The Valley of Fear

Infobox Book |
name = The Valley of Fear
title_orig =
translator =


image_caption = Dust-jacket illustration for "The Valley of Fear"
author = Arthur Conan Doyle
illustrator =
cover_artist =
country = United Kingdom
language = English
series = Sherlock Holmes
genre = Detective novel
publisher = George H. Doran Company
release_date = 1915
english_release_date =
media_type = Print (Hardback)
pages =
isbn = NA
preceded_by = His Last Bow
followed_by = The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes

"The Valley of Fear" is the final Sherlock Holmes novel by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The story was first published in the "Strand Magazine" between September 1914 and May 1915. The first book edition was published in New York on February 27, 1915.

Plot

The plot of the novel is based very loosely on the real-life activities of the Molly Maguires and, particularly, of Pinkerton agent James McParland.

The novel is divided into two parts: in the first, Holmes investigates an apparent murder and discovers that the body belongs to another man; and in the second, the story of the man originally thought to have been the victim is told.

Professor Moriarty

"The Valley of Fear" is also notable for the involvement of Professor Moriarty, which contradicts the timeline of the stories. In "The Final Problem," Dr. Watson was first alerted by Sherlock Holmes to the existence of Professor Moriarty. In the same story, Professor Moriarty dies in the confrontation with Sherlock Holmes, as explained in "The Adventure of the Empty House," leaving no time in between the two events for any other story regarding the Professor. However, in "The Valley of Fear", Professor Moriarty has been mentioned by Holmes, and Dr. Watson had appeared to know both about the Professor's evil acts, and the fact that the existence of Moriarty is unknown by nearly everyone except Holmes.

Adaptations

Few film and television adaptations have included these allusions to Professor Moriarty, as the story is otherwise a stand-alone tale. Among the few film adaptations are the 1935 British film "The Triumph of Sherlock Holmes," starring Arthur Wontner as Holmes and Ian Fleming as Watson, and the 1984 animated "Sherlock Holmes and The Valley of Fear", starring Peter O'Toole as the voice of Holmes.

A Study in Scarlet

The novel shares a few remarkable similarities with the first Sherlock Holmes novel, "A Study in Scarlet". Both stories include a lengthy flashback to America, and both stories involve people running around the world to avoid paying for a vengeance with their lives.

See also

* Person from Porlock

External links

*
* [http://www.yeoldelibrary.com/text/DoyleAC/fear/index.htm "The Valley of Fear"] , online at [http://www.yeoldelibrary.com/ Ye Olde Library]