The Valley of Fear

This is the fourth and final Sherlock Holmes novel by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. It is loosely based on the Molly Maguires and Pinkerton agent James McParland. The story was first published in the Strand Magazine between September 1914 and May 1915. The first book edition was copyrighted in 1914. The novel starts with Sherlock Holmes receiving a cipher message from Fred Porlock, a pseudonymous agent of Professor Moriarty. The drama unfolds with many intriguing themes. Unlike many of the other Holmes novels, mostly linear entertainments, Doyle crafted The Valley of Fear as "two parts and a coda and carefully stage managed the elements of fear and terror”. Part I, The Tragedy of Birlstone, includes 1. The Warning, 2. Sherlock Holmes Discourses, 3. The Tragedy of Birlstone, 4. Darkness, 5. The People of the Drama, 6. A Dawning Light, and 7. The Solution. Part II, The Scowrers, includes The Man, 2. The Bodymaster, 3. Lodge 341, Vermissa, 4. The Valley of Fear, 5. The Darkest Hour, 6. Danger, and 7. The Trapping of Birdy Edwards.