"A STUDY IN EMERALD"

NEIL GAIMAN

• "Coraline", "Anansi Boys"', and "Black Orchid"
• Began as a journalist and comic writer
• Prose poetry, film, journalism, comics, song lyrics, drama, and horror
• Writes for all ages

GAIMAN GREW UP AS A FAN OF WRITERS SUCH AS POE, TOLKEIN, AND ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE

INTERESTING FACTS

• "I was very, very good at taking a voice that already existed And parodying or pastiching it,"
• Never writes true to the time period's popular style

Narrator

• Dynamic character
• Unnamed throughout the story
• Afghanistan War Vet

Characters

• Rache/Vernet- Round Character
• Inspector Lestrade-Flat, but turns more Dynamic in the end
• Prince Franz Drago
• Queen and Prince Albert- Static
• The Good Doctor

Expostion

• Introduced to the main characters
• Character and setting development is gradual
• Setting is London, England
• Word usage: "the fogs and darkness of London"
• "..a crush of carriages and taxicabs..railway station and waxworks.."

Rising Action

• See murder scene of Prince Franz Drago of Bohemia
• Rache is written on the wall in blood
• Visit the theater on Drury Lane
• Word usage: "..Mr Sebastian.."
• ".. the dominion of the Old Ones over humanity and its gods.."

Climax

• A letter is sent to the main characters
• From Rache in acknowledgement and admittance to killing Franz
• Word Usage: "..and his recreational predilections."
• "..from beyond the Pit."

Falling Action

• Lestrade sends his men out 
• They go after the killers
• Word usage: 
• "..for all the world as if Vernet the actor would be there.."
• "Inspector Lestrade ran from the room.."

Resolution

• The main characters go about their lives
• Neither ever truly forget the case or the men involved
• Word Usage: "..while regretting that the perpetrator was still at large."
• ".. in the rookery of St. Giles, where the police will not go..."

MAJOR CONFLICTS

• Man vs self
• Man vs man
• Man vs Society

Suspense

• Doesn't ever give exact identities to many major characters
• Anonymous letters- "..I beg you to think of me simply as, Rache."
• The Old Ones
• Shows connections between the main characters and the supposed killers
• Killers are never captured

Fear
Deeper motives behind the murder

Effectiveness

• Not quite horror but more like a drama
• Less gore and no recognized supernatural activity
• Would not be picked up by a Hollywood director
• The Old Ones
• Current popular show "Sherlock" on BBC

Current Event 1
The Murder of Alice Gross

Current Event 2
BBC Series "Sherlock"