Few know Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's work outside of his most famous character: Sherlock Holmes. But Doyle was a prolific writer who crafted some of the best short stories in existence. One such short story is called "How It Happened," which was published in 1915 in The Strand magazine, several decades after Doyle's first Sherlock Holmes novel. Unlike those wildly successful Holmes novels, though, "How It Happened" has been mostly ignored by critics and audiences in the modern day. Regardless, those who have read the short story have lauded the twist at the end of "How It Happened" and the short story's complex, relatable, and engaging themes.
Told in the first-person, "How It Happened" follows an unnamed man who is returning home after spending some time in London, in the United Kingdom. To that end, the man asks his chauffeur Perkins to meet him at a station in the countryside so that the man could try out his new car. After the two meet up with each other, the man's chauffeur warns him that he will need to adjust to his new car because of its unique gear system. As the man drives home, hilarity ensues. On several occasions, the man loses control of his car, which causes Perkins to offer to drive. The man refuses and eventually crashes into the gate leading to his home, injuring Perkins along the way.
