Sherlock Holmes: The Complete Illustrated Short Stories

by Arthur Conan Doyle

They're among the most influential, enduring, and popular short stories in the English language; marvelous mysteries that feature the "most perfect reasoning and observing machine that the world has ever seen." Here are all 56 Sherlock Holmes tales in one very handsome collection, accompanied by the original artwork in facsimile reproduction. Every short story is here--grouped into series (The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, The Return of Sherlock Holmes, The Last Bow), each containing several adventures. Among the highlights: "A Scandal in Bohemia," where the great detective first encounters the unforgettable Irene Adler; "The Red-Headed League;" "The Speckled Band;" and "The Problem of Thor Bridge."

Genres: Mystery, Classics, Fiction, Crime, Short Stories, Thriller, Mystery Thriller

986 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 1927

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

[Abdilrhman · Rating 4 out of 5]

When i read, sherlock will have a lot of experience and fame, but I will lose my mind.

...

When I bought the Book ,I Watch Seriais at the same time .I Think ,I lost my mind a lot

[Em · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection contains all of the short stories in the Holmes canon (well, all of the short stories Arthur Conan Doyle wrote, in any case). This means that while we miss classics like A Study In Scarlet (the first Holmes story) and The Hound of the Baskervilles, both of which are novel-length, we get a real treat. This collection has some of my all-time favourite stories: The Speckled Band, The Dancing Men, The Red-Headed League etc. I actually just realised that I could list them all and still be utterly satisfied that I'd only mentioned the best ones. The reason for this is simple: these are the original Sherlock Holmes stories. There is, of course, the period after the climactic second series where Sherlock Holmes 'died' at Reichenbach Falls and these are generally considered to be poorer than the earlier stories. Having said this there are some real gems in there and anyone who loves a great mystery spear-headed by a detective who continues to be popular more than one hundred years after his introduction would be well advised to read this.

[L.K. Jay · Rating 5 out of 5]

What can you say? Sherlock is still the number one detective and this is the edition my mother has on her shelves and what I kept dipping into when I was a kid. There's everything, the mysteries, Sherlock and Watson and the villains. They are intriguing, gripping and you never, never get tired of them. Essential.

[Hannah Russell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like mystery. I like British mystery. I like classics. How have I never read Sherlock Holmes? I'm so glad that I took a deep plunge in, reading every Sherlock Holmes short story ever written, and have now experienced this fantastic series. Now for the novels, I suppose. I didn't like every story, but I enjoyed the experience overall.

[Anne-Marie Scaplehorn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed these stories and I seldom guessed the outcome (which is not always the case).
Quite un-PC (the era, I guess) which made me cringe on occasions.

[Fariha_N_Eshat · Rating 5 out of 5]

in a word, awesome.. fav one

[Jade Gonzales · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sherlock Holmes ( /ˈʃɜrlɒk ˈhoʊmz/) is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. A London-based "consulting detective" whose abilities border on the fantastic, Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to adopt almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve difficult cases.


I borrowed this book from our school library when I was still in High-school. I thought I lost this book forever. I paid the library and I didn't bother to look for it but after long 4 years, My book finally showed up begging me to read him. So I read Sherlock Holmes and fell in love with him. He was simply amazing, His brilliant in solving cases. His my fictional lover and my non-fictional lover who is already dead, A brilliant guy too is Jose Rizal.

The book is complied Sherlock Holmes Adventures but it's not complete.
I'm still reading other Sherlock Holmes adventures. I totally recommend reading classics like this. It's still the best though it might be long and boring for others. And i'm wondering why?!! It's fun to solve crimes with sherlock holmes. I felt I'm a detective too :)

[Alane Elevado]

I cannot help but marvel at Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's genius at creating his Sherlock Holmes adventures. Every story is so indulging and so packed with rounds of horror and brilliance that once you start, you can't possibly want to stop. A character as complex and as brilliant as Sherlock Holmes and his science of deduction is truly one-of-a-kind, and something which probably no one could match in centuries to come.

I've only just started. There are 2 more novels and 40 or so short stories (from the canon of 4 novels and 56 short stories) more to explore. And I do wish to commend on the brilliance of creating such Dr. Watson and at having the stories be presented in his view. How intimate Holmes and Watson's relationship is. It only goes to show that even the most brilliant and superior mind needs a little help sometimes. And I may as well say, "It's lonely at the top!" Thank goodness for Dr. Watson and his thirst for adventure and tragedy.

[Brett Hess · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Sherelock Holmes I read was a bunch of short stories of Holmes at his best. In one of them a man pulls up to the Holmes manner and comes in looking for help. He needs to get some papers from his wife so he can divorce her. the wife has locked these up. Sherlock goes undercover and is able to cause a diversion. while she is distracted he slips out the papers and takes off.

I would reccomend this book to my friends who like detective books. Sherlock is so clever and attentive to detail it's scary. I would compare sherelock to Jason Bourne they both are really smart at solving things and are attentive to detail. In the Bourne Ultimatum Bourn is faced with needing to get out of house and get away in three minutes. He picks up the phone calls 991 and says there are some Americans shooting. When the police show up they find the back-up going towards the house. The cops detain the back-up team and Bourne slips away.

[Raya · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a long journey it was! And quite an eventful one. Though there was a certain boredom with the repetitive style of Doyle's writing, I did enjoy Watson's accounts of the "singular" adventures that Holmes and he had experienced. The characters had their proper places and, as one-sided as it was, it's nice from time to time to read clear-cut stories with no blurred lines of distinction between good and evil. I do appreciate the fact that, although presenting Holmes as the all-seen-eye of justice most of the time, Doyle also shows that even the great detective can be at his wit's end more than once, thus revealing a more humane side to his character. And, although it happened once in 992 pages, I felt deeply touched by Holmes' burst of emotion when Watson was shot in "The Adventure of the Three Garridebs". As Watson puts it, "It was worth a wound it was worth many wounds to know the depth of loyalty and love which lay behind that cold mask."
All in all, a great bedtime stories book.

[Andrei · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sherlock Holmes by Conan Doyle.
986 pg. mystery

London, 1881. A murder is commited. The police is baffled. Sherlock Holmes is on the case. In each one of these short stories, Sherlock Holmes solves an impossible mystery while his trusty assistant Watson records them dutifully. Holmes is a very careful observer, and few are better than him. He uses logical reasoning to derive complex observations out of minute ordinary details.

I really enjoyed this novel since Holmes explains his logic and I apply some of it to my daily life. Sherlocks Holmes' most famous statement is "You walked on the stairs plenty of times, yet you don't know that there are 17. You have seen but have not observed." I have started observing many more things now that I have read this book.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

I probably started reading these Sherlock Holmes short stories about 30 years ago, when I first gained an interest in reading. Whilst not part of this collection, I remember buying an old beat up copy of the Hound of the Baskervilles, and I was hooked. Since then. Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson have been constant companions. Whilst I look back with more fondness on the earlier works, I'm sure I'll revisit 221b Baker Street in years to come. To anyone visiting for the first time, definitely start with the Adventures, especially the illustrated versions (Sidney Paget's illustrations and those from the artists that followed are fabulous). Enjoy...The Game is Afoot!

[Kristen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Only got as far as The Hounds of Baskerville, which is 50% according to the Kindle, before I got bored. Interesting to read since I've watched a lot of the adaptations (liking the BBC version best). But very wordy and showy. Fascinating Watson's feelings for Holes, though. There has to be some crazy slash fiction out there...

[Adityaghatage · Rating 4 out of 5]

a universe in itself......really won't get bored of this.....keep on examining all the finer details....one of the most masterly descriptions of the late victorian era...the inconsistencies in chronology are easily forgiven..

[Rebecca altman]

I am a huge Holmes fan. (Our dog was named Sherlock). this was a birthday gift from my husband and I am so into reading the whole thing at once. what a brilliant author!

[Alena Alasheeva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Always interesting and fun to read.

[David Sandbach · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a classic collection of detective stories. Conan Doyle has a very lucid and engaging writing style. As each story is short you can read one in a sitting (or more!)

[Sophie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant stories. Always enjoyable.

[Ana Luiza · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's just Sherlock, magical Sherlock *-*

[Liz V · Rating 4 out of 5]

GREAT read, as always--I love revisiting the ol' mysteries. Especially love "The Return of Sherlock Holmes," which I read in anticipation of the Masterpiece Theatre new season (I hope?)

[Ninjaertle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read a book of Sherlock Holmes when I was little. It's cover was similar to this. I have one of the volume sets on my Amazon Kindle account. Which I read when I have down time in my travels.

[Joanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love these. Had these books 30 years and I still like to dip in for a read.

[Carolyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very entertaining - must read them all for references to the accounts in the novels.

[Lin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating.

[Rhod · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listed most of the books separately. Liked the series very much.

[Bill]

CDs

[Gary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just brilliant. Loved them.

[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.