Lot No. 249
by Arthur Conan Doyle 
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Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle DL (22 May 1859 - 7 July 1930) was a Scottish physician and writer who is most noted for his fictional stories about the detective Sherlock Holmes, which are generally considered milestones in the field of crime fiction. He is also known for writing the fictional adventures of a second character he invented, Professor Challenger, and for popularising the mystery of the Mary Celeste. He was a prolific writer whose other works include fantasy and science fiction show more stories, plays, romances, poetry, non-fiction, and historical novels.Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, a graduate of the University of Edinburgh Medical School. A London-based "consulting detective" whose abilities border on the fantastic, Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to adopt almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve difficult cases.Holmes, who first appeared in publication in 1887, was featured in four novels and 56 short stories. The first novel, A Study in Scarlet, appeared in Beeton's Christmas Annual in 1887 and the second, The Sign of the Four, in Lippincott's Monthly Magazine in 1890. The character grew tremendously in popularity with the first series of short stories in The Strand Magazine, beginning with "A Scandal in Bohemia" in 1891; further series of short stories and two novels published in serial form appeared between then and 1927. The stories cover a period from around 1880 up to 1914.All but four stories are narrated by Holmes's friend and biographer, Dr. John H. Watson; two are narrated by Holmes himself ("The Blanched Soldier" and "The Lion's Mane") and two others are written in the third person ("The Mazarin Stone" and "His Last Bow"). In two stories ("The Musgrave Ritual" and "The Gloria Scott"), Holmes tells Watson the main story from his memories, while Watson becomes the narrator of the frame story. The first and fourth novels, A Study in Scarlet and The Valley of Fear, each include a long interval of omniscient narration recounting events unknown to either Holmes or Watson. show lessTags
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A bracing little Gothic horror story about a reanimated Egyptian mummy, 'Lot No. 249' is notable not only for its famous author but because it is held to be one of the first (and most influential) mummy stories. Arthur Conan Doyle was no doubt acquainted with 'Some Words with a Mummy' by one of his major influences, Edgar Allan Poe, but 'Lot No. 249' is considered the first where such an undead creature is malevolent.
It is not the best such story you'll ever read, lacking much of the occult, hieroglyphs and Abbott and Costello-style bandages we would now expect (indeed, the way Doyle's mummy is described, it could just as easily be a demon or vampire or somesuch). But as anyone who has read his Sherlock Holmes stories will know, Doyle's show more style is effortlessly readable. He had the storytelling knack – whatever that is – and it elevates this story above itself. show less
It is not the best such story you'll ever read, lacking much of the occult, hieroglyphs and Abbott and Costello-style bandages we would now expect (indeed, the way Doyle's mummy is described, it could just as easily be a demon or vampire or somesuch). But as anyone who has read his Sherlock Holmes stories will know, Doyle's show more style is effortlessly readable. He had the storytelling knack – whatever that is – and it elevates this story above itself. show less
A fairly creepy mummy tale, though how creepy can it get at Oxford? Still, it's a cool departure from the Sherlock Holmes character, and shows Doyle had some range. And probably pretty scary, for 1892.
An interesting and creepy supernatural short story even by today`s standards from the creator of Sherlock Holmes. Allegedly the first appearance of a vengeful undead mummy in literature.
Full review to come!
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The most famous fictional detective in the world is Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes. However, Doyle was, at best, ambivalent about his immensely successful literary creation and, at worst, resentful that his more "serious" fiction was relatively ignored. Born in Edinburgh, Doyle studied medicine from 1876 to 1881 and received his M.D. in show more 1885. He worked as a military physician in South Africa during the Boer War and was knighted in 1902 for his exceptional service. Doyle was drawn to writing at an early age. Although he attempted to enter private practice in Southsea, Portsmouth, in 1882, he soon turned to writing in his spare time; it eventually became his profession. As a Liberal Unionist, Doyle ran, unsuccessfully, for Parliament in 1903. During his later years, Doyle became an avowed spiritualist. Doyle sold his first story, "The Mystery of the Sasassa Valley," to Chambers' Journal in 1879. When Doyle published the novel, A Study in Scarlet in 1887, Sherlock Holmes was introduced to an avid public. Doyle is reputed to have used one of his medical professors, Dr. Joseph Bell, as a model for Holmes's character. Eventually, Doyle wrote three additional Holmes novels and five collections of Holmes short stories. A brilliant, though somewhat eccentric, detective, Holmes employs scientific methods of observation and deduction to solve the mysteries that he investigates. Although an "amateur" private detective, he is frequently called upon by Scotland Yard for assistance. Holmes's assistant, the faithful Dr. Watson, provides a striking contrast to Holmes's brilliant intellect and, in Doyle's day at least, serves as a character with whom the reader can readily identify. Having tired of Holmes's popularity, Doyle even tried to kill the great detective in "The Final Problem" but was forced by an outraged public to resurrect him in 1903. Although Holmes remained Doyle's most popular literary creation, Doyle wrote prolifically in other genres, including historical adventure, science fiction, and supernatural fiction. Despite Doyle's sometimes careless writing, he was a superb storyteller. His great skill as a popular author lay in his technique of involving readers in his highly entertaining adventures. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Arthur Conan Doyle has a Legacy Library. Legacy libraries are the personal libraries of famous readers, entered by LibraryThing members from the Legacy Libraries group.
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- Canonical title
- Lot No. 249
- Original title
- Lot No. 249 [novelette]
- Original publication date
- 1892-09
- People/Characters
- Abercrombie Smith; Edward Bellingham; Harrington; Jephro Hastie; William Monkhouse Lee; Long Norton (show all 8); Plumptree Peterson; Thomas Styles
- Important places
- University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, UK; Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, UK
- Related movies
- Tales from the Darkside: The Movie (1990 | IMDb); Lot 249 (1967 | IMDb)
- First words
- Of the dealings of Edward Bellingham with William Monkhouse Lee, and of the cause of the great terror of Abercrombie Smith, it may be that no absolute and final judgment will ever be delivered.
- Quotations
- Life has flowed like water down this winding stair, and, waterlike, has left these smooth-worn grooves behind it.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)But the wisdom of men is small, and the ways of Nature are strange, and who shall put a bound to the dark things which may be found by those who seek for them?
- Original language
- English
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 107
- Popularity
- 272,077
- Reviews
- 4
- Rating
- (3.66)
- Languages
- English, German, Spanish
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 10
- ASINs
- 5
