A Study in Scarlet Trivia Quiz

Answer: Holmes needs someone to share his rooms and Watson needs somewhere to stay

Watson's early medical career culminated in his being returned from the fighting in Afghanistan to recover from a shoulder injury. Having quickly exhausted his funds, he is forced to reconsider his plans for the remainder of his recuperation period, and mentions the fact when he meets an old schoolmate, Stamford. Stamford has just that day heard Sherlock Holmes, who is working in the same chemical laboratory, complaining that he found a good place to reside, but it costs more than he can afford. Stamford plays matchmaker, after warning Watson that Holmes might not be everyone's cup of tea as a roommate. Ironically, in light of what we know is to follow, Watson's response is "If I am to lodge with anyone, I should prefer a man of studious and quiet habits. I am not strong enough yet to stand much noise or excitement. I had enough of both in Afghanistan to last me for the remainder of my natural existence." They proceed to the lab, where Holmes immediately impresses Watson by stating that he has recently returned from Afghanistan, before demonstrating the test for bloodstains that he has just invented.

Answer: Smoking strong tobacco

Holmes mentions all four of these, starting with his fondness for strong tobacco. Watson immediately responds that he, too, enjoys smoking, so that is one obstacle successfully cleared. The others do not strike Watson as a problem, as long as the violin playing is well done.

In his turn, Watson confesses to detesting rows because of his unsettled nerves, and to being extremely lazy, with a tendency to sleep late in the mornings. Satisfied, they decide to organize the rooms at 221b Baker Street where we will see them in future.

Answer: Tobias Gregson

Inspector Tobias Gregson sends an appeal to Holmes after Constable John Rance discovers the body of Enoch Drebber in the empty house on Brixton Road. Inspector Greg Lestrade assists in the investigation (and will be involved in a number of other cases with Holmes). Gregson's note read, in part, "Our man on the beat saw a light there about two in the morning, and as the house was an empty one, suspected that something was amiss.

He found the door open, and in the front room, which is bare of furniture, discovered the body of a gentleman, well dressed, and having cards in his pocket bearing the name of 'Enoch J. Drebber, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.A.' There had been no robbery, nor is there any evidence as to how the man met his death.

There are marks of blood in the room, but there is no wound upon his person. We are at a loss as to how he came into the empty house; indeed, the whole affair is a puzzler." Holmes is at first reluctant to go, citing both his own laziness and his certainty that, even if he solves the case, Gregson and Lestrade will get all the credit (which, of course, proves to be the case).

When Holmes and Watson do arrive, Holmes surprises Watson by wandering, apparently nonchalantly, around the front of the house, rather than rushing straight in to the scene of the crime. Of course, we will later discover that he found an essential clue in the process - the victim and his murderer had arrived in a hansom cab.

Answer: RACHE

As Lestrade, who makes the discovery, points out, the message seems to have been written by the murderer, using his own blood. While Lestrade assumes that he was trying to write the name Rachel, for some reason, Holmes points out that Rache is the German word for revenge, giving a possible motive for this crime. The reason that revenge is being sought may be linked to the woman's wedding ring found underneath Drebber's corpse as it is carried away.

The title of the book may have been intended to refer to the extensive blood at the scene of this crime (and a later one), but Sherlock Holmes offers another link when he describes the case to Watson as "a study in scarlet, eh? Why shouldn't we use a little art jargon. There's the scarlet thread of murder running through the colourless skein of life, and our duty is to unravel it, and isolate it, and expose every inch of it."

Answer: Magnifying glass

According to Susan Elizabeth Sweeney's article 'The Magnifying Glass: Spectacular Distance in Poe's "Man of the Crowd" and Beyond' published in 'Poe Studies/Dark Romanticism' in 2003, this was the first use of a magnifying glass in detective fiction. Along with the deerstalker hat, the Inverness cape and the pipe, the magnifying glass is one of the first items one associates with Sherlock Holmes.

In this inspection, he uses it to examine the writing on the wall carefully, which allows him to deduce that the writer was not actually German, but was using a German word as a decoy.

He also employs a measuring tape, which allows him to get a good estimate of the man's height - read the book for a detailed explanation of his deductive process. We also see him collect some tobacco ash from the floor, allowing him to display for the first time his expertise in identifying tobacco types.

Answer: Arthur Charpentier

Gregson determined that Drebber (along with his secretary Stangerson) was boarding with the Charpentiers, and had quarreled with the son of the family on the evening of his death, because of Drebber's unwanted attentions to the daughter. Meanwhile, Lestrade located the hotel in which Stangerson was staying.

Unfortunately, Stangerson had been stabbed, and the word RACHE was again found at the scene of the crime. As the two inspectors reveal these details to Holmes, Watson is surprised to see that the detective appears unexcited by the second murder, and is only interested in hearing about what else was found at the scene of the crime.

Answer: The two pills

Holmes arranges to have an ailing dog (whose owner has previously asked to have it euthanized) brought up to be tested with the pills, which are water soluble. The first pill has no effect, to Holmes's dismay, until he deduces that there is a good reason for it to be harmless, and administers the other pill, which kills the dog almost instantaneously. We now know how the poison was administered to Drebber, but why Stangerson was stabbed rather than poisoned, and why revenge is being sought, still remain a mystery.

Answer: United States

In 1847, John Ferrier and a girl named Lucy were the only survivors of a group who had been attempting to cross desert land in New Mexico. They were rescued by a party including Brigham Young and four Elders of the Mormon church: Drebber, Stangerson, Johnston and Kemball. (Don't ask what they were doing so far south - nobody in England questioned it at the time, any more than they were appalled at the horrendous actions attributed to the Mormons in the narrative that follows. That's another story!) When Lucy was grown, she fell in love with a trapper named Jefferson Hope, but was told she could not marry him because he was a Christian, not a Mormon. Rather, she was given a choice between Drebber and Stangerson as her future husband. Subsequent events, including the attempted escape of Hope with Lucy and Ferrier, Ferrier's murder, and Lucy's abduction and forcible marriage to Drebber followed by her death due to a broken heart, led inexorably to the events of 1881.

Answer: Baker Street Irregulars

The Baker Street Irregulars are a group of ragged youngsters who can conduct all kinds of surreptitious investigations in the crowded and disreputable areas of London where a policeman or an educated gentleman would be unable to operate effectively. Holmes apparently uses them regularly, and pays them well for their services.

In this case, he asks them to locate a cabman named Jefferson Hope (the name which he discovered on sending a telegram to Cleveland regarding Drebber's marital status), and bring him to Baker Street.

When the unsuspecting cabbie enters, he is immediately arrested, and his name announced to the amazed onlookers. In the book, the arrest takes place before the flashback, so we readers are as mystified as are Holmes's companions. Hope tells his story, including the way he offered each victim two pills, so that their death would be immediately caused by their choice. Drebber chose the poisoned pill and died, but Stangerson chose to attack, and Hope killed him in self-defence.

Answer: No

Jefferson Hope has been suffering from an aortic aneurism, which was his original reason for choosing this time to exact revenge on Drebber and Stangerson. The emotional stress of Drebber's execution caused a massive nosebleed, which he used to leave his message in blood.

The physical exertion involved in the death of Stangerson provided another fresh supply of blood. Hope knows that his end was near, and his expectation of never being brought to trial is fulfilled when he dies in his sleep during the night after his arrest.