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Headscratchers / A Study in Scarlet

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    The Disregarding of This Story 
  • Considering it is the first Sherlock Holmes book, I would expect it to be included in a collection of stories with the others.
    • Except it is. I own an anthology passed down to me from my grandmother, which, in two volumes, contains the main canon in the order it was published; another very nice annotated and partially illustrated pair of volumes entitled The Novels and The Stories again features A Study in Scarlet as its first piece.
    • I also own two different Holmes collections (one an edition of the Annotated Sherlock Holmes) and have never seen an edition that omits this book. I have seen collections that are more "best ofs" than full collections though. Perhaps the OP had one of those?
  • It's also closer in length to a novel than a short story. Not to mention that the short stories are generally of a higher quality than the first two novels.

     Staying in Utah 
  • If Ferrier thought that Lucy would be forcibly married or harm would come to him for not being in a polygamous marriage, why didn't he leave sooner, and why did he wait for Hope to come back to leave with Lucy instead of leaving as soon as he knew Lucy would be forcibly married in 30 days?
    • Two reasons: for one thing, Ferrier never showed much propensity for stealth or subtlety, and would have a very hard time sneaking past the people watching his house – even with Jefferson’s help, they nearly got caught slipping away. Secondly, it's likely he was considering Jefferson’s well-being, as well: if Jefferson had shown up and they were already gone, it's likely neither would ever be able to contact the other again, and Jefferson could easily have gotten caught by the Mormons in the resulting uproar.
     no second rescue attempt 
  • Jefferson knows Lucy is still alive. Why didn’t he rescue her after her forced marriage? Why jump straight to revenge?
    • Keep in mind, the first escape attempt was done with A: everyone in the house itself being in on it, and B: in a house that Ferrier was familiar with in C: a much more remote area that was easier to sneak up to and away from… and ultimately, it still wasn’t good enough. Ferrier may have attempted to rescue Lucy, and maybe he might have succeeded given more time, but Lucy was dead in only a month.

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