I'm looking for novels or short stories told in first-person where the narrator (Dr. Watson, in the subject line example) is not the main character or central protagonist (Sherlock Holmes). Watson is critical to the stories, no question, but Holmes is the star, to put it that way.
Other examples, anyone?
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all.
bb
Moby Dick.
The Great Gatsby.
ETA: Don't know if it counts, but "The Book Thief" had a 1st-person omniscient narrator (Death)
Moby Dick.
In that case, the narrator was, in fact, Moby's dick, though it was difficult to understand, as it was underwater most of the time.
Sadly, Gatsby's wasn't nearly so great.
In that case, the narrator was, in fact, Moby's dick
Gee, and here I always thought the narrator was Ishmael, a young man who joined the crew at the beginning of the book along with the Polynesian harpooner.
Those were the two daughter and son-in-law came up with on the spot. Thanks. And thanks also to samuelmichaels and GITW. I'd forgotten about Archie Goodwin and Nero Wolfe. I'll look again at the Dupin stories. I have no memory of their structure.
bb
Vernor Vinge is one of the writers that gets close to portraying super-intelligent heroes well. In Tatja's Grimm's World he portrayed the eponymous "star" from the point of view of merely human associates. You might say it's the same challenge solved in the same way as Arthur Conan Doyle with Sherlock Holmes.
Rex Stout's Nero Wolf stories use the same approach, although Mr. Wolf is not quite as opaquely brilliant as Holmes, and I think Archie Goodwin, the viewpoint character, plays a more significant role than Dr. Watson.
Edgar Allan Poe's C. August Dupin stories use the same device and are generally acknowledged to have created the detective genre.
They should be available from a number of sources since they are in the public domain.
Look for "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" , "The Mystery of Marie Rogêt" and "The Purloined Letter"
