7th out of 92 books
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32 voters
The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes (Sherlock Holmes #9)
The last twelve stories written about Holmes and Watson, these tales reflect the disillusioned world of the 1920s in which they were written. Some of the sharpest turns of wit in English literature are contrasted by dark images of psychological tragedy, suicide, and incest in a collection of tales that have haunted generations of readers.
Paperback, 290 pages
Published
February 24th 2000
by Oxford University Press, USA
(first published May 10th 1921)
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By the time Arthur Conan Doyle wrote the dozen stories that make up "The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes," from 1921 to 1927, he had clearly tired of the character. He had already tried to kill off the sleuth once, after all, and was forced by fans to bring him back. By the '20s, he obviously wasn't putting the same effort into the tales he once had, and turned to entertaining himself, seemingly, by experimenting with the Sherlock Holmes format.
While the bulk of the Holmes can...more
While the bulk of the Holmes can...more
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Rose
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review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Anyone who's watched Sherlock Holmes and never read any (like me)
I love these short stories, I dip into one whenever I have a spare five minutes and can usually finish one in that time - these stories are super short - it's a great book to have by you because you can finish a story in the five minutes you drink your coffee, or wait for the bus, or whatever. There also fairly light and make for easy reading.
There is a lot of the Sherlock Holmes pattern in these stories, and that can get a bit repetitive if you sit down and try to finish the entire book!...more
There is a lot of the Sherlock Holmes pattern in these stories, and that can get a bit repetitive if you sit down and try to finish the entire book!...more
Les Archives sur Sherlock Holmes sont une série de nouvelles très variées où l'on suit Holmes et Watson dans une grosse dizaine d'enquêtes. La lecture est très agréable et les solutions des mystères souvent intéressantes. Mais les textes et les personnages manquent de profondeurs. Du coup on survol les textes avec plaisir, mais impossible de s'y perdre et de vivre l'aventure au côté du détective. Certes sur du Holmes, le lecteur garde une position d'observateur que lui confère la vision de Watso...more
Gravest issues may depend upon the smallest things.
The casebook of Sherlock Holmes ist erneut eine Kurzgeschichtensammlung mit 12 Geschichten um Sherlock Holmes, die zwischen 1921–1927 erschienen.
1. The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone (1921)
Sommer 1903: Die britische Regierung geht wirklich sorglos mit ihrem Schätzen um. Schon wieder muss der Premierminister Holmes um Hilfe bitten. Diesmal ist ein Krondiamant verschwunden. Da diese Angelegenheit sehr gefährlich zu werden ...more
The casebook of Sherlock Holmes ist erneut eine Kurzgeschichtensammlung mit 12 Geschichten um Sherlock Holmes, die zwischen 1921–1927 erschienen.
1. The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone (1921)
Sommer 1903: Die britische Regierung geht wirklich sorglos mit ihrem Schätzen um. Schon wieder muss der Premierminister Holmes um Hilfe bitten. Diesmal ist ein Krondiamant verschwunden. Da diese Angelegenheit sehr gefährlich zu werden ...more
*WARNING: VERY, VERY LONG!*
Don't read this if:
1. You have not read the book yet
2. You have no sense of humour
“The Case Book of Sherlock Holmes“ is the final collection of Sherlock Holmes stories written by Arthur Conan Doyle.
The collection I have has 10 stories:
1. "The Adventure of the Illustrious Client"
2. "The Adventure of the Blanched Soldier"
3. "The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone"
4. "The Adventure of the Three G...more
Don't read this if:
1. You have not read the book yet
2. You have no sense of humour
“The Case Book of Sherlock Holmes“ is the final collection of Sherlock Holmes stories written by Arthur Conan Doyle.
The collection I have has 10 stories:
1. "The Adventure of the Illustrious Client"
2. "The Adventure of the Blanched Soldier"
3. "The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone"
4. "The Adventure of the Three G...more
Apart from "The Adventure of the Creeping Man" (the resolution of which is unbelievably daft) and "The Adventure of the Lion's Mane" (which suffers from the lack of Watson and is, ultimately, fairly dull), I found the final collection of Sherlock Holmes short stories to be wonderfully enjoyable.
Thor Bridge - 4 1/2
Mazarin Stone - 4 1/2
Creeping Man - 2 1/2 ("Possibly you are thinking of the connection between insanity and phases of the moon?" O...more
Thor Bridge - 4 1/2
Mazarin Stone - 4 1/2
Creeping Man - 2 1/2 ("Possibly you are thinking of the connection between insanity and phases of the moon?" O...more
I haven't read any Sherlock Holmes before, and this collection was on the Kindle that I borrowed from someone at work. (We now interrupt this review to bring you an advisory warning that I covet the Kindle in a most unholy way.) Anyway, the stories were delightful, though not, you know, deep or cathartic in any way. Pure entertainment--which is fine by me--they excelled in this purpose. They also weren't terribly varied between one another in length, complexity, theme, or character; a bit of var...more
Wonderful as ever. I enjoyed that this book had some stories that were told from Holmes' perspective in contrast to Watson's. One of the things I had lamented in the other stories I'd read so far was the lack of "relationship" between Holmes and Watson. It's very clear that they work well together and like each other a lot, but it's only Watson's deep affection for his friend that the reader was able to see--both because most stories are from his perspective and because Holmes' charact...more
Well, I've now read the nine books in the Sherlock Holmes canon, and what a ride! After the initial two disappointing novels came three very good short story collections, a great novel, a better-than-average novel and a slightly-better-than-average short story collection. To finish off the series, "The Case-Book" is... well, not that great. On the one hand, Conan Doyle's prose skills have developed considerably from the early days of A Study in Scarlet and his handling of both atmosphe...more
Sir Conan Doyle Holmes' swansong?: Should have left it where he kills Sherlock Holmes. Like the last scene in The Sopranos....blank- and that's it. Doyle decides to quell the masses' discontent of Holmes' death by writing a few more cases. Does a so-so job with this last book, where I'm left wondering, is this it?- not really a completion. More of a whimper than a swan song. This approach ends up with short cases where readers already figure out the results from the beginning. Strange cases invo...more
The ninth and final volume of the Sherlock Holmes canon is once again a collection of short stories; the fifth collection. Although some of the stories are actually really good, by this stage Sir Arthur Conan Doyle has become formulaic in his approach and there is a distinct much-of-a-muchness about the stories; which is a shame. The short story that gave the previous collection its title – His Last Bow – is the last of all the stories in terms of chronology and would have made a fitting finale ...more
I loved reading Sherlock Homes when I was young. I still enjoy watching the quintessential portrayal of Homes by the late Jeremy Brett on the PBS series. He IS Holmes, and just as I assume Holmes did, he burned out too soon.
I was a sucker to pick up a book about Holmes. I'd already read the 7% SOLUTION. The Last Sherlock Holmes Story was well written, but as much as I enjoy books whose characters are three dimensional, have to admit, I didn't need a pyschologicalized Holmes. People wh...more
I was a sucker to pick up a book about Holmes. I'd already read the 7% SOLUTION. The Last Sherlock Holmes Story was well written, but as much as I enjoy books whose characters are three dimensional, have to admit, I didn't need a pyschologicalized Holmes. People wh...more
The Case-book of Sherlock Holmes has 12 cases. Some are great cases, some are not so great.
The Adventure of the Illustrious Client was not really a mysterious case at all, in fact I found it as a waste of Holmes’s talent. He was asked to help preventing a young girl from marrying one of the worst men in Europe. Basically, they way I see it, the case was only about finding the mistakes of the man…this didn’t need extreme deduction at all, it was a bit dull. The Adventure of the Blanc...more
The Adventure of the Illustrious Client was not really a mysterious case at all, in fact I found it as a waste of Holmes’s talent. He was asked to help preventing a young girl from marrying one of the worst men in Europe. Basically, they way I see it, the case was only about finding the mistakes of the man…this didn’t need extreme deduction at all, it was a bit dull. The Adventure of the Blanc...more
The last Sherlock Holmes stories written by Doyle, and it shows. The stories, for the most part, have lost their magic and sense of delight in the workings of Holmes' brain and the unfolding of the mystery. There is also a hugely discomforting amount of racism, even for the time it was written in. Most of the stories seem rushed and perfunctory, and one (The Adventure of the Creeping Man) is so outlandish and far removed from the usual science of the past mysteries that it almost seems like i...more
A couple of stories written by Holmes himself are the stand out of this collection, even if they are not as successfully written as the standard formula. There is also a preface which is quite amusing. Doyle states in it that the popularity of the Holmes stories may have undermined his more serious literary work. I found this a little hard to believe. I mean, it is not as if an author is necessarily like an actor - in the way it would have been hard for Don Adams to play someone other than M...more
The last of the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle stories. It is clear that Doyle was running out of steam creatively as far as the stories go, with one story being a repeat of the Red Headed League, and another story's use of science fiction to explain a character's erratic behavior. Nevertheless, there are still a few gems that make the book well worth reading. What is interesting is that Doyle plays around with the narrative a bit. Pretty much every other Holmes story is narrated by Watson. In this...more
GLBT-interest tag due both to the amazingly overt Holmes/Watson language in this collection AND to the one about the Boer War vet named Jimmie with the missing army buddy (hi, I suck at remembering titles), whom he refers to as "chum" (code in late-to-post-Victorian era for m/m friends with benefits) and whom he recruits Holmes to help him save entirely like a fairytale knight rescuing his fair prince<strike>ss</strike>.
I'm almost amazed it passed the censors, b...more
I'm almost amazed it passed the censors, b...more
By finishing this book, I not only finish "just a book", I have also arrived at the final stop of a journey. The journey of mr. Holmes and dr. Watson. So I would like to recap for just a moment on that journey through over fifty short stories and four novels. It's been a fun journey, I've seen a writer grow and employ his skills better and better. I've seen the stories grow more and more interesting, more exciting. I'm actually quite sad knowing there's nothing new in store for me, the...more
3.6/5.0
Энэ богино өгүүллэгүүдийн хоёрыг нь Уатсон биш Шерлок Холмс өөрөө бичсэн.
Гэсэн ч Уатсон Холмсоос хамаагүй дээр бичдэг юм байна лээ.
Энэхүү нэгтгэлийг тоймлоод хэлэх юм бол урьд урьдынхуудаасаа илүү ахуйн шинжтэй болсон санагдсан. Тэр нь муу гэсэн үг ч биш л дээ. Зүгээр л энгийн. Илүү дэлгэрэнгүй хэлээд ч яахав дээ.
Агууламж:
Volume I:
3.9/5.0 The Problem of Thor Bridge
3.3/5.0 The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone
3.6/5.0 The Adventure of...more
Энэ богино өгүүллэгүүдийн хоёрыг нь Уатсон биш Шерлок Холмс өөрөө бичсэн.
Гэсэн ч Уатсон Холмсоос хамаагүй дээр бичдэг юм байна лээ.
Энэхүү нэгтгэлийг тоймлоод хэлэх юм бол урьд урьдынхуудаасаа илүү ахуйн шинжтэй болсон санагдсан. Тэр нь муу гэсэн үг ч биш л дээ. Зүгээр л энгийн. Илүү дэлгэрэнгүй хэлээд ч яахав дээ.
Агууламж:
Volume I:
3.9/5.0 The Problem of Thor Bridge
3.3/5.0 The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone
3.6/5.0 The Adventure of...more
Case Book of Sherlock Holmes / 0-425-04822-5
This collection contains the following short stories:
- The Adventure of the Illustrious Client
- The Adventure of the Blanched Soldier
- The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone
- The Adventure of the Three Gables
- The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire
- The Adventure of the Three Garridebs
- The Problem of Thor Bridge
- The Adventure of the Creeping Man
- The Adventure of the Lion's Mane
- The Adventure of the Veiled Lodger
- The Adventure of Shoscombe Old Place
- The ...more
This collection contains the following short stories:
- The Adventure of the Illustrious Client
- The Adventure of the Blanched Soldier
- The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone
- The Adventure of the Three Gables
- The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire
- The Adventure of the Three Garridebs
- The Problem of Thor Bridge
- The Adventure of the Creeping Man
- The Adventure of the Lion's Mane
- The Adventure of the Veiled Lodger
- The Adventure of Shoscombe Old Place
- The ...more
http://nhw.livejournal.com/562813.html[return][return]The last of the four collections of Doyle's stories about the great detective, published in 1927, but mostly set in 1900-1902, "around the time of the Boer War". It's an odd selection, not the best of the Holmes stories; there are several tales turning on freaks of nature (monkey gland injections, a disease almost like leprosy and a killer jellyfish) and several where Holmes doesn't actually solve anything but is more a kind of deli...more
I read this book because I was out of town and it was the only thing available. The stories were interesting -- some were a little gorey, which was fun -- but I didn't care for the way Sherlock solved the mysteries. I haven't read any other Sherlock mysteries, so I don't know if it was typical, but it seemed like the solution was often pulled out of thin air. I prefer the Agatha Christie type of mystery, where clues are given all along, and the reader has the chance to figure it out (or not a...more
Despite the title previous Holmes compendium being called His Last Bow and the fact his brother Mycroft killed him before that, this is the last last Holmes novel by arthur conan doyle.
Anyway, in keeping with my last Holmes and Watson review I offer the following:
"Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson went on a camping trip. After sharing a good meal and a bottle of Petrie wine, they retire to their tent for the night.
At about 3 AM, Holmes nudges Watson a...more
Anyway, in keeping with my last Holmes and Watson review I offer the following:
"Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson went on a camping trip. After sharing a good meal and a bottle of Petrie wine, they retire to their tent for the night.
At about 3 AM, Holmes nudges Watson a...more
This is the oddest of the Holmes canon, with the creeping man and his strange drug, the "lion's mane" in the sea, the forced cleverness in the denouement of the "vampire." Holmes himself even narrates one or two. The Casebook is the last published, but the various adventures are in no particular chronology. My reading program called for the tales by publication date, but The Valley of Fear not instantly available, I chose to go out of order. I doubt it made any difference!
Another enjoyable installment of short mystery stories examined by Holmes and Watson. Conan Doyle experiments a bit with different points of view here, my favorite story of the bunch is told from Holmes' perspective instead of Watson's. This story, "The Adventure of the Lion's Mane", also represents the only time I've figured out they mystery before Holmes has explained it. Other favorites were "The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire", "The Problem of Thor Bridge", ...more
Another Sherlock. I'm not reading them in order, and I'm sort of glad I'm not, because I would like to end on a high note. This book was slightly disappointing. A couple of good short stories in there, but nothing on 'The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes' collection that Doyle penned earlier in his career. It just seemed like Doyle got a bit bored with writing the mysteries, and made the mistake of telling us, the readers, too much information and insight of Sherlock himself before wrapping up the ...more
Compared to the rest of the collected stories this one was actually pretty dark! You can tell that the world has certainly changed since the late 1880's. Crimes are more bestial...people are less noble overall. Very glad I read this one. It was kind of refreshing after reading the rest. I enjoyed them all, but the earlier stories have the glamour of Victoriana. These ones are closer to Micky Spillane.
This is the final collection of Sherlock Holmes stories (SH #9)published by Sir Arthur. It is also the only of the Holmes volumes which I feel obligated to remove a star from. Though a couple of the stories in here rank near his best, a few also are his weakest (and most un-Holmes like). Collection first published in 1927 (Doyle died in 1930).
The final twelve adventures of Sherlock Holmes written by Doyle for the Strand magazine. Classic short tales that end Doyle's burden of continual episodes so loved by his readers. It is interesting to view these stories in terms of the forensic knowledge (or lack thereof) of the early 20th century. A must for all Holmes fans.
Holmes goes out with a whimper. Doyle in the prefix basically says he's sick to death of the character at his point and just wants to be done with him. The stories suffer as a result. Pretty near all of them could be solved if the people who asked Holmes for help would have the balls to simply open a door or box.
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Arthur Conan Doyle was born as the third of ten siblings on 22 May 1859 in Edinburgh, Scotland. His father, Charles Altamont Doyle, was born in England of Irish descent, and his mother, born Mary Foley, was Irish. They were married in 1855.
Although he is now referred to as "Conan Doyle", the origin of this compound surname (if that is how he meant it to be understood) is unce...more
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Although he is now referred to as "Conan Doyle", the origin of this compound surname (if that is how he meant it to be understood) is unce...more
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