269 pages @350 wds/pg
First lines:
To Sherlock Holmes she is always the woman.
"A Scandal in Bohemia"
Great lines:
"He was, I take it, the most perfect reasoning and observing machine that the world had seen: but, as a lover, he would have placed himself in a false position."
"A Scandal in Bohemia"
"It is quite a three-pipe problem, and I beg that you won't speak to me for fifty minutes."
"The Red-Headed League"
"A man should keep his little brain attic stocked with all the furniture that he is likely to use, and the rest he can put away in the lumber room of his library, where he can get it if he wants it."
"The Five Orange Pips"
"I read nothing except the criminal news and the agony column. The latter is always instructive."
"The Noble Bachelor"
Arthur Conan Doyle killed off his most famous literary creation, the ultra-rational fictional detective Sherlock Holmes, partway through his writing career. Holmes was taking attention.... more
Sherlock Holmes would not seem a natural subject for popular movie treatment. The man himself is an abstracted cold fish, his so-called adventures are resolved.... more
When we're talking about Arthur Conan Doyle's great contribution to literature, we really mean the entire oeuvre of Sherlock Holmes stories, plus several Holmes novels. But if you're looking for an introduction to the famous works, The Adventures is a pretty good choice, as it includes some of Doyle's most intriguing mysteries.
At this point in the canon, Holmes had appeared in two novels previously: A Study in Scarlet, in which Dr. Watson first meets Holmes and which features the detective for less than half the story, and The Sign of Four which develops his persona and surroundings further. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes contains 12 short stories with the fully developed detective facing some of his best puzzles.
Chances are, however, you won't easily find this particular volume but will more likely lay your hands on a collection of Sherlockiana that includes several stories from The Adventures along with some from other volumes. Which isn't bad, because there are great Holmes entries in every volume. Better yet, pick up a complete works (they're cheap enough now) and delve into it at will.
Almost all of the stories appeared in The Strand Magazine in London before being collected into book volumes. Two of my favourite and most popular Holmes tales lead off The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
"A Scandal in Bohemia" brings him up against the woman who to Holmes will always be "the woman". You may already be familiar with this story as it seems to be one that is often singled out for television treatment (or butchery).
"The Red-Headed League" is a real head-scratcher with one of Conan Doyle's clever solutions that seem obvious after they are revealed.
All the rest in this volume are worthy, though another story that seems popular for movie and TV adaptation is "The Speckled Band" which involves a...but if I tell you, you'll know the solution to the mystery. Ditto for "The Blue Carbuncle".
These stories are individually ingenious as mysteries but also interesting, taken as a whole, for detailing the odd relationship between the arrogant, reclusive Holmes and the affable doctor, the purported chronicler of these cases.
The latter, by the way, is never told by Holmes that any piece of detection is "Elementary, my dear Watson."
— Eric
