[FUN WITH READING 2018-20205B] Sherlock Holmes and the Duke’s Son

20205林欣璇 (LIN, XIN-XUAN)

BOOK PROFILE

TITLE OF THE BOOK: Sherlock Holmes and the Duke’s Son

NAME OF THE AUTHOR: Sir Arthur Sonan Doyle

YEAR OF THE BOOK: 2008

PRESS: Oxford University Press

ISBN: 9780194789196

Sherlock Holmes and the Duke’s Son

“Sherlock Holmes and the Duke’s Son” was created by Sir Arthur Sonan Doyle. For Sir Arthur Sonan Doyle, writing fiction was not only the tool which could make money, but also a chance to tell that the good would always prevail over the evil. Just like Sherlock Holmes, he was always able to solve the mystery and dig out the truth; however, sometimes Sherlock Holmes would not bring the criminal to the police, because he thought it would be much better for everyone. This story describes a kidnapping, and the detective, Sherlock Holmes, who would solve the mystery.

Dr. Huxtable had a school for boys in the north of England. When Duke of Holderness decided to send his young son there, that was a piece of good news for the school, because the Duke was a very important person, and he was willing to let him son go there for study. But just two years later, Dr. Huxtable found the Duke’s son, Arthur, disappeared. He thought there was someone who had kidnapped him, so Dr. Huxtable turned to the famous detective Sherlock Holmes for help. Later, Sherlock Holmes discovered a strange thing. Arthur went freely on that day, and it meant that Arthur was willing to go with the kidnapper. After deeply dredging up the truth, Sherlock Holmes suspected the Duke was the person who kidnapped Arthur. But why did a father kidnap his son? Sherlock Holmes told all the process of complicated reasoning to the Duke. Finally, the Duke told a surprising news to everyone. The kidnapper actually was James, the Duke’s secretary and also the Duke’s son, but nobody knew James was the Duke’s son, because a government minister couldn't tell the world about an illegitimate child. James was jealous of all the things which Arthur had. As a result, he planned to kidnap Arthur on that day. After the Duke knew it, the Duke had no choice but keep Arthur disappeared. In the end, Sherlock Holmes didn't bring James to justice. He let James go to Australia as fast as he could.

    Having once started reading this fiction, I was completely immersed in the mysterious story, and I admired Sherlock Holmes so much. He was not only the observant but also a person with a large amount of knowledge. For example, he could infer that Arthur recognized the kidnapper, only according to what Arthur was dressed in and the footprints on the ground under the window. It was so amazing that I couldn't stop reading it.