For more than a century the Holmes stories have held a strange, almost inexplicable grip on the popular imagination. They are intimately associated with late Victorian and Edwardian society, yet curiously timeless in their appeal. The characters of Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson, together with their housekeeper Mrs Hudson and their address at 221B Baker Street are as familiar today as when they made their first appearance in the late 1880s. The stories have been endlessly interpreted, adapted, and modernized, but still we return to Arthur Conan Doyle's originals. This new selection of some of the best of Sherlock Holmes is designed to give readers a full sense of his world: the brooding fog of London, ruined heirs in creaking mansions, and hidden crimes in the farthest-flung corners of the British Empire. The stories take Holmes's career from its early days to its end, and include the book-length Sign of the Four. Barry McCrea's introduction investigates the currents that lie beneath the surface. About the Series: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the broadest spectrum of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, voluminous notes to.

«This enthralling collection of Sherlock Holmes adventures comprises the first two volumes of short stories as they were originally gathered together in book form. Initially published in «The Strand» magazine, the first of the short stories followed the successful serialization of Conan Doyle's first two Holmes novels «A Study in Scarlet» and «The Sign of Four». «The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes» contains four of Conan Doyle's own all-time favorite 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 favorites 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' titanic struggle with his arch enemy, Professor Moriarty, had seen them both apparently plunge over a sheer drop, although Watson never actually saw Holmes' body. This was Conan Doyle's attempt to bring an end to Holmes' 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' brother, Mycroft, appears for the first time and «The Adventure of the Gloria Scott», in which Holmes describes to Watson his very first case.»

«'I have my eye on a suite in Baker Street...' So said Sherlock Holmes when he and Dr Watson first met. Their humble address at 221B Baker Street has since become almost as famous as the great detective himself, the incredible popularity of Sherlock Holmes' adventures never wavering over the last 120 years. Dr Watson's initial encounter with Holmes came in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's first Sherlock Holmes novel «A Study in Scarlet», first published in 1887. The tale involves the investigation of a grisly murder in foggy South London that casts a sinister shadow all the way across the Atlantic to the sun-scorched plains of Utah. «The Sign of Four», the second novel, was first published in 1890. This is a tale of a damsel in distress, intrigue in colonial India, stolen treasure, a baffling murder and four despicable ex-convicts. Perhaps the most famous of all Sherlock Holmes stories was the third novel, «The Hound of the Baskervilles». Featuring bizarre behavior and mysterious deaths on the Devon moors, the tale first appeared in print in 1901. In 1914, the final Sherlock Holmes novel, «The Valley of Fear», saw Holmes unraveling the mystery of a dead man's mistaken identity while facing up to his old foe, Professor Moriarty. Although many more of Holmes' cases were recorded in short stories, these were the only novels. Each is faithfully reproduced in this one epic volume, complete and unabridged, providing an ideal introduction to Sherlock Holmes for the uninitiated as well as a nostalgically familiar collection for long-established Holmes fans.»

«A caballo entre el relato de misterio y el cuento de terror, «El sabueso de los Baskerville» (1902) supuso de hecho — si bien encubierto como recuerdo tardío de su inseparable doctor Watson — el regreso a la actividad de Sherlock Holmes, después de que Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930), cansado de la preponderancia que la figura del detective había alcanzado en su obra, le hubiera hecho desaparecer algunos años antes junto con su antagonista, el doctor Moriarty, en las cataratas de Reichenbach. Trasladado a los inhóspitos y desolados páramos de la región de Dartmoor, Holmes se enfrenta al reto de resolver un enigmático crimen relacionado con el espectro de un perro diabólico y sobrenatural, instrumento de la maldición que pesa sobre una familia.»