Reviews

Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of the Yellow Face by Arthur Conan Doyle

emmaccate's review against another edition

adventurous funny mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

lizzye33's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious reflective relaxing tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

theoretically_reading's review against another edition

emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.0

I've read this story a dozen times, but listening to it helped settle some of my thoughts on it. 

This is either one of the most self-conscious and self-critical stories about his (Edwardian) social community's attitudes to Black Americans that Doyle ever wrote... or it's like, so clumsily racialized it eats its own intentions. However, I tend to think its the former, because of the first and final lines which both highlight that even Holmes will make huge mistakes if all he relies on his 'societal wisdom' and social shorthand instead of taking people on their evident merits.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racial slurs and Racism

The story directly engages with racialized and racist attitudes to Black Americans in the late 1800s. It purposefully uses language that was racialized then and is considered racist now. It also has explicit themes of colorism - as the darkness of the wee girl's skin is a major part of why her mother fears to reveal her to the new husband. Similarly, there are references to the fortune/misfortune of having darker skin and "non-White" facial features. The late John Hebron, the wee girl's father is constantly described in loving and brilliant terms and the lady of the story says outright that it was worth "turning [her] back on her own race to be with him". It's a wild story to dig into.... maybe the biggest mystery in it is deciphering what Conan Doyle was trying to impress upon his contemporary reader.

leenah24's review against another edition

4.0

4 stars because Awwwwwwwwwwwww :3 :3

emily_brekker's review against another edition

2.75

2.75/5
The case itself was intriguing, even though the ending did not include a lot of deduction by Sherlock Holmes.

vidhi26p's review against another edition

4.0

This case really got me! It’s nice to see even a superhero like Holmes isn’t always infallible.

sashajames's review against another edition

4.0

trueperception's review against another edition

4.0

Not the best Holmes story, but a touching once. I got a little teary at the end.

denakaye's review against another edition

mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

nexerix's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0