In the case of the Sherlock Holmes tales, they form a
series, and our previous knowledge of the hero enables the writer
to dispense with much description and accompaniment that would be
necessary had that eminent personage been presented in only a
single complication of events. Each special episode of the great
analyst's career can therefore be handled with the utmost economy,
and yet fill all the requirements of intelligent interest and
comprehension. But, as a rule, the riddle novel approaches its
theme in a spirit essentially other than that which inspires the
short tale. We are given, as it were, a wide landscape instead of
a detailed genre picture. The number of the dramatis personae is
much larger, and the parts given to many of them may be very small,
though each should have his or her necessary function in the
general plan. It is much easier to create perplexity on these
terms; but on the other hand, the riddle novel demands a power of
vivid character portrayal and of telling description which are not
indispensable in the briefer narrative. A famous tale, published
perhaps forty years ago, but which cannot be included in our
series, tells the story of a murder the secret of which is
admirably concealed till the last; and much of the fascination of
the book is due to the ability with which the leading character,
and some of the subordinate ones, are drawn.
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