The Field Bazaar

by Arthur Conan Doyle

The Field Bazaar by Arthur Conan Doyle not included in books 1-8 of the Holmes canon. These include 'The Field Bazaar,' 'The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone,' and 'The Problem of Thor Bridge.'

This short story was written during an Edinburgh University fundraising event. Doyle had been requested by his university to contribute a short piece of literature for a charity magazine. In the story Watson has received a similar request and whilst he reads the letter at breakfast, Holmes correctly deduces the sender of the letter and Watson’s thoughts with regard to the letter. It shares many similarities to the canonical stories. Aside from the metafictional twist in which Watson supplants Doyle as the author publishing his own stories in a magazine, it also plays not only about the famous skill of Holmes’ observations producing apparently miraculous results, but also upon the notion of the ‘traditional breakfast scenes’ which open many Holmes short stories.

Genres: Short Stories, Classics, Mystery, Fiction, Humor, Detective, English Literature

26 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 20, 1896

About the author

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.

Reviews

[Philip · Rating 4 out of 5]

A brilliant breakfast scene between Holmes and Watson - one that is cut woefully short by not being the preface to a longer story! Perhaps it's briefness allows it such an air of relaxed joviality though. 4 stars.

[julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

“You will not, I am sure, be offended if I say that any reputation for sharpness which I may possess has been entirely gained by the admirable foil which you have made for me. Have I not heard of debutantes who have insisted upon plainness in their chaperones? There is a certain analogy.”

it’s the reference from the best man speech hdjdkfkg (or rather the best man speech has a reference to this hilariously unserious short story) so happy i found this

[Ray Alvarez · Rating 3 out of 5]

A super short story.

Fun. Not too complex.

More of a fly on the wall look at what many of Sherlock and Watson’s conversations may have been like between cases.

[Darinda · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short parody of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle. Clever and witty.

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tiny and packed.

Holmes just went on analyzing a letter received by Watson. Precise again

Book #64 of 2023
Arthur Conan Doyle #09

[Sabthikhai1 · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.8 nice to see cricket mentioned in a holmes story.

[Summer · Rating 4 out of 5]

So this was a little treat. Doyle was asked to write an article for the Edinburgh University charity magazine. In the short story Watson receives a similar letter and Holmes correctly deduces what it is whom it is from and how Watson feels about it. Two things begin here that are seen in many Sherlock Holmes books, Holmes’ deduction skills and the opening breakfast scene.

It was a fun little snapshot in to that world. I didn’t know this existed but glad I found it on the hoopla app looking at the Sherlock’s series.

[Sidharth Vardhan · Rating 4 out of 5]

takes less than two minutes:

http://www.diogenes-club.com/bazaar.htm

[John Yelverton · Rating 4 out of 5]

For those who just want a little more Sherlock Holmes, this little short story let's Sherlock use his "methods" at the breakfast table with Doctor Watson.

[Preetam Chatterjee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This curious little gem, barely a few pages long, glints with all the quiet wit and domestic charm that we rarely get to see in the Holmes-Watson dynamic.

The last day of my Puja vacation, 2002. The bags were packed, train ticket folded in my wallet, Delhi calling from just over the horizon. One final story, I told myself. Something small. Something light. And that’s when I opened The Field Bazaar.

Unlike the grand stakes of The Final Problem, this was Holmes at his most playful—and Doyle at his most meta. A self-contained, almost secret story, written for a University fundraising publication, where Holmes deduces what Watson is writing in a field bazaar article—the very story we’re reading.

It was a wink, a nudge, a private joke between author, reader, and characters. And it landed beautifully on that last vacation morning. The story doesn’t involve a murder or a mystery—just Holmes, peeking over Watson’s shoulder and catching him in the act of sentimentality. It was like spending one last lazy breakfast with old friends before parting ways.

And for me, it was the perfect send-off. Delhi, with all its JNU intensity, was waiting. But this story—brief, wry, oddly tender—reminded me why I kept coming back to Holmes. Not just for the chases or disguises, but for the friendship. The odd-couple warmth.

The Field Bazaar didn’t challenge my intellect. It soothed something quieter. Like Holmes himself offering a final, knowing nod before I stepped back into real life.

[Aurbal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very short and very meta. Sherlock basically deduces that Watson got a letter asking him to write a piece for charity and also mentions that he knows Watson will be writing about their current conversation for said piece lol.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Good Read!

I really like reading the Sherlock Holmes books! This book is not part of the "canon" of Sherlock Holmes but it was a nice piece of work! I'm going to read the complete books of the Canon of Sherlock Holmes!

[Lavender · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very short story where Sherlock shows his deductive skills on a matter personal to Watson.

[Gr1972 · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 out of 5

[Jay · Rating 5 out of 5]

The key is in the detail.

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to this as part of the Sherlock Holmes the Complete Collection. I found it interesting. It is not the usual Holmes novel. 2023

[Mike Lisanke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Doyle is not much the satirist.

[Rao Javed · Rating 4 out of 5]

I guess my review should also be as long as the story was itself. So it a great story about Sherlock's observation, in his usual subject, Watson, and ends it on a very amusing and mythical ending.
-Over and Out
Rao Umar

[Emmy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun "mini" adventure with Holmes and Watson. This story reads more like a scene from a larger adventure than an adventure in its own right, but it was a fun little dip into the mind of the master. A good read.

[James Clark · Rating 2 out of 5]

A parody of Holmes written by Conan Doyle himself. This doesn't feel like any form of short story, but more like a missing portion of a larger story. Really only for Holmes completists

[Bonnie Dale Keck · Rating 5 out of 5]

Have read all of Doyle's Sherlock Holmes and probably others as well, just never bothered to put them in to amazon or goodreads, so dates wrong. Some KU some paperback some hardback some collections.

[Alyssa Skinner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short, but a good depiction of Holmes at work.

[Janine Toussaint · Rating 3 out of 5]

No. 5 of Dr. Watson | Timeline: 1896