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The Adventure of the Dancing Men: and Other Sherlock Holmes Stories
Alternate cover edition of ISBN 9780486295589
Undoubtedly the world's best-known fictional detective, Sherlock Holmes, with his faithful sidekick, Dr. Watson, is the scourge of London's underworld, sallying forth from his rooms at 221B Baker Street to solve crimes and bring evildoers to justice. Now four of the best Holmes stories have been collected in this volume, offering a superb sampler of the great sleuth's fascinating adventures. Included are "The Adventure of the Dancing Men," in which the sudden appearance of mysterious stick-figure drawings proves disastrous to a country squire and his bride; "The Adventure of the Dying Detective," in which Holmes appears to have contracted a mysterious Asian disease that leaves him at death's door; and two other celebrated stories: "The Musgrave Ritual" and "The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans."
In this inexpensive collection, these stories represent a wonderful introduction to the larger body of Holmes stories, as well as a delightful pocket-sized treat for any mystery lover.
(back cover)
Undoubtedly the world's best-known fictional detective, Sherlock Holmes, with his faithful sidekick, Dr. Watson, is the scourge of London's underworld, sallying forth from his rooms at 221B Baker Street to solve crimes and bring evildoers to justice. Now four of the best Holmes stories have been collected in this volume, offering a superb sampler of the great sleuth's fascinating adventures. Included are "The Adventure of the Dancing Men," in which the sudden appearance of mysterious stick-figure drawings proves disastrous to a country squire and his bride; "The Adventure of the Dying Detective," in which Holmes appears to have contracted a mysterious Asian disease that leaves him at death's door; and two other celebrated stories: "The Musgrave Ritual" and "The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans."
In this inexpensive collection, these stories represent a wonderful introduction to the larger body of Holmes stories, as well as a delightful pocket-sized treat for any mystery lover.
(back cover)
76 pages, Mass Market Paperback
Published January 1, 1997
12 people are currently reading
659 people want to read
About the author
Arthur Conan Doyle
15.9k books24.5k followersSir 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
July 18, 2015
Perhaps it can be surprising but it's a story where you will find that Sherlock Holmes, too, have a heart.
January 5, 2023
Originally published in The Strand magazine in 1903, Dancing Men is slightly atypical for a Arthur Conan Doyle short. It is one of only two Sherlock Holmes mysteries where the client dies shortly after enlisting the services of Holmes and Watson (the other being The Five Orange Pips, 1891).
I can’t say that this is my favorite Sherlock Holmes collection but the stories, brief as they are, are each clever and entertaining.
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*Slightly off-topic: Does anyone else picture Basil Rathbone in their mind’s eye when reading Sherlock Holmes?
I can’t say that this is my favorite Sherlock Holmes collection but the stories, brief as they are, are each clever and entertaining.
____________________________________
*Slightly off-topic: Does anyone else picture Basil Rathbone in their mind’s eye when reading Sherlock Holmes?
November 23, 2014
*** I finally won another Sherlock Holmes off the Goodreads Giveaways.***
4 stars
4 very quick, tidy mysteries of Sherlock Holmes. I did not figure out 2 of them until the end.. love when that happens.
4 stars
4 very quick, tidy mysteries of Sherlock Holmes. I did not figure out 2 of them until the end.. love when that happens.
June 5, 2025
I actually listened to the Stephen Fry narrated audiobook as opposed to reading this book. All riveting stories. The prime story about the Dancing Men is part exhilarating and part tragedy, one of the sadder cases in the series. The Jeremy Brett episode on it is also some of his best work.
March 27, 2017
strange and unusual story, I like it..
February 23, 2020
A theme for this book is don't hide any secrets because if Mrs. Cubbit told her husband about her backstory, nothing bad would have happened
June 24, 2017
With Sherlock fever still raging with the likes of Benedict and Robert Downey Jr., it's always refreshing to go to the source. This brief collection spotlights a healthy range of Doyle's Baker Street sleuth: "The Adventure of the Dancing Men--a woman with a mysterious past and her staid English man who protects her with honor; "The Musgrave Ritual"--a simple mystery with ambiguity for an ending; "The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans"--the appearance of Mycroft; and "The Adventure if the Dying Detective"--I think I remember Jeremy Brett playing this story with bravisimo.
My only complaint is that where four Sherlock adventures are great, five would have been better.
My only complaint is that where four Sherlock adventures are great, five would have been better.
June 19, 2018
From the first time I heard about Sherlock Holmes and his adventures with Dr. Watson I was hooked. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's writing is so engaging that even with four short stories such as this book contains you get more entertainment and knowledge in some full length novels. Two of the greatest characters in literary history, the great detective Sherlock Holmes and his faithful companion Dr. Watson, will continue to endure and delight readers for centuries to come.
August 11, 2020
The ever growing stories of Holmes and Watson. As time goes on we see new and different glimpses into Holmes and his make up. Not always so self centred and arrogant, he works with others, seldom takes the credit for solving th3 mystery and, Watson isn’t always portrayed as the bumbling idiot/ sidekick.
Want to read
May 3, 2020mentioned in Tru & Nelle (5/2020)
Want to read
July 19, 2020elibrary
April 5, 2024
Honesty, wouldn't give us a mystery.
July 23, 2025
it wasn't that complicated and it was easily solved
December 30, 2020
The books is amazing. The stories and cases are all unique and it just drives you to read one story after the other. I really enjoyed the book and this is the 2nd time I have read that book.
October 17, 2014
In this story, Mr. Hilton Cubitt of Ridling Thorpe Manor in Derbyshire visits Sherlock Holmes and gives him a piece of paper with a mysterious sequence of stick figures representing dancing men.
The little dancing men are at the heart of a mystery which seems to be driving his young wife Elsie Patrick to distraction. He married her about 3 years ago, and until recently, everything was well. She is American, and before the wedding, she asked her husband-to-be to promise her never to ask about her past, as she had had some “very disagreeable associations” in her life, although she said that there was nothing that she was personally ashamed of. Mr. Cubitt swore the promise and, being an honorable English gentleman, insists on living by it, which is one of the things causing difficulty at Ridling Thorpe Manor.
The trouble began when Elsie received a letter from the United States, which evidently disturbed her, and she threw the letter on the fire. Then the dancing men appeared, sometimes on a piece of paper left on the sundial overnight, sometimes scrawled in chalk on a wall or door, even a windowsill. Each time, their appearance has an obvious, terrifying effect on Elsie, but she will not tell her husband what is going on. Holmes tells Cubitt that he wants to see every occurrence of the dancing men. They are to be copied down and brought or sent to him at 221B Baker Street. Cubitt duly does this, and it provides Holmes with an important clue. Holmes comes to realize that it is a substitution cipher. He cracks the code by frequency analysis. The last of the messages conveyed by the dancing men is a particularly alarming one.
Holmes rushes down to Ridling Thorpe Manor only to find Cubitt dead of a bullet to the heart and his wife gravely wounded in the head. Inspector Martin of the Norfolk Constabulary believes that it is a murder-suicide, or will be if Elsie dies. She is the prime suspect in her husband’s death. Holmes sees things differently. Why is there a bullet hole in the windowsill, making a total of three shots, while Cubitt and his wife were each only shot once? Why are only two chambers in Cubitt’s revolver empty? What is the large sum of money doing in the room? The discovery of a trampled flowerbed just outside the window and the discovery of a shell casing therein confirm what Holmes has suspected: a third person was involved, and it is surely the one who has been sending the curious dancing-man messages.
Holmes knows certain things that Inspector Martin does not. He seemingly picks the name “Elrige’s” out of the air, and Cubitt’s stable boy recognizes it as a local farmer’s name. Holmes quickly writes a message — in dancing men characters — and sends the boy to Elrige’s Farm to deliver it to a lodger there, whose name he has also apparently picked out of the air. Of course, Holmes has learned both men's names by reading the dancing men code. While waiting for the result of this message, Holmes takes the opportunity to explain to Watson and Inspector Martin how he cracked the code of the dancing men, and the messages are revealed. The last one, which caused Holmes and Watson to rush to Norfolk, read “ELSIE PREPARE TO MEET THY GOD”.
The lodger, Mr. Abe Slaney, another American, unaware that Elsie is at death’s door and quite unable to communicate, duly arrives at Ridling Thorpe Manor a short while later, much to everyone’s astonishment, except Holmes’s. He has sent for Slaney using the dancing men, knowing that Slaney will believe that the message is from Elsie. He is seized as he comes through the door. He tells the whole story. He is Elsie's former fiancé from Chicago and has come to England to woo her back. She had originally fled his clutches because he was a dangerous criminal, as Holmes has found out through telegraphic inquiries to the US. When an encounter at the window where the killing happened turned violent with Hilton Cubitt's appearance in the room, Slaney pulled out his gun and shot back at Cubitt, who had already shot at him. Cubitt was killed and Slaney fled. Apparently, Elsie then shot herself. Slaney seems genuinely upset that Elsie has come to harm. The threatening nature of some of his dancing-man messages is explained by Slaney's losing his temper at Elsie's apparent unwillingness to leave her husband. The money found in the room was apparently to have been a bribe to make Slaney go away.
Slaney is arrested and later tried. He escapes the noose owing to mitigating circumstances. Elsie recovers from her serious injuries and spends her life helping the poor and administering her late husband’s estate.
Another masterpiece from Sir Conan Doyle. I recommend this book to the library of any reader who enjoys well written mystery stories, mainly featuring Sherlock Holmes.
The little dancing men are at the heart of a mystery which seems to be driving his young wife Elsie Patrick to distraction. He married her about 3 years ago, and until recently, everything was well. She is American, and before the wedding, she asked her husband-to-be to promise her never to ask about her past, as she had had some “very disagreeable associations” in her life, although she said that there was nothing that she was personally ashamed of. Mr. Cubitt swore the promise and, being an honorable English gentleman, insists on living by it, which is one of the things causing difficulty at Ridling Thorpe Manor.
The trouble began when Elsie received a letter from the United States, which evidently disturbed her, and she threw the letter on the fire. Then the dancing men appeared, sometimes on a piece of paper left on the sundial overnight, sometimes scrawled in chalk on a wall or door, even a windowsill. Each time, their appearance has an obvious, terrifying effect on Elsie, but she will not tell her husband what is going on. Holmes tells Cubitt that he wants to see every occurrence of the dancing men. They are to be copied down and brought or sent to him at 221B Baker Street. Cubitt duly does this, and it provides Holmes with an important clue. Holmes comes to realize that it is a substitution cipher. He cracks the code by frequency analysis. The last of the messages conveyed by the dancing men is a particularly alarming one.
Holmes rushes down to Ridling Thorpe Manor only to find Cubitt dead of a bullet to the heart and his wife gravely wounded in the head. Inspector Martin of the Norfolk Constabulary believes that it is a murder-suicide, or will be if Elsie dies. She is the prime suspect in her husband’s death. Holmes sees things differently. Why is there a bullet hole in the windowsill, making a total of three shots, while Cubitt and his wife were each only shot once? Why are only two chambers in Cubitt’s revolver empty? What is the large sum of money doing in the room? The discovery of a trampled flowerbed just outside the window and the discovery of a shell casing therein confirm what Holmes has suspected: a third person was involved, and it is surely the one who has been sending the curious dancing-man messages.
Holmes knows certain things that Inspector Martin does not. He seemingly picks the name “Elrige’s” out of the air, and Cubitt’s stable boy recognizes it as a local farmer’s name. Holmes quickly writes a message — in dancing men characters — and sends the boy to Elrige’s Farm to deliver it to a lodger there, whose name he has also apparently picked out of the air. Of course, Holmes has learned both men's names by reading the dancing men code. While waiting for the result of this message, Holmes takes the opportunity to explain to Watson and Inspector Martin how he cracked the code of the dancing men, and the messages are revealed. The last one, which caused Holmes and Watson to rush to Norfolk, read “ELSIE PREPARE TO MEET THY GOD”.
The lodger, Mr. Abe Slaney, another American, unaware that Elsie is at death’s door and quite unable to communicate, duly arrives at Ridling Thorpe Manor a short while later, much to everyone’s astonishment, except Holmes’s. He has sent for Slaney using the dancing men, knowing that Slaney will believe that the message is from Elsie. He is seized as he comes through the door. He tells the whole story. He is Elsie's former fiancé from Chicago and has come to England to woo her back. She had originally fled his clutches because he was a dangerous criminal, as Holmes has found out through telegraphic inquiries to the US. When an encounter at the window where the killing happened turned violent with Hilton Cubitt's appearance in the room, Slaney pulled out his gun and shot back at Cubitt, who had already shot at him. Cubitt was killed and Slaney fled. Apparently, Elsie then shot herself. Slaney seems genuinely upset that Elsie has come to harm. The threatening nature of some of his dancing-man messages is explained by Slaney's losing his temper at Elsie's apparent unwillingness to leave her husband. The money found in the room was apparently to have been a bribe to make Slaney go away.
Slaney is arrested and later tried. He escapes the noose owing to mitigating circumstances. Elsie recovers from her serious injuries and spends her life helping the poor and administering her late husband’s estate.
Another masterpiece from Sir Conan Doyle. I recommend this book to the library of any reader who enjoys well written mystery stories, mainly featuring Sherlock Holmes.
July 18, 2015
A very mysterious story of my most favorite fictitious character of all time, Sherlock Holmes.
Considering the day and age in which these stories were written this is a very good and intriguing mystery. The Serials like CSI, Bones relies heavily on forensics. Serials like monk, mentalist, castle etc relies on hunches and unexplained guess work of leads. But todays VFX graphics movie generation will not be able to appreciate the mystery.
A very satisfying read. Must read for all those who like a good mystery. What sets apart Sherlock Holmes form Poirot, Miss Marple, Feluda, Byomkesh Bakshi and many others is that he explains everything logically. Holmes doesn’t rely on intuition, hunches or so called intelligent guess work. Holmes is the best.
Considering the day and age in which these stories were written this is a very good and intriguing mystery. The Serials like CSI, Bones relies heavily on forensics. Serials like monk, mentalist, castle etc relies on hunches and unexplained guess work of leads. But todays VFX graphics movie generation will not be able to appreciate the mystery.
A very satisfying read. Must read for all those who like a good mystery. What sets apart Sherlock Holmes form Poirot, Miss Marple, Feluda, Byomkesh Bakshi and many others is that he explains everything logically. Holmes doesn’t rely on intuition, hunches or so called intelligent guess work. Holmes is the best.
October 20, 2021
We see a little more of Holmes' powers of detecting - and it was fun to see him crack a code.
April 15, 2020
I love this book. The best part of the book is the code. I tried to decode it myself before reading the answer. Doyle was a VERY smart author. This is one of my favorite Sherlock Holmes stories. It is difficult to discern who the killer is, the means, and the motive before all is revealed (and that is saying something, because I usually have it solved before the big reveal). The clever code plays a good part in keeping you guessing. I still say in a writing contest Christi's "Murder on the Orient Express" beats any "Holmes" story by at least a 1\4 mile. That being said, my all-time favorite sleuths are: Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot tied for 1st place. It's just "elementary" . The writing styles are different but both authors get you invested in the investigation VERY early on.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 18, 2011
I could have sworn I'd read this collection of Holmes stories before, but there were a few that I didn't recognize, so maybe I ran into some of them elsewhere. I know I'd read the titular story previously, since I knew the solution, but it's still one of my faves.
Honestly, I read this because I'd just finished watching the new movie, which made it feel like well-written fanfic. Heresy! Loved it.
P.S. There are some reviews of this book in Goodreads that have unmarked spoilers, so I'd avoid the main page if you want to try to solve the cases yourself.
Honestly, I read this because I'd just finished watching the new movie, which made it feel like well-written fanfic. Heresy! Loved it.
P.S. There are some reviews of this book in Goodreads that have unmarked spoilers, so I'd avoid the main page if you want to try to solve the cases yourself.
January 5, 2010
"The Adventure of the Dancing Men" ("Die Tanzenden Männchen") was a good introduction into the world of Sherlock Holmes for me. :) (Plus, it gave me a chance to practice my German!) The story was intriguing, although a bit short. And even though it wasn't as twisty a mystery as, say, Agatha Christie, it kept me on my toes and I enjoyed it a lot! The ending was pretty creepy....
Definitely going to continue reading more Sherlock Holmes!
Definitely going to continue reading more Sherlock Holmes!
February 25, 2013
AMAZING, one of my all-time favorite authors. My favorite short story was "The Case of the Dying Detective" Sherlock is stricked with a deadly diseas and calls upon a docotor, who unknown to Watson poisoned Holmes himself. Keeps you on the end of your seat, and a let-down when the book is finished.
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January 17, 2010Good story. I learned that we should never hide anything from your loved ones. Its better to say everythen rather than crying later.
February 23, 2010
Sherlock Holmes is one smart cookie! I've been a fan of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle for 20-30 years! I enjoyed short volume of stories.
July 30, 2010
What a lot of fun this book was! I don't see myself running outto get a complete, hardcover set, but I would happily spend some money on more Dover Thrift editions just to have around.
November 24, 2013
After reading "The Sherlockian" I felt like reading some Sherlock Holmes stories.
December 3, 2014
Good selection of Sherlock Holmes stories!
April 9, 2015
Oh I loved these so much!!
January 12, 2017
I wish I knew the code of the dancing men. It seems like a pretty cool code.
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January 3, 2009inget kisah Detektif conan...
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews