finalnovel, The Valley of Fear (1915) and two more collections of short stories, His Last Bow Holmes (1927). In total, Conan Doyle wrote four Sherlock Holmes novels and fifty-six short stories. However, as we have already seen, he did not want to be remembered only as the creator of Sherlock Holmes. He wrote books of historical fiction Unsourcedmaterial may be challenged and removed. Sherlock Holmes and the Valley of Fear is a 1983 Australian animated television film produced by Tom Stacey and George Stephenson for Burbank Films. It is an adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle 's novel The Valley of Fear (1915), the fourth and final Sherlock Holmes novel featuring Sherlock SirArthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930) is most noted for his Sherlock Holmes detective stories. He was a prolific writer whose other works include a wide range of science fiction stories, historical novels, romances, poetry, and nonfiction.Leslie S. Klinger is the editor of numerous books, including the best-selling The New Annotated Sherlock Holmes, The New Annotated Dracula, and The Annotated Fast Money. The Valley of Fear is a mystery novel by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and was the last of the four Sherlock Holmes novels written by the author. It was first published in serial form in the Strand Magazine from September 1914 to May 1915. Plot[] At the outset of the novel Sherlock Holmes receives a message from Fred Porlock, an agent to Professor Moriarty. Porlock occasionally sends Holmes insider information. Moriarty is blameless in the eyes of the law but Holmes knows him to be "the controlling brain of the underworld." Together Holmes and Watson decipher Porlock's message as indicating that a man named John Douglas residing at Birlstone is in danger. Inspector MacDonald of Scotland Yard calls upon Holmes to ask for his help and informs him that Mr Douglas of Birlstone Manor House has been murdered that morning. Sherlock Holmes tells MacDonald that since he received an alert from Porlock it is probable that Professor Moriarty's influence exists in the matter. MacDonald reminds Holmes that the professor is an educated and well respected man. Holmes informs MacDonald that although the Professor's salary is seven hundred pounds a year he owns a painting worth over forty thousand pounds and the Inspector agrees that this is suspicious. Holmes, Watson, and MacDonald travel to Birlstone village in Sussex. John Douglas was murdered at around midnight and had been shot in the head. The house is an old manor with a moat and drawbridge. A man name Cecil Barker was staying at the house on the night the murder took place and was a regular guest of Mr and Mrs Douglas. A sawn off shotgun was found at the scene. It appeared to have been fired at close range which caused the head to have been completely blown to pieces. Cecil Barker claims that he was upstairs in his room when he heard the shot and rushed downstairs. The drawbridge was up at this time and Cecil claims that he lowered it in order to admit help. There is a mark of blood upon the window sill where someone seems to have entered. Cecil says that he thinks the intruder got away by wading through the moat but has no explanation for how the assailant entered the house in the first place unless he entered before that time and waited in the house. A card lays beside the body with the initials scrawled in ink upon it. A small branded mark is seen on the man's arm but it has not been made recently. Douglas' wedding ring appears to have been taken from his hand which seems indicative since no others rings were taken. The police speculate that the murderer must have escaped across the moat but if this was so then the question of how he has so far eluded the police when all his clothes were wet as he walked through the town is a mystery. Holmes notices that Mr Douglas seems to have had only one dumbbell to hand in the study which strikes him as odd. From interviews with the people in the house more details about the events are established. Cecil Barker heard the shot, rushed down from his bedroom and entered the study and upon seeing Douglas murdered he rang violently on the bell. The servants and Mrs Douglas all rushed to the scene. Mr Barker persuaded Mrs Douglas to return to her room which she did. Holmes mentions to Watson that he thinks it was strange for Mrs Douglas to have shown so little outward emotion and not to have rushed to her husband's body. Cecil Barker says that he believes a secret society of men pursued Douglas and that this fear for his life is what prompted him to live in such a quiet area of England. Mr Douglas married his wife when he came to England five years previously. He had been married before and this first wife died of Typhoid. Douglas had met and worked with Cecil Barker in America for a time and then and suddenly left for Europe. Both Cecil Barker and Mrs Douglas were aware that some danger overhung Douglas and that this danger was connected with some episode of his life in America. Mrs Douglas says that she had heard her husband mention "The Valley of Fear". By studying the soles of Cecil Barker's slippers Holmes ascertains that Barker used the sole of his own shoe to make the mark on the window sill so as to give the appearance that someone exited that way. Back at their lodgings in the village Holmes tells Watson that Cecil Barker and Mrs Douglas are certainly lying but that why they are lying is not yet clear. When a shotgun is fired at close range the sound is muffled. The housekeeper heard what she described as a door slamming half an hour before the alarm was raised. Holmes believes that what the housekeeper actually heard was the shot fired when the murder really took place. White Mason, the Sussex detective, and MacDonald report that they have traced a bicycle found on the grounds of the house to an American staying at a guest house. It seems likely that he was the assailant since the gun used in the murder was of an American make but there is no sign of the man. Holmes tells MacDonald to write to Cecil Barker and inform him that the police intend to search the moat the next day. That night Holmes, Watson, MacDonald and White lay in wait outside Birlstone Manor and see Cecil Barker fish something out of the moat. The four men rush in and surprise Cecil, the bundle he has fished from the moat turns out to be the clothes of the missing American connected with the bicycle. It was weighted down with the missing dumbbell. Cecil refuses to explain the situation but at that moment Mr Douglas appears, alive and well. Douglas hands Dr Watson a written account called The Valley of Fear which he says explains the early part of his story and why he ended up being hunted in such a desperate way. Douglas explains the recent events. He had spotted an enemy of his, Ted Baldwin, in the area and expected an attack. The next day he was attacked is his study, the assailant attempted to shoot him but Douglas grabbed the gun first and in the struggle between the two men Baldwin received a shot to his face. With Cecil's help Douglas dressed the man in his own clothes and disposed of Baldwin's suit in the moat. He put his rings on the man's fingers except his wedding ring which he could not get off. The card was the mark that Baldwin had brought with him and intended to leave on Douglas' body, stood for Vermissa Valley. Douglas explains that the branding mark was that of a society to which both he and Baldwin belonged. Since they both bore the mark on their arms this would make it likely that the bodies could not be told apart since Baldwin's head was destroyed utterly by the shot. Since the time of the murder Cecil and Mrs Douglas had covered for Douglas who was hiding in the house. The report Douglas gives to Watson explains how he came to be hunted so viciously. Douglas' real name is Birdy Edwards and he was at one time a detective with the Chicago detective agency Pinkerton's. Edwards had infiltrated a dangerous gang in Vermissa Valley, which had become known as the Valley of Fear, and brought them to justice. Edwards' life had never been safe since some of the criminals who had escaped the death penalty were released from jail. Edwards had moved around from place to place. His first wife Ettie, whom he had met in the valley, passed away. He then met Cecil and the two made a fortune in business together. Hounded once again Douglas disappeared and made for England where he met and married his second wife. Holmes urges Douglas to leave England and warns that a new threat, greater than all those of his past, now hangs over him. Douglas takes this advice but is mysteriously lost overboard on the vessel bearing him and his wife to Africa. Holmes is convinced that Professor Moriarty was consulted by the men who hunted Douglas and that it was this criminal mastermind whose direction ended Douglas' life. Holmes intends to bring Moriarty down but warns Watson and MacDonald that it will take some time to achieve. Trivia[] This story took place before The Final Problem because Holmes mentioned he never met Moriarty. Story Texts[] Part 1 - The Tragedy of Birlstone Chapter 1 - The Warning Chapter 2 - Sherlock Holmes Discourses Chapter 3 - The Tragedy of Birlstone Chapter 4 - Darkness Chapter 5 - The People of the Drama Chapter 6 - A Dawning Light Chapter 7 - Light in the Darkness Part 2 - The Scowrers Chapter 1 - The Man Chapter 2 - The Bodymaster Chapter 3 - Lodge 341, Vermissa Chapter 4 - The Valley of Fear Chapter 5 - The Darkest Hour Chapter 6 - Danger Chapter 7 - The Trapping of Birdy Edwards Epilogue Sherlock Holmes Canon Sherlock Holmes • John Watson • Mycroft Holmes • Professor Moriarty • Inspector Lestrade • Irene Adler Secondary Characters Mary Watson • Mrs Hudson • Tobias Gregson • Athelney Jones • Sebastian Moran Novels A Study in Scarlet • The Sign of the Four • The Hound of the Baskervilles • The Valley of Fear Short story collections The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes • The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes • The Return of Sherlock HolmesHis Last Bow • The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes Behind the scenes Arthur Conan Doyle • The Strand Magazine • Sidney Paget • Chronology of Sherlock Holmes Cases The Valley of Fear by Arthur Conan Doyle is one of many stories about Doyle’s famous detective, Sherlock Holmes. At the beginning of this novel, Holmes gets a message from one of Professor Moriarty’s agents—Fred Porlock. From time to time, Porlock sends Sherlock inside information about Moriarty’s endeavors. Despite the fact that the law sees Moriarty as innocent, Sherlock firmly believes him to be the puppet master of a criminal underworld. Sherlock enlists the help of his friend and sidekick, Dr. Watson, to decode Porlock’s message; from it, they learn that the life of John Douglas, who resides at Birlstone, is in after, Inspector MacDonald of Scotland Yard informs Sherlock and Watson that Mr. Douglas of Birlstone Manor was found murdered. Sherlock expresses his suspicions that Moriarty was behind Douglas’s murder, but MacDonald doesn’t agree and reminds Sherlock that Professor Moriarty is both respected and educated. Holmes responds that Moriarty owns a painting worth more than forty-thousand pounds, which is suspicious, despite his seven-hundred-pound annual salary. MacDonald agrees this is strange. He accompanies Sherlock and Watson to Birlstone. Douglas was shot in the head at close range near midnight. The manor house is surrounded by a moat and drawbridge, and a regular guest of Mr. and Mrs. Douglas—Cecil Barker—was staying Birlstone on the night of the murder. A sawed-off shotgun was discovered at the crime claims he was upstairs when he heard the gunshot. He says he rushed downstairs and saw the drawbridge was up, and lowered it so help could come. Blood on the window sill suggests someone climbed through the window; Cecil maintains the intruder must have waded through the moat, but can’t explain how said intruder got into the house in the first place. Next to the body, there’s a card with “ written on it. Douglas has a brand on his arm, but it’s not new, and his wedding ring was taken. Holmes observes that Douglas had only one dumbbell, which he thinks is interviews with others in the house, Sherlock learns that Cecil found the body and rang the bell, summoning Mrs. Douglas and the servants. Cecil urged Mrs. Douglas to return to her room, and she readily agreed. Sherlock tells Watson he thinks her agreeing to leave her husband’s body was odd. Cecil reveals that a secret society might have been pursuing Douglas. Sherlock learns Douglas had been married before, but his first wife died from Typhoid, and that he had married his second wife five years earlier. Douglas met Cecil in America, before suddenly leaving for Europe. Cecil and Mrs. Douglas knew that he faced some danger resulting from his time in America, and Mrs. Douglas reveals her husband once mentioned “The Valley of Fear.”Sherlock discovers from Cecil’s slippers that he marked the windowsill with blood. He tells Watson that both Cecil and Mrs. Douglas are lying, but he’s not sure why. He also thinks the housekeeper heard the murder take place because she said she heard a door slamming a half hour before Cecil raised the alarm, and a shotgun, fired at close range, is muffled. It is revealed that the murder weapon is American-made; additionally, an American was seen riding a bicycle around the village. Holmes tells MacDonald to inform Cecil that the moat will be searched the next day; then he, MacDonald, and Watson hide and watch Cecil fish something out of the water that night. They catch Cecil and find that he’s fished out a bundle of clothes—worn by the cycling American—weighed down with a dumbbell. At this point, Mr. Douglas appears, alive, and gives Watson a written account of The Valley of Fear. He explains that he saw Ted Baldwin, an enemy, and expected an attack. The next day, he was attacked in his study; his attacker tried to shoot him. They fought for the gun and Baldwin was shot in the face. Cecil and Mr. Douglas disguised Baldwin as Mr. Douglas, throwing Baldwin’s clothes in the moat and putting Mr. Douglas’s rings on Baldwin—all save his wedding ring, which he could not remove. Baldwin had intended to leave the card that read “ on Mr. Douglas’s body. stands for Vermissa Valley. They both belonged to a secret society, hence the brand on the dead man's arm. Since Baldwin’s death, both Cecil and Mrs. Douglas have covered for Mr. Douglas, who hid in the account Mr. Douglas gave Watson explains why he was hunted. His real name is Birdy Edwards, and he was once a detective for Pinkerton’s in Chicago. He’d infiltrated and destroyed a gang in Vermissa Valley, known as The Valley of Fear. Since then, he was a hunted man. Sherlock warns Mr. Douglas to leave England because a new threat, worse than the gang from Vermissa Valley, was after him. Mr. Douglas agrees, but on the journey to Africa, he is lost overboard. Sherlock believes Moriarty was hired by to assasinate Mr. Douglas. He tells Watson and MacDonald that he intends to catch Moriarty, but that it will take only plays a major role in two of Doyle’s stories about Sherlock Holmes—The Valley of Fear and The Adventure of the Final Problem, but he is often thought of today as Holmes’ arch-enemy, due to his prevalence in many adaptations since.

sinopsis novel sherlock holmes the valley of fear