Why did Conan Doyle feel so ambivalent about the famous detective he created? Why do many critics regard this text as the first modern detective story? This is a detailed, lively study guide on Sherlock Holmes's most notorious case. It contains a detailed explanation of the contexts of the novella: how and why it came to be written, and the ways in which it invented the concept of the modern detective. In contrast to many other study guides, it encourages the reader to develop his or her own personal response. It does this by including detailed analysis of key passages from the book, together with important discussion points. It is written by an experienced English teacher who understands the concepts, facts and literary techniques that students need to learn about. It could be useful for teachers as well, particularly the second section which focuses upon textual analysis and generating a personal response from students. To sum up, this study guide is useful in the following ways: It is a great resource for students aiming for top grades; It offers a fantastic stimulus for encouraging students to develop personal responses to the text, which are vital if they are going to achieve at a high level; It could prove to be a great classroom resource for teachers too; the important sections of the novel are quoted in full here, together with useful discussion points/comprehension questions; It is written by an experienced teacher who has taught the text in "real" classroom situations and knows what students need to learn. Please note: this Study Guide contains the same textual commentaries/questions/tasks as the Study Guide Edition (SGE) but not the complete text, which the SGE does.