The Adventure of the Devil's Foot

Arthur Conan DoyleQunzhong Publishing House1992

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Series: The Complete Sherlock Holmes

Summary

The Adventure of the Devil's Foot is a short story in Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes series, a later work from after Holmes's return, belonging to the same creative period as The Adventure of the Red Circle, The Adventure of the Wisteria Lodge, and The Adventure of the Dying Detective. Told in Watson's narrative voice, the story centers on an investigation into a bizarre incident in the Cornish countryside: someone in a sealed room is killed by a mysterious force, with no sign of external intrusion, and the victim's face bears an extremely strange expression. Holmes is asked to go there and investigate; starting from lingering odors, objects at the scene, and the movement of air in the room, he unravels the case step by step, finally revealing, beneath the shell of an apparently supernatural phenomenon, a carefully designed crime that used drugs and fire to kill. The plot emphasizes rational deduction and showcases Holmes's meticulous observation and experimental mindset regarding natural phenomena; at the end, Holmes, having tested the substance on himself at cost to his health, expresses remorse to his friend, which is the most human moment in the story. Though short, it epitomizes the characteristics of Conan Doyle's later short stories: a gloomy atmosphere, organic suspense, and concise reasoning.

Editor's review

这本小书是群众出版社“福尔摩斯探案精萃”丛书之一本，只收录《魔鬼之足》一篇，因而在本套福尔摩斯全集（由陈羽纶、丁钟华等人翻译）中看似不起眼，却是许多老读者接触福尔摩斯时最先读到的一册。故事篇幅短，约一小时就能读完，适合作为福尔摩斯短篇的入门之一。它不像《巴斯克维尔的猎犬》那样以长篇的气氛铺陈取胜，也不像《红发会》那样以反转快意闻名，而是把“看似超自然的力量”还原为可以利用的物证与推理的谜题；这种写法在阅读体验上带有一种阴郁的、略带惊悚的趣味。对于想了解柯南·道尔后期风格、尤其是他如何在短篇中处理“恐惧+理性”的读者，这一册有其独特的价值。

Who it's for

A good fit for

喜欢福尔摩斯短篇故事、希望在短时间内读完一个完整推理案件的读者
对英国侦探小说有入门兴趣、想借短篇体验柯南·道尔叙事节奏的中学生与文学爱好者
喜欢推理中“看似超自然、实则可解释”这一母题的读者
搜集群众出版社老版福尔摩斯系列、想补齐单行本的藏家

Not a good fit for

只接受逻辑严谨的本格推理、对短篇中留白不满意的硬核推理迷可能觉得不过瘾
偏好长篇人物成长或社会议题深度的读者
习惯现代快节奏、强反转悬疑小说的读者

Reading tips

建议先读完《归来记》或《最后致意》中的相邻短篇，再单独读本篇，理解福尔摩斯归案后的处境更为顺畅
可以带着“这个超出常理的恐怖现象背后可能藏着什么”的问题去读，同时留意开篇的景物与气味描写
读完后不妨回看结尾处福尔摩斯向华生致歉的一段，体会侦探对朋友负疚的心理
如果读的是群众出版社的合订本，可以在阅读结束后查一查本篇在《福尔摩斯全集》中的位置，理清故事的时间线

About the publisher

Qunzhong Publishing House China · Founded in 1956

Qunzhong Publishing House is a publisher grounded in public security work and oriented toward society, focusing on books on politics, law, public security operations, public security teaching materials, and literature and art. Its current library contains 20 titles, covering categories such as war and military life, mystery and detective fiction, classic works, social novels, and otherworld fantasy. Representative books include The Secret Envoy, Black Ice, Ultimate Evil, Desperate Situation, Black Hole, The Case Is Solved: Chronicle of a Shocking Major Case, The Criminal Police Squad, and The Special Agent Company. Representative authors include Zhang Chenggong, Wang Xiaoyi, Zhu Weijian, Zang Qing, Zhang Ce, Zhang Liyu, Niu Bocheng, and Ding Yihe. Its publishing character lies in drawing on a public security professional background to combine legal and criminal investigation themes with literary narrative, forming a list that gives equal weight to mystery and detective fiction and social novels. As public information is limited, other publishing details are omitted.

FAQ

本书是完整的一部长篇推理吗？

不是。收录的《魔鬼之足》是一篇短篇小说，成书于1910年前后，收录于短篇集《最后致意》，篇幅短小，只能算作一桩条件诡秘的短篇悬念谜案。

应该选择哪个中文译本？

群众出版社的译本（如1992年“福尔摩斯探案精萃”系列单行本，译者为雨久）流传较广、用语老派，可信度较高。该书另有不同出版社的英汉对照本和单册，购买前请核对译者和ISBN。

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About the author

Arthur Conan Doyle Author · British · 1859–1930

Arthur Conan Doyle (1859–1930) was a British novelist and physician, born in Edinburgh, Scotland, and died in Sussex, England. He is best known for creating the detective Sherlock Holmes, a figure who helped make detective fiction a widely popular literary genre; his reasoning-driven narratives and character dialogue remain influential today. His notable works include A Study in Scarlet, The Hound of the Baskervilles, The Lost World, and several collections of Holmes stories; this library holds twenty-nine of his works, mostly classified under mystery and foreign literature. Beyond detective fiction, he also wrote historical novels, poetry, and spiritualist works, showing wide-ranging interests and a style combining rigorous logic with adventurous imagination.