Why the “Classics” Never Get Old: A literary review of “The Five Orange Pips” in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
The thrill of the unknown has always grasped the attention of our everyday community. The movie industry has released hundreds of horrific, mystery-infused films. Murder mysteries and psychological thrillers have always rung in an audience to entertain on a Saturday night, and have dominated the bookshelves at your local library.
According to Julia Stoll, the top five movie genres, over the past 25 years, were Adventure, Action, Drama, Comedy, and Thriller/Suspense, with the genre of Horror films ranking in sixth place (Stoll). This is quite interesting because in the entertainment industry most people are looking for an adventurous plot, while readers seem to seek out romance or mystery novels. An article by Gary Smailes showed that the genres of Romance/Erotica and Crime/Mystery were the most profitable genres for books being sold online over that past year.
Everyone knows of the authors Stephen King, Agatha Christie, Edgar Alan Poe, and even Gillian Flynn. They are each talented mystery novel writers, but one of the classical authors of mystery is Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
If you are not familiar with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, I’m sure that you know his prized character, Sherlock Holmes. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes is one of many collections of the adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
Some Sherlock Holmes stories you may know as The Hound of the Baskervilles, A Study in Scarlet, and The Sign of Four. However, the story we will be talking about today is The Five Orange Pips.
This twenty-paged riddle follows the case of Colonel Openshaw and his brother. The Colonel’s nephew, John Openshaw, comes to Sherlock Holmes for help, as he fears for his life due to a series of letters that he believes correlated with the death of the Colonel and his father. John fears that he may be the next Openshaw to die after receiving a letter a few days prior. John turns to the help of Sherlock Holmes after the denial of help from the police.
This short story is honestly constructed very well, and for an old mysterious tale, it is refreshing to have the quick effective plot points be represented and solved within a few pages. If you don’t want to read a novel and still want to have the same satisfaction of reading a twisting thriller, then this may be the book for you.
The Five Orange Pips is one of a series of condensed classical mysteries in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes collection. If you have been struggling to get back into reading or have little time to read, then this book may be the one for you.
Everyone knows that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is an astounding author of mysteries, however, it is important to not forget such classical literature, especially since it has been modified in modern movies and TV shows. Hopefully, these short classics will be a reminder as to the foundation of today’s dark and mystifying creations in both literature and in the movies.
Citation
Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan. Berkley Medallion Books. New York, Berkley Publishing Corporation, 1965. 2nd Printing vols.
Smailes, Gary. “Which Book Genre Is The Most Popular In 2021?” ProActive Writer, 13 Aug. 2020, Accessed 20 Feb. 2021.
Stoll, Julia. “Most popular movie genres in North America from 1995 to 2020, by total box office revenue.” Statista, 13 Jan. 2021, Accessed 20 Feb. 2021. Chart.
