Sherlock Holmes: Selected Stories
by Arthur Conan Doyle 
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This volume includes Silver Blaze, The Speckled Band, The Sign of Four, A Scandal of Bohemia, The Naval Treaty, The Blue Carbuncle, The Greek Interpreter, The Red-Headed League, The Empty House, The Missing Three-Quarter, and His Last Bow.Tags
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This volume comprises a very good selection of Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories -- from heavily-anthologized classics such as 'The Red-Headed League' to stories I'd not encountered before, such as 'The Greek Interpreter'. The longest work included is the novella 'The Sign of Four', which was the only inclusion that left my attention wandering a bit.
On the whole, however, this collection forms an excellent introduction to the Sherlock Holmes stories. One note: the stories selected span the full range of Conan Doyle's Holmes opus, so some stories contain references to works that aren't included; some of these are definitely spoilers, so if you're completely fresh to Holmes, you might want to miss this one out and read the stories in show more a more chronologically-systematic fashion. Holmes would approve, of course! show less
On the whole, however, this collection forms an excellent introduction to the Sherlock Holmes stories. One note: the stories selected span the full range of Conan Doyle's Holmes opus, so some stories contain references to works that aren't included; some of these are definitely spoilers, so if you're completely fresh to Holmes, you might want to miss this one out and read the stories in show more a more chronologically-systematic fashion. Holmes would approve, of course! show less
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3,989+ Works 169,287 Members
The most famous fictional detective in the world is Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes. However, Doyle was, at best, ambivalent about his immensely successful literary creation and, at worst, resentful that his more "serious" fiction was relatively ignored. Born in Edinburgh, Doyle studied medicine from 1876 to 1881 and received his M.D. in show more 1885. He worked as a military physician in South Africa during the Boer War and was knighted in 1902 for his exceptional service. Doyle was drawn to writing at an early age. Although he attempted to enter private practice in Southsea, Portsmouth, in 1882, he soon turned to writing in his spare time; it eventually became his profession. As a Liberal Unionist, Doyle ran, unsuccessfully, for Parliament in 1903. During his later years, Doyle became an avowed spiritualist. Doyle sold his first story, "The Mystery of the Sasassa Valley," to Chambers' Journal in 1879. When Doyle published the novel, A Study in Scarlet in 1887, Sherlock Holmes was introduced to an avid public. Doyle is reputed to have used one of his medical professors, Dr. Joseph Bell, as a model for Holmes's character. Eventually, Doyle wrote three additional Holmes novels and five collections of Holmes short stories. A brilliant, though somewhat eccentric, detective, Holmes employs scientific methods of observation and deduction to solve the mysteries that he investigates. Although an "amateur" private detective, he is frequently called upon by Scotland Yard for assistance. Holmes's assistant, the faithful Dr. Watson, provides a striking contrast to Holmes's brilliant intellect and, in Doyle's day at least, serves as a character with whom the reader can readily identify. Having tired of Holmes's popularity, Doyle even tried to kill the great detective in "The Final Problem" but was forced by an outraged public to resurrect him in 1903. Although Holmes remained Doyle's most popular literary creation, Doyle wrote prolifically in other genres, including historical adventure, science fiction, and supernatural fiction. Despite Doyle's sometimes careless writing, he was a superb storyteller. His great skill as a popular author lay in his technique of involving readers in his highly entertaining adventures. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Arthur Conan Doyle has a Legacy Library. Legacy libraries are the personal libraries of famous readers, entered by LibraryThing members from the Legacy Libraries group.
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Sherlock Holmes: Selected Stories
- Original title
- Sherlock Holmes. Selected stories
- Original publication date
- 1890-1917
- People/Characters
- Sherlock Holmes
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- 239
- Popularity
- 135,558
- Reviews
- 1
- Rating
- (4.12)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 14
- UPCs
- 1
- ASINs
- 2
