The Three Students
Want to read this along with me? This essay is part of The Return of Sherlock Holmes, published in 1905. I used the epub version found on Feedbooks.com.
I’ll be honest here: “The Three Students” is a lackluster story. In fact, the events were so implausible that it actually inspired one of the very first published pieces of Sherlockian criticism, a mere few months after the story was originally printed. Of course, like all of the stories, it does have a few points of interest.
Watson starts with another explicit obfuscation here, hiding which of Cambridge or Oxford is the setting for “our great University town.” There’s still a lot of debate to this day between scholars on which is which (although the clay mentioned seems to be exclusive to Cambridge at the time). We find out that Watson seems to know Soames previously, but it’s not clear how they know each other, nor does that help shed any light on what university this is.
We learn a bit more about Holmes’ habits, or rather his frustration with being moved from his routine. When he’s away from Baker Street for long periods of time, he gets cranky. He’s short with his client, and insults Watson multiple times, accusing him of being a thug and transplanting Holmes’ own bad habits onto Watson. Later, Holmes admits that he has done Watson an injustice, but throughout the case he is short and abrasive. In fact, this story is probably the best example of the “insulting Holmes” personality type that came to characterize later interpretations of Holmes.
Unfortunately, this story is also an example of the casual racism of the Victorian era. One of the students is named Daulat Ras, but because he is from India, he is referred to as “the Indian” throughout the story. He’s also stereotyped:
“The second floor is inhabited by Daulat Ras, the Indian. He is a quiet, inscrutable fellow, as most of those Indians are.”
There are a number of clear examples of one particular aspect of Doyle’s writing style. In many of the stories, Holmes narrates his movements in a crime scene so Doyle can set the stage without interrupting the flow of the detective’s deductions. It seems like a dated technique to a modern reader, but it must have been a positive boon when Holmes was adapted to various radio dramas in the early 20th century. Here’s a lengthy quote that shows three examples of this:
“I see. Near this little table. You can come in now. I have finished with the carpet. Let us take the little table first. Of course, what has happened is very clear. The man entered and took the papers, sheet by sheet, from the central table. He carried them over to the window table, because from there he could see if you came across the courtyard, and so could effect an escape.”
“As a matter of fact he could not,” said Soames, “for I entered by the side door.”
“Ah, that’s good! Well, anyhow, that was in his mind. Let me see the three strips. No finger impressions – no! Well, he carried over this one first and he copied it.”
There are a few interesting bits about Victorian college life and how pencils are sold, but overall this story is a forgettable contribution to the canon.