A Double Barreled Detective Story
by Mark Twain
'A Double Barreled Detective Story ' Summary
The story contains two arcs of revenges. In the primary arc, a rich young woman is abused, humiliated and abandoned by her new husband, Jacob Fuller, whom she married against the wishes of her father. The young Fuller resents her father's rejection and dismissal of him as a ne'er-do-well and resolves to exact his revenge by mistreating his new bride. After his abandonment, she bears a son, whom she names Archy Stillman. When the child gets older, the mother discovers that he possesses an incredible ability of smell, like a bloodhound. The mother instructs her child, now sixteen, to seek out his biological father with the intent of destroying that man's peace and reputation, and hence extracting satisfaction for her.
Five years later in a second arc, at a mining camp in California, Fetlock Jones, a nephew of Sherlock Holmes, kills his master Flint Buckner, a silver-miner, by blowing up his cabin. Since this occurs when Holmes happens to be visiting, Holmes applies his skills to bear upon the case and derives a logically worked conclusion that is proved to be abysmally wrong by Archy Stillman using his sense of smell. This could be seen by the reader as yet another piece where Twain tried to prove that life does not quite follow logic.
This is a satire by Twain on the mystery novel genre. In the second arc, Sherlock Holmes is depicted in employing "scientific methods" to a ridiculous degree, yet arriving at a completely wrong assessment. On the other hand, the crime is solved with a supernatural ability that no normal human possesses. Yet even this fails to reveal the whole truth, as the final twist of the story indicates.
Furthermore, Sam Clemens/Mark Twain poked through the "4th wall" and appeared as himself in the middle of the story, supposedly while the story was being serialized, and responded to letters sent in by readers to the newspaper editor. During the exchange, Twain made fun of/self-advertised some of his other famous short stories.
Book Details
Author
Mark Twain
United States
Twain was fascinated with science and scientific inquiry. He developed a close and lasting friendship with Nikola Tesla, and the two spent much time together in Tesla's laboratory. Twain patented thre...
More on Mark TwainDownload eBooks
Listen/Download Audiobook
- Select Speed
Related books
Constance Dunlap by Arthur B. Reeve
In the shadowy underbelly of early 20th-century New York City, where secrets and scandals lurk behind every opulent facade, Constance Dunlap emerges a...
A Coffin for Jacob by Edward W. Ludwig
It is a thrilling mystery that follows the story of a man named Jacob who is found dead under mysterious circumstances. Set in a small town in New En...
A Description of Millenium Hall and the Country Adjacent by Sarah Scott
Utopian novel by Sarah Scott, published in 1762 describes women living in complete harmony.
The Whispering Man by Henry Kitchell Webster
In the eerie depths of a quaint New England town, a chilling secret lies dormant, waiting to be unearthed. "The Whispering Man" by Henry Kitchell Webs...
The Chorus Girl and Other Stories by Anton Chekhov
In these stories, Anton Chekhov explores the human condition with his trademark wit and compassion, offering a glimpse into the lives of ordinary peop...
The Jacket by Jack London
A framing story is told in the first person by Darrell Standing, a university professor serving life imprisonment in San Quentin State Prison for murd...
The Tribulations of a Chinaman in China by Jules Verne
The story is about a rich Chinese man, Kin-Fo, who is bored with life, and after some business misfortune decides to die.
The Three Lieutenants by William Henry Giles Kingston
Embark on a thrilling maritime journey with "The Three Lieutenants" by William Henry Giles Kingston. Set sail into a world where courage meets the tem...
The Club of Masks by Allen Upward
In the heart of London's exclusive social scene lies a mysterious and enigmatic gathering known only as "The Club of Masks." A clandestine society tha...
The Boy Scouts Through the Big Timber by St. George Henry Rathborne
Deep in the heart of the Pacific Northwest, where the towering pines reach for the sky and the rivers run wild, the Silver Fox Patrol of Boy Scouts em...
Reviews for A Double Barreled Detective Story
No reviews posted or approved, yet...