The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (Sherlock Holmes, #1)

by Arthur Conan Doyle

Out of his smoke-filled rooms in Baker Street stalks a figure to cause the criminal classes to quake in their boots and rush from their dens of inequity … The twelve mysteries gathered in this first collection of Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson’s adventures reveal the brilliant consulting detective at the height of his powers. Problems involving a man with a twisted lip, a fabulous blue carbuncle and five orange pips tax Sherlock Holmes’ intellect alongside some of his most famous cases, including A Scandal in Bohemia and The Red-Headed League.

• ISBN10: 0141034351
• ISBN13: 9780141034355
• Publish Date: 6 March 2008 (first published 1 October 1901)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
• Imprint: Penguin Classics
• Format: Paperback (US Mass Market)
• Pages: 384
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/isbn/9780141034355

Reviews

[celinenyx]

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes is the first short story collection I've read by Arthur Conan Doyle. I'm reading his Sherlock Holmes stories roughly in their publication order; I already have A Study in Scarlet and The Sign of Four under my belt.

I really enjoyed the two novels I read by Doyle - but I think I enjoyed his short stories more. Short stories are a weird sort of format when you're used to novel length books. There is very little room for characterisation, and they tend to be very straightforward because of limited space. The Holmes stories are perfect for the format. Since I had already read the first two novels, I didn't need to get to know Holmes. What these stories focus on is adventures Watson and Holmes have, and they are crafted precisely so Holmes's deductions shine.

I was very surprised that Conan Doyle added a measure of unpredictability by making Holmes fallible. Not every story in this collection has a happy ending, even though all of the ending give a certain measure of closure. Holmes doesn't always win, which makes the stories much more interesting to read. Though I did guess some of the endings, others were pleasant surprises.

If you don't mind the short story format, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes is a fantastic collection. Many of the issues I had with the novels (pacing problems, racism, continuity errors) weren't nearly as prevalent in this book. Highly recommended for mystery fans that need something to read on their daily commute.

[Michael @ Knowledge Lost]

It’s often really hard to review classic literature; simply because it’s already stood the test of time and that makes it difficult to be critical of the book. I’m not really a can of reading a collection of short stories, especially over a few days; but I really did enjoy reading through The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. I’m not sure why I haven’t read more of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s novels; this is my second and the first being A Study in Scarlet. I think I need to pick up my act and read more of his books; ideally all of the Sherlock Holmes novels.

Sherlock really is a great character, with some interesting quirks. I think at one point I thought he was taking cocaine to get over the monotony of not having a case to work on and then later in the book he was taking it because he was bored with a case. He really has an eye for details and often really impressive the way he solves a case with the details that he discovers. Dr Watson; while you don’t get to much information about him, having him narrate the stories gives these books the extra boost it needs. The unreliable narrator is the perfect way to hide aspects of each case, without having the reader think the author is withholding on purpose.

There is not much I can say against this book apart from the fact it’s a collection of short stories. I feel like each story only gives you a quick glimpse into the brilliance of Sherlock and then the case is solved. I do like the way that this book does flow together without making the reader needing to reset the mind in preparation for the next story. This maybe simply the fact that each story is in the same style and the characters are the same, but when it comes to reading a collection of short stories, this is often what I prefer. I probably should have read The Sign of Four in preparation for this month’s book club read but it will be the next Sherlock Holmes novel I get to.

[Jack]

A very quick and easy read. Doyle's words flowed nice and were mostly understandable by today's generation. I look forward to reading more about Sherlock Holmes' adventures.