Discover the first adventures of the most iconic detective of all time. This quintessential collection includes many of the famous cases that made the legendary Sherlock Holmes one of fiction's most popular creations. Set against the foggy backdrop of London and the English countryside, each story unravels an exciting new mystery, from mistaken identity and ominous omens to counterfeit currency and daring robberies. First published in the Strand magazine in the early 1890s, these stories cemented Holmes and Watson as ...
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Discover the first adventures of the most iconic detective of all time. This quintessential collection includes many of the famous cases that made the legendary Sherlock Holmes one of fiction's most popular creations. Set against the foggy backdrop of London and the English countryside, each story unravels an exciting new mystery, from mistaken identity and ominous omens to counterfeit currency and daring robberies. First published in the Strand magazine in the early 1890s, these stories cemented Holmes and Watson as behemoths of detective fiction - and this is where it all began. Part of a boldly designed series of classics, with wider margins for notes, this book is perfect for design-lovers and students alike. With bold, eye-catching graphic covers by Evi O Studio, this collection aims to introduce a selection of the most celebrated works of the last thousand years to a new audience. Featuring tales of adventure, fiction from the 19th and 20th centuries, feminist writings, and reflections on art, politics, philosophy and the origins of man, this is a small, wide-reaching and essential collection. 'Life is infinitely stranger than anything which the mind of man could invent.'
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Although the stories are short they are nevertheless excellent reading.
Enjoyable .
sarab
Feb 18, 2010
Learning About English Culture with Sherlock H.
I am 80% done with the book but it is for adult reading and would not reccommend this book for a minor. It glamorizes drug use.
Love the book, I am learning about English culture this is my first Sherlock Holmes book.
rob10
Dec 31, 2009
adventures
Bought the Oxford Press edition of this book to read the references indicated during the stories - also easier to handle than my unabridged sherlock holmes.
DrewGirl
May 2, 2007
short and logical
This book is composed of twelve short Sherlock Holmes stories: A Scandal in Bohemia, The Red-headed League, A Case of Identity, The Boscombe Valley Mystery, The Five Orange Pips, The Man with the Twisted Lip (my personal favorite), The Blue Carbuncle, The Speckled Band, The Engineer's Thumb, The Noble Bachelor, The Beryl Coronet and The Copper Beeches. Although I've long been a fan of Laurie King's Mary Russell novels, which are semi-pastiches of the Holmes series, my only experience of the original Sherlock Holmes has been limited to my dim recollection of reading The Red-Headed League in high school and of watching a few of the BBC television episodes with my dad! Several years ago, I tried reading one of Conan Doyle's novel-length works but was rapidly turned off by the slow development of the plot and did not finish it. Reading this book, though, was a much better experience and I'm so glad I chose it. I think that the author's skill and the Holmes "genre" itself are much better seen and enjoyed in short stories. None of the stories are thrilling or heart-pounding; that is not what made Sherlock Holmes mysteries so great. Instead, they each follow a rather simple pattern: Holmes and Watson are introduced to a short, bewildering mystery that is quickly and, to Watson's never ending surprise, easily solved by Holmes, who then calmly gives a detailed analysis of the case and his logical steps to solving it! This set-up must be what made Sherlock Holmes such a refreshing character and what made the books so popular!
