The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

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The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, the genre-defining, logical reasoning, consulting detective from 221B Baker Street has been an influencing force on popular culture since Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s A Study in Scarlet was published in 1887. Even the name Sherlock or the simple donning of a deer hat and smoking a curved pipe has become synonymous with shrewd detectivery. Since then Holmes has appeared on stage, in magazines, movies, musicals and television shows.

Between July 1891 and June 1892 The Strand Magazine published twelve original Sherlock Holmes stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The series also featured original illustrations by British illustrator Sidney Paget. The series began with A Scandal in Bohemia and concluded with The Adventure of the Copper Beeches. A Scandal in Bohemia is notable for first introducing the public to Irene Adler, one of the few women to leave a lasting impression on Holmes. In October 1892 the combined stories were released as a 307 page book titled The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. The book was published by George Newnes Ltd in the United Kingdom and Harper in the United States.

Prior to The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Holmes had only been featured in two novels by Doyle, A Study in Scarlet in 1887 and The Sign of the Four in 1890. As with almost all of Doyle’s stories about Holmes, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes are considered to be part of the public domain around the world due to time that has passed since their first publication.

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes Summary

As an integral component of the four novels and 56 short stories written by Doyle, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes form an important part of the canon of Sherlock Holmes. They are therefore differentiated from the many subsequent contributions by other writers in Holmes’s many other representations in media. In fact, Sherlock Holmes is considered to be the world’s most portrayed movie character according to the Guinness World Records, having been portrayed by 75 actors over the course of 211 films and counting, many of these not having been based on any original Doyle work.

In 1927, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle published My Favourite Sherlock Holmes Adventures, in response to an earlier competition amongst Strand readers to name their favourite Holmes stories, called Mr. Sherlock Holmes to his Readers (1927). In My Favourite Sherlock Holmes Adventures, Doyle notes his twelve favourite Holmes stories. Four of these are from The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes series. A Scandal in Bohemia, The Adventure of the Red-Headed League, The Adventure of the Speckled Band and The Five Orange Pips were all listed amongst Doyle’s favourites, which speaks to the esteem of that 1891/1892 series.

As with most Sherlock Holmes stories, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes are narrated by and told from the perspective of Holmes’ companion Dr. John H. Watson.

1. A Scandal in Bohemia
2. The Adventure of the Red-Headed League
3. A Case of Identity
4. The Boscombe Valley Mystery
5. The Five Orange Pips
6. The Man with the Twisted Lip
7. The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle
8. The Adventure of the Speckled Band
9. The Adventure of the Engineer's Thumb
10. The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor
11. The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet
12. The Adventure of the Copper Beeches

The Sherlock Holmes illustrations by Sidney Paget are believed to have contributed much to the popularity of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes series and to have influenced the physical portrayal of Holmes throughout his many representations in different forms of media. Examples of this are the character’s deerstalker cap and Inverness cape, which are not actually alluded to in the text. The tone and shading of his illustrations could also have influenced not just the dark tone of future Sherlock Holmes portrayals, but perhaps even the film noir genre. In total he illustrated the detective in 37 short stories and one novel. However, interestingly the Strand magazine had originally meant to commission Paget’s brother Walter for the work. Paget also provided illustrations for the Strand’s The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle even specifically requested Paget to illustrate The Hound of the Baskervilles novel. In 1903 he provided the illustrations for The Return of Sherlock Holmes.

Following the success of The Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes series, later that year the Strand began publishing another twelve story series featuring Holmes, written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and illustrated by Paget. This was called The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes and began in December 1892 with Silver Blaze and ended in November 1893 in with The Final Problem. The Final Problem is known for being Doyle’s attempt to kill off the iconic character of Sherlock Holmes. It also formed the inspiration for the 2011 Guy Richie film Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. Doyle brought the detective back following years of dissent and public outcry from Holmes fan base. Doyle wrote a novel set before the character’s demise called The Hound of the Baskervilles, which was published as a serial in The Strand Magazine between 1901 and 1902. The Hound of the Baskervilles is believed to be the inspiration of the 2009 Sherlock Holmes movie directed by Guy Richie and starring Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law as Holmes and Watson respectively. The aforementioned Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows was a sequel to the 2009 film.

Ten years after Holmes fell to his death he was then brought back from the dead in The Adventure of the Empty House as part of The Return of Sherlock Holmes series. This was also published in The Strand and ran between October 1903 and January 1905. In The Adventure of the Empty House Holmes explains that he faked his own death to avoid his many enemies. The period between The Final Problem in 1893 and The Adventure of the Empty House in 1903 is called ‘The Great Hiatus’ by Holmes fans. There has been much conjecture about the true nature of the character’s absence and return as well as Doyle’s motivations for reviving him.

In total Sherlock Holmes appeared in four novels and 56 short stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

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