The Red-Headed League    12:35am 01/02/2010   "The Red-Headed League" is one of the 56 Sherlock Holmes short stories written by Arthur Conan Doyle. It first appeared in The Strand Magazine in August 1891, with illustrations by Sidney Paget. Conan Doyle ranked "The Red-Headed League" second in his list of his twelve favorite Holmes stories. It is also the second of the twelve stories in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, which was published in 1892. Set in 1890, a London pawnbroker named Jabez Wilson, a man with "fiery red hair," comes to Holmes and Watson. He tells them that his young assistant, Vincent Spaulding, some weeks ago had shown him and urged him to respond to a newspaper want-ad offering work to only red-headed male applicants. The next morning, Wilson had waited in a long line of fellow red-headed men, was interviewed and was the only applicant hired, because none of the other applicants had hair to match Wilson's red locks. He was well-paid, four pounds a week, for several weeks of doing obviously useless clerical busywork in a lonely office, but finally one morning a sign on the locked office door inexplicably announced: "THE RED-HEADED LEAGUE IS DISSOLVED." Wilson then went to the landlord, who said that he'd never heard of Duncan Ross, the person who formed the league. The landlord did remember the tenant with scarlet hair and gives him a card which directs Wilson to an artificial knee company. He ends the story with how frustrated he is losing the four-pounds-a-week. Holmes and Watson laugh a little over the ridiculous situation, but Holmes assures that by Monday they would have the case solved. After Holmes' client, Wilson, leaves (having given the detective a description of Spaulding), Holmes decides to go and see Spaulding, whom Holmes notices has dirty trouser knees. Holmes then taps on the pavement in front of the pawnbroker's shop. With the case solved, he calls Inspector Jones and Mr. Merryweather. In the television adaptation starring Jeremy Brett, the scheme was masterminded by Professor Moriarty and Clay is Moriarty's star pupil of crime. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes 1984 A Scandal in Bohemia — April 24, 1984. The Dancing Men — May 1, 1984. The Naval Treaty — May 8, 1984. The Solitary Cyclist — May 15, 1984. The Crooked Man — May 22, 1984. The Speckled Band — May 29, 1984. The Blue Carbuncle — June 5, 1984. 1985 The Copper Beeches — August 25, 1985. The Greek Interpreter — September 1, 1985. The Norwood Builder — September 8, 1985. The Resident Patient — September 15, 1985. The Red-Headed League — September 22, 1985. The Final Problem — September 29, 1985. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Red-Headed_League       Post   Τhε Spεcκlεd Βαnd 1/5    10:26pm 01/02/2010         Post

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