The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

Arthur Conan Doyle 1892

Twelve short stories follow detective Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson as they investigate puzzling cases. In one case, a job copying an encyclopedia hides the reason for hiring a red-haired man.

364 pages 7h 4m reading time

The first and best-loved collection of Sherlock Holmes stories, and one of the most famous books of detective fiction ever written.
Imagines a detective who solves crimes by noticing small details and reasoning carefully from them, rather than by luck or confession.
Shows that the strangest-looking mysteries often have simple explanations, while the most ordinary ones can be the hardest to solve.
Set the pattern for the detective story that writers like Agatha Christie followed: a brilliant investigator, a loyal friend who tells the story, and a puzzle solved in a final reveal.
Made Sherlock Holmes one of the most often adapted characters in film and television, and his methods helped shape how people imagine real crime investigation.

Written in an empty office

Doyle said he wrote early stories while waiting in his new eye doctor's office, where patients never came.
Based on a real teacher

Holmes's sharp eye came from Joseph Bell, a Scottish doctor who taught Doyle and could read patients at a glance.
First sold as monthly stories

Each case first appeared in The Strand Magazine, which won many new readers as people waited for the next one.
The hat came from an artist

Illustrator Sidney Paget drew Holmes in the famous deerstalker hat, which Doyle's stories never actually name.