The Unofficial Stories of Sherlock Holmes

by Arthur Conan Doyle

Genres: Classics

Unknown Binding

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

[Richard Alex Jenkins · Rating 3 out of 5]

Classified as volume 10/10, this isn't really a volume because it’s half the normal size, more like a set of out-takes to conclude the complete SH works for fans and masochists alike. Because this feels like a precursor to better work, the stories aren't always consistently great due to being spread out over a massive writing timeframe of four decades.

Everything written by Arthur Conan Doyle is decent quality, though, but disappointingly, the narrative isn't written from the perspective of Dr Watson in his normal way of communicating with Holmes, so lacks the usual banter, friendship and coyness of other volumes, but still follows a similar structure of unfolding events but with often predictable conclusions.

These are pleasing detective stories in the usual mold and worthwhile reads for completists, and there's even a play near the end that’s a rehash of a previous story – The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone – from volume #9, The Case Book of Sherlock Holmes.

I couldn't find a standalone copy of this volume, which only seems to be available through a Complete Collection or similar, and you'll have read over 2000 pages to get there anyway, but I'm giving myself a massive pat on the back for making it this far and for one-hundred-percenting Sherlock Holmes!

Hooray! RIP. Long live Sherlock Holmes.

[Bubun Saha · Rating 5 out of 5]

দি আনঅফিসিয়াল শার্লক হোমস
আর্থার কোনান ডয়েল (অনুবাদ: দীপ্তজিৎ মিশ্র)
শব্দ প্রকাশন
মম: ৩৫০/-


এই ক্লাসিক বই নিয়ে বলার তেমন কিছু নেই। ডয়েলের ক্যানন ছাড়া প্যারোডি, নাটক, হোমস প্রোটোটাইপ, প্রচ্ছন্ন এক গোয়েন্দার আবির্ভাব --- এই নিয়ে আনঅফিসিয়াল সমগ্র। সব কাহিনী যদিও ডয়েলেরই লেখা।


অনুবাদ বেশ ভালো। সঙ্গে কিছু তথ্য, টীকা রয়েছে। সবমিলিয়ে সংগ্রহে রাখার মতো একটি বই।

[Rod Innis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am afraid that I cannot give this book as good a rating as the other Sherlock Holmes books that I have read. In the first place, a couple of the stories are not about Sherlock Holmes at all. The longest story "Uncle Jeremy's Household", although a good story does not have Holmes or Watson in it. Another story is written as a play but is the very same story as an earlier one. Overall it is not a bad book but just not up to the standard that I am used to in my experience with Sherlock Holmes stories.

[Clare · Rating 3 out of 5]

An odd mix of stray stories brought together for Sherlock super fans only! A couple of good ones and some duds.

[trammartin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Uncle Jeremy’s Household was the most interesting anecdotes in this collection. Hugh Lawrence, a physician, reminisced about the horror in the cottage of John Thurston’s uncle. I suspect Sir Doyle created these two characters prior to inventing Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson.