Contents: A scandal in Bohemia — The Red-Headed League — A case of identity — The Boscombe Valley mystery — The five orange pips — The man with the twisted lip — The adventure of the blue carbuncle — The adventure of the speckled band — The adventure of the engineer’s thumb — The adventure of the noble bachelor — The adventure of the beryl coronet — The adventure of the Copper Beeches — The adventure of Silver Blaze — The adventure of the cardboard box — The adventure of the yellow face — The adventure of the stockbroker’s clerk — The adventure of the “Gloria Scott” — The adventure of the Musgrave Ritual — The adventure of the Reigate squire — The adventure of the crooked man — The adventure of the resident patient — The adventure of the Greek interpreter — The adventure of the naval treaty — The adventure of the final problem — The adventure of the empty house — The adventure of the Norwood builder — The adventure of the dancing men — The adventure of the solitary cyclist — The adventure of the Priory School — The adventure of Black Peter — The adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton — The adventure of the six Napoleons — The adventure of the three students — The adventure of the golden pince-nez — The adventure of the missing three-quarter — The adventure of the Abbey Grange — The adventure of the second stain — The hound of the Baskervilles
Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle was a Scottish writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for A Study in Scarlet, the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Holmes and Dr. Watson. The Sherlock Holmes stories are milestones in the field of crime fiction.
Doyle was a prolific writer. In addition to the Holmes stories, his works include fantasy and science fiction stories about Professor Challenger, and humorous stories about the Napoleonic soldier Brigadier Gerard, as well as plays, romances, poetry, non-fiction, and historical novels. One of Doyle's early short stories, "J. Habakuk Jephson's Statement" (1884), helped to popularise the mystery of the brigantine Mary Celeste, found drifting at sea with no crew member aboard.
Never-minding the chronology of the collection (it's mostly written in past tense and each story stands on its own), it is no wonder that Sherlock Holmes is still regarded as the Superhero of all detectives. As I endeavored to read this large collection, I was curious as to the relevance of the literary character and the authorship. Basically, I was aware of the possibility that it might be outdated and only the essentials of the character(s) need be impressed upon the mind over a century later. Not the case! There is a bit of repetition in the writing, but this proves to be the link of the familiar between the very 'singular' stories. In all, very intriguing characters and well-woven mysteries made an enjoyably long read.
It took me this long to read him, but I know why he is a classic read. He is a brilliant character with many flaws, including a coke and opium addiction and arrogance coming out of the whazoo. But his stories are really clever, including the one about the Mormons, which was historically acurate and interesting. That was a story of vengeance of a star crossed lover who took on the mormon church. They caught up with the husband and his accomplice in England, but the story was really an insight into the mormon religion and its coruptness. Very advanced for the times.
That was phenomenal to read all the Sherlock Holmes stories in order of publication. The illustrations got a bit repetitive but they did add nicely to the reading experience. So thankful I happened to find this at a used book sale. There’s a reason Holmes and Watson have lasted in popular culture so long; they are irresistible and engaging. I actually don’t read mysteries or crime fiction normally, and even though Conan Doyle may have made this genre popular, these stories are appealing to the masses.