Sherlock Holmes Question

[magicbeatle]

Hi all, Merry Xmas

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote four novels (A Study In Scarlet, The Sign Of Four, The Hound Of The Baskervilles, The Valley Of Fear) and 56 short stories contained in five works (The Aventures, Memoirs, and Return Of Sherlock Holmes, His Last Bow, and The Casebook) about his fictional consulting Detective Sherlock Holmes. Does anyone know what order they should be read in to make sense?

[vehelpfulguy]

A few years ago I bought a book which had all the SH novels, plus all the short stories, in the correct order.

Not sure if it is still available.

[Fitzer]

Having just received the boxed complete Sherlock Holmes I would think that the order they are ranged in would be correct, so, A Study in Scarlet, The Sign of Four, The Adventures..., The Memoirs..., The Hound of the Baskervilles, The Return..., The Valley of Fear, His Last Bow & The Case-Book...

[magicbeatle]

Thanks Fitzer, Where can i get that book, does it have the original drawings by Sidney Paget, and how much does it cost? Cheers!

[Peter Pedant]

He didnt write them with any great sense of order.

I read a few before and after going over the Rechenbach falls.and it does not make much difference.

Doyle forgets Watson's first name (James or John), although i accept that he doesnt give him more than one wife. But it is not as though he wrote them as JK Rowling has bers.....

[Fitzer]

MagicBeatle, when I said I had just received them I meant Christmas day so I hadn't even opened them when I answered your question:-) A quick look seems to show that they are not illustrated, they appear to be a hardcover version of the Penguin editions. As to the 'what', 'where' & 'how much' I'm afraid that as a Christmas gift, I don't know but I suspect a company called 'The Book People' may have been involved.

[magicbeatle]

Thanks anyway Fitzer. I have found the difinitive editions on www.play.com They are called 'The Annotated Sherlock Holmes' and look fantastic, with all the original drawings, period photographs, essays and other stuff. All in two lovely hardback volumes. The only problem is i'm skint at the moment because of christmas so I will have to wait, as they are expensive . One costs �29.99 and the other �39.99.