Round the Fire Stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

A lighter shade of Poe

Round the Fire Stories, a collection of 17 short stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, was published in 1908. The stories included within had previously been published in various magazines, and this is their first time appearing in book form. In a brief preface, Conan Doyle explains that the volume brings together tales “which are concerned with the grotesque and with the terrible.” I had previously read about half of these stories in a volume called Tales of Terror and Mystery, published in 1922. Stories included here also show up in the collections The Great Kleinplatz Experiment and Other Tales of the Twilight and Unseen (1925) and The Dealings of Captain Sharkey and Other Tales of Pirates (1925).

To be honest, none of these stories are particularly “grotesque” or “terrible,” but they do all fall into the horror and mystery genres, with more emphasis on the latter than the former. There are a couple ghost stories here, such as the clever “The Brown Hand,” and the less successful “Playing with Fire,” but few other instances of supernatural phenomena. A few suspenseful thrillers involve threats of death or violence from wild animals or insane persons. “The Pot of Caviare” is a war story with a gruesome twist. The remaining selections are mystery and crime stories, with thefts far outnumbering murders. “The Jew’s Breastplate,” for example, is an unconventional story about a jewel thief stealing priceless gems from a museum. Each story concludes with a “surprise twist” ending. In most cases, however, an intelligent reader can see the ending coming well ahead of time. Conan Doyle is so good at fleshing out his stories with interesting characters and clever details, however, one doesn’t really mind. Even when the plot is predictable, his storytelling is not.

Conan Doyle’s fiction was influenced by the writings of Edgar Allan Poe. That influence is apparent here in some of the horror stories, particularly “The Leather Funnel,” which contains flashbacks to medieval torture. The stories of horror and murder that Conan Doyle presents here, however, have been softened to make them palatable for the general reading audience of his day. One need not be as dark and dreary as Poe to appreciate these stories; their thrills are suitable for Victorian English housewives. Poe also originated the mystery genre with his story “The Murders in the Rue Morgue.” Although influenced no doubt by Poe’s mystery writings, Conan Doyle certainly made the genre his own. A few of the stories here venture into Sherlock Holmes-esque territory. “The Man with the Watches” and “The Lost Special,” for example, are intricate puzzles designed to baffle rather than terrify.

The best stories here are “The Brazilian Cat,” a suspenseful wild-animal horror story, and “The Japanned Box,” which won’t seem very scary or mysterious to today’s readers, but it is quite touching. Another strong entry is “B.24” (I don’t understand the title), a caper told from the point of view of a thief. It has a plot premise that has since shown up in many a film noir or cinematic thriller. The worst selection in this volume is “Playing with Fire,” a comedic story of a séance that applies unfunny slapstick humor to Conan Doyle’s obsession with spiritualism. Overall, this collection has a couple great stories and a couple stinkers, but for the most part the contents are consistently above average. The stories in this volume aren’t quite up to the standard of Sherlock Holmes’s more fascinating cases, but this book still makes for an enjoyable read.

Stories in this collection

The Leather Funnel

The Beetle Hunter

The Man with the Watches

The Pot of Caviare

The Japanned Box

The Black Doctor

Playing with Fire

The Jew’s Breastplate

The Lost Special

The Club-Footed Grocer

The Sealed Room

The Brazilian Cat

The Usher of Lea House

The Brown Hand

The Fiend of the Cooperage

Jelland’s Voyage

B.24

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