A Study in Scarlet

by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

A Study in Scarlet: Flashbacks 1 key example

Part 2, Chapter 5: The Avenging Angels
Explanation and Analysis—Jefferson Hope's Story:

Part 2 of A Study in Scarlet begins with a flashback to Utah in 1846, when John and Lucy Ferrier, stranded in the wilderness and close to death, are rescued by a group of Mormons being led west by Brigham Young to found Salt Lake City. This is based on a real event in history, when Brigham Young, the second president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, led a group of Mormons to Utah to escape religious persecution. This flashback happens right after Sherlock Holmes has caught and revealed Jefferson Hope, a cab driver, as the murderer of Enoch Drebber and Joseph Stangerson. It takes up most of the second part of the novel.