Exploring the double setting in sir Arthur Conan doyle's : a study in scarlet

Abstract

This work examines Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's use of the double setting inA Study in Scarlet (1887). The author has presented two different environments in the novel; one being 19th century Victorian Britain and the other is set in America, more precisely Utah, where the Mormon community is depicted. The first setting, being the author's homeland, shows the British imperial power, scientific progress and economic boom, and opens a wide range of values inculcated during the reign of Queen Victoria. It is displayed harmoniously, tainted with the colors of science and empiricism. The second setting pictures the American dreary desert of Utah which shelters the secluded community of the Mormons. It is attributed with a somber image emanating from the religious organization's extremism and fanaticism, and its oppressive and abhorrent practices