This enthralling collection of Sherlock Holmes adventures comprises the first two volumes of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's short stories - The Adventures and The Memoirs. The Adventures was originally published in 1892 and included twelve stories that had appeared in Strand magazine over the previous year. The Memoirs followed suit in 1894, completing the collection of Strand short stories up to that point.
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes contains four of Conan Doyle's own all-time favourite Holmes mysteries, The Adventure of the Speckled Band, The Red-Headed League, A Scandal in Bohemia and The Five Orange Pips.
The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes has another three of Conan Doyle's favourites in The Adventure of the Reigate Squire, The Adventure of the Musgrave Ritual and The Adventure of the Final Problem. It is in The Final Problem, of course, that Dr Watson sadly reports the death of Holmes at the Reichenbach Falls near Meiringen in Switzerland. Holmes's titantic struggle with his arch enemy, Professor Moriarty, had seen them both apparently plunge over a sheer drop, although Watson never actually finds Holmes's body. This was Conan Doyle's attempt to bring an end to Holmes's adventures, but he was to be resurrected by popular demand eight years later.
The Memoirs also includes The Adventure of the Greek Interpreter, in which Holmes's brother, Mycroft, appears for the first time and The Adventure of the Gloria Scott, in which Holmes describes to Watson his very first case.
