Tales for a Winter's Night

by Arthur Conan Doyle

Librarian's Note: this is an alternate cover edition - ISBN 10: 0897333098

This work brings together eight Arthur Conan Doyle mystery classics. When first gathered into one volume in 1908, the book was entitled Round the Fire Stories, since the author recommended that they be read ideally "'round the fire upon a winter's night." According to Barzun & Taylor in A Catalogue of Crime, "As one reads 'The Man with the Watches,' 'The Lost Special,' 'The Jew's Breastplate,' 'The Black Doctor' and the rest, one marvels again at Doyle's natural gift of storytelling and one relishes his ingrained habit of giving clues, even when they serve narrative and are not to be used for ratiocination. These stories are worth reading even around a radiator."

Genres: Mystery, Audiobook, Classics, Short Stories, Fiction

207 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1989

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

[Humbledaisy]

This is a collection of eight of Arthur Conan Doyle's short pieces first published in The Strand magazine.

England has a tradition of spooky stories being told around the fire during the winter (think "A Christmas Carol") and these are just that. A bit mysterious, a bit dark, a bit scary and very traditional - these stories won't surprise you terribly but they do linger in your imagination.

I listened to these stories read by William Sutherland and enjoyed his robust, theatrical reading.

[Hannah]

Recommended for fans of ACD, but not a patch to his Sherlock Holmes stories.

Eight short stories, some better then others (isn't that always the case in compilations?), very firmly in ACD's signature style, but lacking the presence of the great sleuth himself. Enjoyable enough, but Holmes it ain't. Jeremy is amused.

[David Macpherson]

A decent enough collection of puzzle stories. I agree with others, these are missing a strong personality in the center, like a Sherlock Holmes or a Brigadeer Gerard. They were all enjoyable though. I was taken with the amorality of some of the tales, which made the reading a tiny bit more surprising.

[Lyds]

3.5 ⭐️ overall. I love that every "bad guy" they catch immediately just throw their hands up and confess their crimes, spilling alllllll of the tea.

The Man With the Watches: 2.5 ⭐️
The Black Doctor: 4 ⭐️
The Jew's Breastplate: 2.5 ⭐️
The Lost Special: 3 ⭐️
The Club-Footed Grocer: 4 ⭐️
The Sealed Room: 3 ⭐️
The Brazilian Cat: 3.5 ⭐️
B.24: 4 ⭐️

[David Rough]

These eight classic Conan Doyle mysteries were originally published in The Strand in 1899 and then republished in 1908 as one volume entitled Round the Fire Mysteries. I thought these were going to be short adventures of Sherlock Holmes, but the master detective was not present in any of these mysteries. As an audiobook each tale lasts about 45 minutes so there are several nice stopping places. The table of contents reveals the short stories: The Man with the Watches, The Black Doctor, The Jewish Breastplate, The Lost Special, The Club-footed Grocer, The Sealed Room, The Brazilian Cat, and B.24. As in most collections, some of the stories were better than others. I personally liked The Man with the Watches, the Jewish Breastplate, and the Brazilian Cat. The formal, older, British syntax and vocabulary made comprehension a little more difficult and active listening a bit more difficult, but all in all it was an enjoyable audiobook

[Yrinsyde]

I thoroughly enjoyed this collection of short stories. Very boys own but with a mix of horror, mystery and the odd criminal mastermind. These stories are not Holmes mysteries, but despite that, anyone who really enjoys reading Sherlock will enjoy these. Old fashioned and told in typical Doyle style. I want more!

[Phil Wujek]

I like the stories with Sherlock, but when Sir Arthur tried to venture away from Holmes, I feel that he was in a strange neighborhood. The last story was good, but not much of a mystery. The title was a mystery 'though, "B.24?"

[Brittany Parker]

This was a great collection of short mysteries to listen to on audiobook. They were lacking Sherlock Holmes and some of them felt like they were lacking something overall. But still a very enjoyable listen.

[Stacy]

ab

[Wendy]

Some clever enjoyable stories - some are better than others. Not on par with the Sherlock Holmes stories, but what would be? I would be willing to read more of Conan Doyle's non-Sherlock stories.

[Eric Evans]

Wasn't a big fan of this collection. Just glad there were more good stories than bad.

[Paige McClurg]

I listened to the audiobook. I think I would have liked it better if I read the stories myself.

[Viviana]

[audiobook]

[Rachel F]

2.5. stars rounded

It was fine, but I found myself tuning out of some of the stories without being able to put my finger on why. Maybe it's because there is not much weaving the stories together other than time period and atmosphere 🤷

[Kay]

A bit of a disappointment for ACD fans, I fear. Several of his favorite plot devices -- most featured in his Sherlock Holmes' tales -- are again trotted out here. There are long-lost and sinister relatives, a man who brings back both a menagerie and an exotic wife from South America, impoverished heirs, ne'er-do-well look-alive brothers, a locked room with a sinister mystery, stolen diamonds cleverly concealed, and seemingly impossible vanishings. The key to the mysteries usually lies in some crucial piece of withheld evidence or some unrevealed connection.

All eight tales were written for The Strand magazine in the late 1800's, and all conform very much to the love for the melodramatic of that readership. Indeed, to me the high-points were just such moments of frisson -- when the locked room is opened, for example, or when the protagonist is trapped in a cage with a man-eating leopard. My main disappointment was that ACD seemed to be reworking similar devices even within these eight tales. Clumping them together in one volume merely emphasized their similarities. There were not one but two long-lost ne'er-do-well brothers, for example; two "impossible" mysteries involving trains, and two ill-intentioned uncles. It might have held together better as a collection if there had been a central character -- a Sherlock Holmes or Professor Challenger -- to maintain the reader's focus, but, alas, none of the protagonists is very commanding.

The audiobook version I listened to was read by William Sutherland, whose voice seemed identical to me to the better-known Leo McKern of Rumpole of the Bailey fame. The McKern-like voice might have been responsible for my hoping for a bit more wit and sizzle and less of the "tales of the fireside" straightforward and somewhat ponderous delivery.

[Ron Ecklebarger]

Back in the day, before the Internet and television and even radio, people entertained themselves and each other by reading and telling stories. Imagine sitting around a warm fire with the wind howling outside. The glow from the flames is your only light and it casts spectral shadows all around. You huddle close with your family around the fire, both for warmth and to hear Grandma as she tells the tales that she learned so many years before in the same manner as you are now.

Many of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s stories were probably read in this fashion. Doyle is incredibly famous for creating the character of Sherlock Holmes, but he also wrote many other stories. Most of the stories he wrote were originally published in The Strand magazine, as were the Holmes tales. Eight of these stories, published in 1898 and 1899, have been collected into a book entitled, Tales for a Winter’s Night.

These are mystery stories, although they do not feature Sherlock Holmes. They do have a bit of the Holmes flavor, though. They are entertaining and puzzling, as that type of tale should be. It is fun to try to figure out the clues that Doyle gives to see if you can come to the correct solution before he reveals it. The other nice thing is that each story can be easily read in a short sitting, so you will not have to put the book down right when it gets interesting. You will, however, want to read the next story as soon as you finish one.

[Laurie]

This is just okay, at least in comparison with his Sherlock short stories. I liked The Brazilian Cat the best. Each of these eight stories was originally written and published separately in the time after ACD first tried to kill off Sherlock in the 24th short, The Final Problem. Combining these stories into one volume left the whole wanting. There's too much similarity in plot devices. And either there's re-hashing of some plot devices from the first round of Sherlock stories, or he took elements of these stories and incorporated them to better effect in his later Sherlock works. Their biggest loss, however, is not the similarities, but the lack of strong central characters, or the lack of a central character binding the stories together. It didn't help either that the audiobook delivery was rather dull and cumbersome.

[Jill]

A fun, quick read by the author of my all-time favorite stories ever (Sherlock Holmes). Short stories are not my preferred genre. However, there is something about Conan Doyle - just enough mystery and things macabre to pique my interest, but never interesting me so much in the character that I'm disappointed with the lack of character development requisite in short stories. Nothing terribly profound in here, but it is a fun collection of short stories for a dreary winter.

[Sunsettowers]

This was such a treat! I love Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes' stories, and it was a lot of fun to get to read some of his other mysteries. These short stories have a similar flare to the Holmes' stories, with tricky cases that seem to have no solution, until Doyle spins one. I definitely recommend this one for mystery and Holmes lovers alike.

[TrumanCoyote]

A lot of fun (I just wish I knew what "B.24" meant). Maybe it's the cell the guy was in--or the number of his appeal. Probably best of all was "The Brazilian Cat."

[WhatShouldIRead]

Pleasant enough mystery short stories which will pass the time. They are easy to read, well thought out and creative.

[Paula]

Good read.

[Becky]

I listened to this on audiobook while doing housework. It was ok. The only story that made me stop what I was doing and really pay close attention was The Brazilian Cat.