiar with it and is said to be Holmes' last resort.
The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax (Lady Frances Carfax [LADY], 1911)
- Lady Carfax, who is single and traveling through Europe, has disappeared without a trace for several weeks. Since Holmes is currently unavailable in London, he sends Watson to the continent to investigate the last whereabouts of the lady. So he learns that the lady has traveled to England with a clergyman and his wife.
The Devil's Foot [DEVI], 1910
- His doctor orders Holmes absolute rest. So the detective and his companion Dr. Watson went to the country to recover from the stress of countless cases. However, one day Holmes learns of a strange incident. A young man visited his sister and two brothers at their house to play cards with them. When he comes back early in the morning the next day, he finds his sister dead and his two brothers completely insane. Holmes ignores all the instructions of his doctor and begins to investigate.
His farewell performance (His Last Bow [LAST], 1917)
- On the eve of the First World War, a German spy receives important military data from what appears to be an Irish-American informant. When the German wants to receive an important document from him for the last time, he is arrested by his informant and it turns out that the Irishman is in fact Sherlock Holmes in disguise. The detective put his skills at the service of the British government.
The story The cardboard box is mainly included in British editions of the canon of the short story collection The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes . The American publishers found the story too explosive because of the adultery issue and only printed it with seven others in the farewell performance .
meaning
The farewell performance is part of Doyle's second creative period after Holmes' temporary death at the end of The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes . With only eight stories, it is the smallest of the five volumes of short stories about the detective and, together with The Return of Sherlock Holmes and the Sherlock Holmes Book of Cases, is one of the lesser-known Sherlock Holmes books that have been used in radio drama and film.
expenditure
- Arthur Conan Doyle: His farewell performance , (translation: Leslie Giger), Haffmans, Zurich 1988, ISBN 3251201077
- Same translation (new edition): No and But, 2005, ISBN 978-3-0369-5150-8
- Same translation (paperback): island paperback no.3320, 2007, ISBN 978-3-458-35020-0
- Arthur Conan Doyle: Sherlock Holmes Collected Works , Hardcover (Translator: Adolf Gleiner, Margarete Jacobi, Louis Ottmann, Rudolf Lautenbach), Anaconda-Verlag 2012, ISBN 978-3866478503
See also
Web links
- Arthur Conan Doyle: His Last Bow in Project Gutenberg ( currently not usually available for users from Germany )