The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes is a compilation of the first Sherlock Holmes short stories. Much like the first two novels, it is told from the POV of Dr. Watson. The first short story, A Scandal in Bohemia, depicts a former lover’s quarrel. “The” woman, Irene Adler, is a resolute woman who feels wronged by the King of Bohemia, so much so that she threatens to send a particular picture to the king’s fiancée. With some disguises, a nearly full-proof plan, and a smoke bomb, Sherlock Holmes uncovers the location of the critical image. However, this female is one step ahead and manages to outwit the great Sherlock Holmes in his own game. Irene Adler can be described as a female Professor Moriarty if not for the fact that she doesn’t want to cause violence to anyone. Her only goal is emotionally wounding the King of Bohemia. Despite the break in Sherlock Holmes’ successes, he is handsomely paid for the case and receives a souvenir. I remember this case referenced in the Sherlock Holmes: Dressed To Kill movie. I highly recommend reading all the Sherlock Holmes stories, but this one, in particular, is unique because it reunites the great mystery-solving duo. Yay! The Red-headed League is the following story. Dr. Watson is introduced to Sherlock Holmes’ next client, Mr. Jabez Wilson, who has a peculiar problem. Mr. Wilson was a part of the Red-headed League, copying words and definitions from the dictionary while earning £4 a week until it suddenly disbanded eight weeks later. With some of Sherlock Holmes’ observation skills and deductive reasoning, he discovers a vast scandal involving two young men – one being an insider to Mr. Wilson’s business. Nothing sneaks past Sherlock Holmes’ watchful eyes on this one. A Case of Identity introduces the emotional cruelty a stepfather brings to his stepdaughter because of his greed. Miss Mary Sutherland is socially disabled due to her stepfather, Mr. James Windibank’s possessiveness to isolate her from society. Despite Mr. Windibank’s best attempts, Miss Sutherland meets and becomes engaged to Mr. Hosmer Angel. Yet, on Miss Sutherland’s wedding day, the groom mysteriously disappears, never to be seen again. Sherlock Holmes uncovers the truth, which may be more painful for the widower Miss Sutherland than it may appear. The Boscombe Valley Mystery begins with Dr. Watson and his wife having breakfast until Dr. Watson receives an invitation from Sherlock Holmes to join him in investigating the new case. As a side note, what Dr. Watson says about his wife is sweet. Mrs. Watson discusses how Dr. Watson is always intrigued by Sherlock Holmes’s cases, causing Dr. Watson to respond with, ‘I should be ungrateful if I were not, seeing what I gained through one of them’ (page 78). The page number here may vary from different book copies. When Dr. Watson joins Sherlock Holmes on the case, it shows a seemingly straightforward case about a deceased father, Mr. Charles McCarthy, and incriminated son, Mr. James McCarthy. However, Sherlock Holmes observes one or two critical points that Inspector Lestrade overlooks. Sherlock Holmes’s discussing the case with Inspector Lestrade is hilarious, especially here: ‘You are right,’ said Holmes demurely; ‘you do find it very hard to tackle the facts’ (page 91). Nonetheless, Sherlock Holmes is serious about preventing an innocent man from being hung on the gallows. He uncovers the murderer and the unusual connection between the McCathys and their neighbors, Mr. John Turner and his daughter Alice Turner.

English history is served up along with the amazing mystery stories. I enjoy the pictures of daily life...the maid bringing in lunch to Holmes on a pre-arranged schedule, passing the street vendors and beggars, imagining the opium den frequented by addicts, vivid descriptions of period clothing, transportation and commerce slipped seamlessly into the tales. I read this often to refresh the imagery in my mind.

You can see why this detective model has been copied so many times: these short stories are the hour episodes of today's ubiquitous crime shows. Doyle manages a wonderful balance between intellectually entertaining crime solving, character development of Holmes and Watson, action, and turnover of each tale's novel guests and events.

Dr. Watson, newly married and returned to his medical practice, hasn't seen his old friend Holmes in a while. So, he pops by the old rooms at Baker-street. . .and gets caught up in a series of adventures involving a king in disguise, a priceless blue carbuncle, and the only woman to ever have gotten the best out of old Mr. Sherlock Holmes. Read this book and get caught up in the so-real-you-can-touch-it world of Holmes and Watson; it's Doyle's best work.

This collection of Sherlock Holmes stories is great. I use it as my defacto copy of the canon. It has the original Strand Magazine drawings and even has great cover artwork.My only complaint is that the font is a bit too small.

Did you know that Holmes never, ever said "Elementary, my dear Watson" in any of the sixty stories Arthur Conan Doyle wrote? The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes were initially published in "The Strand" magazine as a series of 24 short stories. These stories saw publication between 1891 and 1893. When they were published in book form, the first twelve were published as "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" and the last twelve were called "The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes." Today, when we speak of the original "Adventures," we usually refer to the first twelve Holmes short stories. These twelve stories include some of the best of Holmes: "The Speckled Band," "The Red Headed League," "A Scandal in Bohemia." Doyle continued his Holmes saga with other collections of short stories: "The Return of Sherlock Holmes," "Reminiscences of Sherlock Holmes," "His Last Bow," and finally "The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes." Almost every Holmes short story bears the title "The Adventure of . . ." One of my favorite Holmes stories is "The Problem of Thor Bridge." Not only is it a very good yarn, it is a "Problem" and not an "Adventure!" Although Conan Doyle ran out of Holmes stories, the public did not run out of its appetite for new Holmes stories, and production of pastiches continues to this day.To me, the most satisfying way to relive the adventures of Sherlock Holmes, both original and pastiche adventures, is through the medium of audiotaped radio plays. There are at least four collections of adventures currently available. "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes," a publication of BBC shows starring Clive Merrison, reprises the original twelve adventures. This is probably the best radio collection of adventures. National Public Radio has published four "Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" consisting of four one hour productions starring various actors as Holmes. The quality is uneven. "Smithsonian Historical Performances: The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" has twelve stories, four of which are original. Edith Meiser wrote the pastiches, and John Stanley starred as a rather disagreeable Holmes. Some stories are very good; others are woeful. Simon and Schuster publishes a series of six "New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes." Each collection has eight Holmes stories. Of the pastiches, these are the best. Nigel Bruce stars as a loveable, bumbling Watson, and Basil Rathbone portrays the archetypical Holmes. Anthony Boucher and Dennis Green wrote the scripts and did a very good job. Holmesaholics will also want to listen to "More New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes," published by the Brilliance Corporation, and starring Tom Conway as Holmes and Nigel Bruce as Watson. These stories are on the whole better than the Smithsonian Historical Performances, but not as good as the Rathbone/Bruce "New Adventures." They also have the drawback of being published as individual cassettes. The avid collector can run to some expense getting all of these.Holmes survived Conan D