Sherlock Holmes quiz

More questions about Sherlock Holmes

These visible examples show the question style. LearnClash turns the full topic into ranked duels and spaced repetition.

1. 1 Easy

   Which feature gave Holmes's whole expression an air of alertness and decision?

   Answer: Thin hawk-like nose

   Why: Watson's first sketch of him adds that his chin had the prominence and squareness which mark the man of determination.

2. 2 Medium

   Which type of tree gives its name to a Holmes adventure?

   Answer: Copper beech

   Why: The trees give the house its name, and the case turns on a governess offered a suspiciously generous salary.

3. 3 Hard

   Which story features the most unusual killer, a giant poisonous jellyfish?

   Answer: The Lion's Mane

   Why: It is one of only two cases Holmes narrates himself, and the culprit is a Cyanea capillata washed into a rock pool.

4. 4 Easy

   Which story marks the first appearance of Sherlock Holmes?

   Answer: A Study in Scarlet

   Why: Ward, Lock bought the story outright for £25 and ran it in Beeton's Christmas Annual for 1887; only eleven complete copies are known today.

5. 5 Medium

   How did Holmes trick the murderer in The Dying Detective?

   Answer: He faked an illness

   Why: He had gone three days without food or drink, and finished the effect with vaseline, belladonna, rouge and beeswax crusts on his lips.

6. 6 Hard

   Which branch of science did Holmes study to identify poisons?

   Answer: Chemistry

   Why: Stamford called him a first-class chemist, and Holmes, fingers acid-stained, admitted he dabbled with poisons a good deal.