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The Adventures and Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes (Penguin Classics)

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THE ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES and THE MEMOIRS OF SHERLOCK HOLMES are here collected into a single volume in this Penguin edition. Two compediums of short stories published after the detective's introduction in the novels A STUDY IN SCARLET and THE SIGN OF FOUR, these are concise bits that are just as good a first exposure to Holmes as the novels.

Because the cases of Sherlock Holmes, dutifully chronicled by his companion Dr. Watson, may not appeal to everyone, I won't focus here on reviewing the stories themselves, as it is the features of this particular edition that are of note.

Iain Pears' introduction is quite enlightening, showing the tendency of Arthur Conan Doyle to make the troubles in Holmes' stories come from England's colonies, which is strange considering Conan Doyle's support of equality and respect for all peoples. Pears' also discusses the change in the style of the Holmes stories, from the rational youth of Conan Doyle to the latter days of his life when he was interested in spiritualism and mysticism.

There are footnotes to each story, compiled by Ed Glinert. An expert on literature set in London, Glinert explains the geographical settings of the Holmes stories, and defines anachronistic terms that are no longer use. He also points out the mistakes Arthur Conan Doyle frequently made in his stories, which are often quite amusing (Watson's wife calling him by the wrong name, contradicting timelines, etc).

Because of the illuminating introduction and the helpful footnotes, I'd recommend over any others this edition of THE ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES and THE MEMOIRS OF SHERLOCK HOLMES.

The Adventures and Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes is a captivating set of over 20 stories of the 56 Sherlock Holmes stories ever written, described from the point of view of Watson, Sherlock Holmes's assistant, living up, if not surpassing, the expectations set by the age-old classic. Each story has a captivating plot, yet all different enough that it leaves you reading and re-reading key parts, trying to figure it out before Sherlock Holmes reveals the answer. I admit, I am yet to reliably put the clues together. As I have found, a large age group enjoys this book, making it a pleasure to share with family. Inside the story, there are plots filled with gentlemen, businesspeople, servants, witnesses, beggars, masked trespassers, and more, that unusually for a mystery book, all have the same likelihood of possibly having a hand in the crime. With stories that show weakness in character, like my personal favorite, (in which it turns out that the people who bring Sherlock there happen to be the murderers themselves!) brings a realistic image of the people involved, calling out to the reader, as if to say, "yes, you are here. This is what has been happening," and, from the moment you begin reading, put you in their shoes.
Occasionally, the plot is not truly revealed, such as in A Scandal in Bohemia, when the suspect escapes before questioning can occur, and the story ends in a question, as to whether or not the villainess escaped permanently, or if her story has just begun. Best set for the advanced reader, I would not classify it as a "light read", and is best read in small pieces, thanks to not only the magnitude of the book, but by the nature of a late 1800's mystery novel. Thanks to wikipedia, I have heard that in 1964, the Sherlock Holmes books were, selling second best in the world, second only to the bible. Sherlock Holmes is one of the most influential mysteries of the 1900's, and is, over-all, a true pleasure, and something I feel everyone should read at some point in their lives.

Who can say more about Sherlock Homes? Except that he still remains one of the most fascinating characters in the annals of fiction (with the possible exception of "The Sea Wolf" by Jack London). And his latest portrayer, Jeremy Brett, in the PBS series, is just dead-on. He is a joy to watch after you've read the real thing. Why Watson is as old as he is is a mystery, however, as in Doyle's stories he is quite a young man, being at most no more than thirty-five, and in most of the tales, married, and living apart from Holmes. My book had 612 pages, and a page-turner til the last. Especially great to read over the holidays when time is at a premium, and no story is very long. Easy to pick up and put down. The stories are not in the least dated, and if you think that, you are sorely mistaken. A good mystery is a good mystery, in any century. No serious reader should be without Holmes in his collection.

Listened to this one on Librivox audio recording (it's public domain now, since it was published before 1923). The book is really a collection of twelve short stories that Doyle wrote for a magazine. It's just a plain fun read - quick stories, occasional action sequences, easy reading material.

The plot is pretty straightforward: Sherlock Holmes is a clever and somewhat eccentric man who runs his own detective agency in London. He takes in cases which strike his curiosity and uses his brilliant powers of deduction to outwit everyone and arrive at the only proper conclusion. Accompanying him is Dr. Watson, his close friend, who has taken it upon himself to be Holmes' biographer, and is thus the narrator of each story (which incidentally Holmes takes some offense to, as Watson plays up Holmes-the-man while Holmes would prefer the focus to be on the logic of each case). Each story runs roughly the same course: a case is presented to Holmes, Watson accompanies him on some clue-gathering exercises or interviews with witnesses, and then Holmes arrives at his conclusion which undoubtedly surprises and shocks his observers.

Of course Doyle spices it up a bit by throwing in some extra characters (Holmes has a brother, there's another bumbling police investigator who gets in the way, Holmes even has a bit of a romantic interest at one point). Throughout the book readers get a nice glimpse into the characters Holmes and Watson - Holmes as a very intellectual man, skilled in both the arts and sciences, educating Watson in his methods as he solves crimes, and a drug addict to boot. Watson has his own past too, and though it isn't nearly so interesting, it makes him so very regular that you can't help but like him. There were some laugh out loud moments as I heard this story, particularly Watson's 'scientific assessment' of Holmes's skills and knowledge I thought was pretty funny.

The entire point of the book, of course, is the focus on Holmes' deductions. They're brilliant - at times seemingly TOO brilliant, because in a couple of cases Holmes pulls clues out at the last minute to draw his conclusions, and so the reader doesn't get a chance to try to figure it out for themselves. But in the stories where there is enough information to guess at the conclusion, it's an enjoyable exercise to try to work out the ending before the big reveal. I only got it right once, but it made me feel pretty clever. : ) Holmes's cases range over a wide variety of subjects - murders, thefts, missing persons, and a lost goose. Every story is pulled along by the mystery, though sometimes the action gets a little tense.

If you're looking for a book to help you understand the deeper meaning of life and unlock the mysteries of the Universe, look elsewhere. If you want an excellent collection of easily digestible stories, give Sherlock Holmes a shot. Highly recommended.

The Adventures and Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes is a captivating set of over 20 stories of the 56 Sherlock Holmes stories ever written, described from the point of view of Watson, Sherlock Holmes's assistant, living up, if not surpassing, the expectations set by the age-old classic. Each story has a captivating plot, yet all different enough that it leaves you reading and re-reading key parts, trying to figure it out before Sherlock Holmes reveals the answer. I admit, I am yet to reliably put the clues together. As I have found, a large age group enjoys this book, making it a pleasure to share with family. Inside the story, there are plots filled with gentlemen, businesspeople, servants, witnesses, beggars, masked trespassers, and more, that unusually for a mystery book, all have the same likelihood of possibly having a hand in the crime. With stories that show weakness in character, like my personal favorite, (in which it turns out that the people who bring Sherlock there happen to be the murderers themselves!) brings a realistic image of the people involved, calling out to the reader, as if to say, "yes, you are here. This is what has been happening," and, from the moment you begin reading, put you in their shoes.
Occasionally, the plot is not truly revealed, such as in A Scandal in Bohemia, when the suspect escapes before questioning can occur, and the story ends in a question, as to whether or not the villainess escaped permanently, or if her story has just begun. Best set for the advanced reader, I would not classify it as a "light read", and is best read in small pieces, thanks to not only the magnitude of the book, but by the nature of a late 1800's mystery novel. Thanks to wikipedia, I have heard that in 1964, the Sherlock Holmes books were, selling second best in the world, second only to the bible. Sherlock Holmes is one of the most influential mysteries of the 1900's, and is, over-all, a true pleasure, and something I feel everyone should read at some point in their lives.

It's easy to see why Doyle's stories have stayed so popular for over 100 years. I was never a big mystery buff, but from the very first sentence of "A Scandal in Bohemia," I was hooked. Each story is the perfect length to read in one sitting, and Sherlock's reasoning and observation abilities never fail to entertain. He's a classic literary character that everyone should read about, and this collection is a great place to start.

Everybody knows him -- the pipe-smoking detective on Baker Street (with or without the movie-added deerstalker), who is able to deduce all sorts of things just by glancing at a person. "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" shows off Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's first collection of short stories involving Holmes, mingling human psychology with sometimes bizarre mysteries.

Holmes is visited by the masked King of Bohemia, who has a slight problem: he's engaged to a princess, but his former lover Irene Adler has a compromising letter that could jeopardize his future marriage. But Adler has a formidable brain of her own. Then Holmes is hired by a man who was hired by the mysterious Red-Headed League, and given a strange job... which is somehow connected to a criminal undertaking.

Among the other strange cases that Holmes and Watson undertake -- a missing fiance, a strange murder in Boscombe Valley, a dead man who was sent five orange seeds, a woman whose husband has utterly vanished, a blue jewel hidden in a Christmas turkey, a dead woman whose last words were "it was the band, the speckled band!", a young engineer given a dream job, an American heiress who vanishes directly after her wedding, a broken beryl coronet, and a young woman given a surreally weird job.

Sherlock Holmes mysteries come in two types:
1. The case is completely baffling, and Holmes is needed to unravel the knot of obscure clues.
2. The case seems straightforward, but Holmes is needed to connect seemingly unrelated clues to the crime in order to find the REAL perpetrator.

There are plenty of both kinds in "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes," with a dozen cases that require Holmes' unique detecting skills -- it can be something as simple as locating a letter, or something as complex as foiling a robbery or counterfeiting ring. Doyle's stately, dignified prose is heightened by moments of excitement or horror (" It swelled up louder and louder, a hoarse yell of pain and fear and anger all mingled in the one dreadful shriek"), and he wove in a lot of human psychology into Holmes' cases.

Holmes himself... is Holmes. Doyle didn't like his detective much, but Sherlock's knife-edged intellect and fascination with puzzles are strangely hypnotic -- even if you wouldn't like to be roomies with the guy, it would be amazing just to sit and watch him work. Watson is the perfect counterpoint for Holmes: he's not a genius but is definitely intelligent, warm-hearted and capable.

"The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" is a magnificent collection of Holmes' first twelve short cases, filled with murder, intrigue and all sorts of weird crimes. An absolute must-read.

Sherlock Holmes has long been a favorite of mine. Nothing's changed. He still is. Excellent book, both in contents and appearance.

Adventures of Sherlock Holmes is the third book of the series, consisting of twelve sensational cases. Actually, I found two of these cases (The Red-Headed League and A Case of Identity) to be quite simplistic that I am totally surprised at Dr. Watson for not making a good educated guess from the outset. It was that moment in each case that I began to suspect of Dr. Watson's intelligence. Once again, in each of the cases, the story is thrilling, and the writing of Arthur Conan Doyle is beautiful. However, each of the progressing case has a distinctively formulaic feel: some small talk or business from either or both of the main characters, a random character appears with a shocking tale, Sherlock's tendency to say, "It's the most interesting case I've heard in months," the campaign of sleuthing without knowing the full details, the apprehension, and finally the details of how the mystery was solved with extra analysis from Sherlock. I won't say that the formulaic feel of each case is increasingly tired but rather, I had hoped the author would just mix things up a little bit. Meanwhile, in the case The Adventure of the Speckled Band, when Sherlock Holmes identified the creature as the Swamp Adder, there is no such thing as one although I thought it was a cobra based on the description of its distinctive head. All in all, Adventures of Sherlock Holmes is a can't-miss and easily beats out most mystery books in existence.

This was the first sentence ever spoken by Holmes, and we could all use it as well, when describing this collection. This is another review by one of the kids of "love my kids". Holmes has always been a joy to read, the action well placed, the humor meshing cleanly with the drama, and the cases truly challenging. You will not see most of the answers coming, so if you like that kinda thing, this book is not for you. I agree with the other guy who's review is above mine, in that reading it in spurts is a good idea.