Sherlock: The Essential Arthur Conan Doyle Adventures

The hit BBC series Sherlock has introduced a whole new generation of fans to Arthur Conan Doyle’s legendary detective. In this unique collection, Sherlock co-creators Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss have selected their all-time favourite Sherlock Holmes adventures, providing readers a curated masterclass in crime fiction.

Each of these nineteen tales, from Sherlock’s first appearance in A Study in Scarlet to the late classic The Dying Detective, is a potent mix of murder, suspense, cryptic clues, red herrings, and revenge – a ground-breaking combination of forensic science and bold storytelling. Sherlock Holmes established new rules for what a fictional hero could be, and provided a template for detective stories we still follow today.

With introductions by Steven and Mark for each story, this beautifully designed collection is the perfect introduction to the world of Sherlock Holmes and the ultimate gift for fans of the show it inspired.

The selected stories:

A Study In Scarlet
The Sign of Four
A Scandal in Bohemia
The Red-Headed League
A Case of Identity
The Man with the Twisted Lip
The Blue Carbuncle
The Speckled Band
Silver Blaze
The Yellow Face
The Musgrave Ritual
The Greek Interpreter
The Final Problem
The Hound of the Baskervilles
The Empty House
Charles Augustus Milverton
The Bruce-Partington Plans
The Devil’s Foot
The Dying Detective

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was born on 22 May 1859 in Edinburgh. He studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh and began to write stories while he was a student.Over his life he produced more than thirty books, 150 short stories, poems, plays and essays across a wide range of genres. His most famous creation is the detective Sherlock Holmes, who he introduced in his first novel A Study in Scarlet (1887). This was followed in 1889 by an historical novel, Micah Clarke. In 1893 Conan Doyle published 'The Final Problem' in which he killed off his famous detective so that he could turn his attention more towards historical fiction. However Holmes was so popular that Conan Doyle eventually relented and published The Hound of the Baskervilles in 1901. The events of the The Hound of the Baskervilles are set before those of 'The Final Problem' but in 1903 new Sherlock Holmes stories began to appear that revealed that the detective had not died after all. He was finally retired in 1927. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle died on 7 July 1930.