Arthur Conan Doyle, the British writer and physician, is renowned for his creation of the iconic character, Sherlock Holmes, making his stories a significant contribution to crime fiction. Doyle's first Sherlock Holmes story, A Study in Scarlet, was published in Beeton's Christmas Annual in 1887. The series was then serialized in the prestigious Strand Magazine from 1891 onwards.

In 1893, coinciding with his father's institutionalization, Doyle devised the death of the famous detective in The Final Problem. However, due to popular demand, Doyle revived Holmes in The Hound of the Baskervilles five years later and ultimately brought him back to life in The Empty House (1903), which was the first adventure in The Return of Sherlock Holmes.

This compilation includes:

1) A Study in Scarlet

‘I consider that a man's brain originally is like a little empty attic, and you have to stock it with such furniture as you choose.’ A Study in Scarlet is a story in which the genius of Sherlock Holmes was first established. The story introduces Dr John Watson, Holmes’ partner-in-solving crimes, and takes a deep dive into the mind of the brilliant detective and his deductive skills. From a rocky start to a legendary partnership, this is the case where it all began.

2) The Sign of Four

‘The chief proof of man's real greatness lies in his perception of his own smallness.’ In The Sign of Four, Holmes and Watson hunt down a stolen treasure upon the insistence of one Mary Morstan—an investigation that throws the trio into a vortex involving secret pacts and mysterious messages.

3) The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

‘As a rule, the more bizarre a thing is the less mysterious it proves to be. It is your commonplace, featureless crimes which are really puzzling, just as a commonplace face is the most difficult to identify.’ The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes is a collection of short stories revolving around Sherlock Holmes, ‘the most perfect machine to observe and reason on the planet’—and quite easily history’s best, most popular detective. Using his genius skills of observation and deduction, Holmes cracks mysteries that no one else can—whether for independent clients or for Scotland Yard itself. The stories are chronicled and narrated by Holmes’ trusted partner, Dr John Watson, who often accompanies the detective during his investigations.

4) The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes

‘It has long been an axiom of mine that the little things are infinitely the most important.’ The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes is a collection of eleven short stories. Amidst another set of intriguing cases of burglaries, disappearances and murder, this compilation also introduces Mycroft Holmes, Sherlock Holmes’ elder brother; and Professor James Moriarty, a criminal mastermind—two of the most iconic characters of the Holmes universe, who have been risen to particular prominence through the many on-screen adaptations of the books.

5) The Hound of the Baskervilles

‘The world is full of obvious things which nobody by any chance ever observes.’ From amidst the dark landscape of Dartmoor, Sir Henry Baskerville brings to Sherlock Holmes a mystery that seems to defy both science and common sense. In this standalone novel, Holmes and Dr Watson must decipher the mystery of a seemingly supernatural threat. Even as every clue seems to point to something beyond this world. Sherlock Holmes must persevere in his quest for a rational explanation for it all. What really is behind this ‘curse’ that haunts Dartmoor and the Baskerville House—a black hound with glowing red eyes, unexplained howls, lights that appear and disappear? Doyle keeps you guessing until the very end.

6) The Return of Sherlock Holmes

‘Come, Watson, come!’ he cried. ‘The game is afoot.’ Three years after the tragic and shocking apparent ‘death’ of the best detective in the world—in ‘ The Final Problem’—Sherlock Holmes returns, much to the surprise of the world and of his companion, Dr John Watson. Having solved the ‘Moriarty’ problem by dismantling his criminal network, Sherlock Holmes must once again come to London’s aid as a gun-trotting criminal prowls its streets. Doyle gives his readers a sense of absolute joy by returning to life the world’s most beloved detective.

7) The Valley of Fear & His Last Bow

‘Everything comes in circles… The old wheel turns. And the same spoke comes up. It’s all been done before, and will be again.’ The Valley of Fear and His Last Bow presents a collection of short stories where the intrepid detective and his trusty partner must delve deep into the mystery of a seeming suicide at a manor. At the heart of the case is a secret organization and some truly nefarious men. In the second set of eight stories, women go mysteriously missing on a holiday, the British government comes under fire, and German spies make an appearance, among the many baffling cases tackled by the iconic duo.

8) The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes

‘Life, it turns out, is infinitely more clever and adaptable than anyone had ever supposed.’ The last collection of the many complex cases of Holmes and Watson, The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes brings the readers to the every end, with the passing of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. In addition to the usual narration by Dr Watson, this also offers two cases told by Sherlock Holmes himself. Join this final journey into the world of murder and mayhem, locked-room mysteries that both bewilder and entertain.