The Adventures and Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes (Penguin Classics) (Paperback)

by Arthur Conan Conan Doyle (Author), Ed Glinert (Editor), Iain Pears (Introduction) "To Sherlock Holmes she is always the woman..." (more)
Key Phrases: noble bachelor, man with the twisted lip, blue carbuncle, Sherlock Holmes, Baker Street, Lord St Simon (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
From his rooms in Baker Street, Sherlock Holmes's brooding figure emerges into the foggy streets of Victorian London to grapple with the forces of treachery, intrigue, and evil.

About the Author
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930) was born in Edinburgh and studied medicine. He began writing while he waited for his practice to grow and, with 1887's A Study in Scarlet, created Sherlock Holmes, one of the most famous literary characters of all time. He was a volunteer physician in the Boer War and wrote a book on spiritualism.

Product Details

• Paperback: 576 pages
• Publisher: Penguin Classics (December 31, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140437711
• ISBN-13: 978-0140437713
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #342,409 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Introduction and footnotes make for excellent edition, February 22, 2002

By	Christopher Culver - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars sherlock holmes: a great book by any standard, January 28, 2007

By	sir arthur conan doyle "doyle" (do you really need, to know) - See all my reviews

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.

5.0 out of 5 stars great book, January 28, 2007

A Kid's Review

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.