Complete chronological publication record for all 60 canonical Sherlock Holmes works — individual magazine appearances and compendium book editions.
Compendium publication dates
| Collection | Book published | Publisher (UK) | Stories |
|---|---|---|---|
| A Study in Scarlet | November 1887 (Beeton’s Christmas Annual); book 1888 | Ward, Lock & Co. | 1 novel |
| The Sign of the Four | February 1890 (Lippincott’s); book October 1890 | Spencer Blackett | 1 novel |
| The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes | 14 October 1892 | George Newnes | 12 stories |
| The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes | December 1893 (UK); February 1894 (US) | George Newnes / Harper & Brothers | 12 stories |
| The Hound of the Baskervilles | 25 March 1902 | George Newnes | 1 novel |
| The Return of Sherlock Holmes | 7 March 1905 | George Newnes | 13 stories |
| The Valley of Fear | 27 June 1915 | Smith, Elder & Co. | 1 novel |
| His Last Bow | October 1917 | John Murray / George H. Doran | 7 stories |
| The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes | June 1927 | John Murray / George H. Doran | 12 stories |
Complete chronological publication order
All 60 stories in order of first magazine publication.
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
(The Strand Magazine, July 1891 – June 1892)
| # | Code | Title | First published |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SCAN | A Scandal in Bohemia | July 1891 |
| 2 | REDH | The Red-Headed League | August 1891 |
| 3 | IDEN | A Case of Identity | September 1891 |
| 4 | BOSC | The Boscombe Valley Mystery | October 1891 |
| 5 | FIVE | The Five Orange Pips | November 1891 |
| 6 | TWIS | The Man with the Twisted Lip | December 1891 |
| 7 | BLUE | The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle | January 1892 |
| 8 | SPEC | The Adventure of the Speckled Band | February 1892 |
| 9 | ENGI | The Adventure of the Engineer’s Thumb | March 1892 |
| 10 | NOBL | The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor | April 1892 |
| 11 | BERY | The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet | May 1892 |
| 12 | COPP | The Adventure of the Copper Beeches | June 1892 |
Collection published: 14 October 1892
The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes
(The Strand Magazine, December 1892 – December 1893)
| # | Code | Title | First published |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | SILV | Silver Blaze | December 1892 |
| 14 | CARD | The Adventure of the Cardboard Box | January 1893 |
| 15 | YELL | The Adventure of the Yellow Face | February 1893 |
| 16 | STOC | The Adventure of the Stockbroker’s Clerk | March 1893 |
| 17 | GLOR | The Adventure of the Gloria Scott | April 1893 |
| 18 | MUSG | The Adventure of the Musgrave Ritual | May 1893 |
| 19 | REIG | The Adventure of the Reigate Squire | June 1893 |
| 20 | CROO | The Adventure of the Crooked Man | July 1893 |
| 21 | RESI | The Adventure of the Resident Patient | August 1893 |
| 22 | GREE | The Adventure of the Greek Interpreter | September 1893 |
| 23 | NAVA | The Adventure of the Naval Treaty | October–November 1893 |
| 24 | FINA | The Adventure of the Final Problem | December 1893 |
Collection published: December 1893 (UK). Holmes “dies” at Reichenbach — 10-year hiatus begins.
The Hound of the Baskervilles
(The Strand Magazine, August 1901 – April 1902)
| # | Code | Title | Serialised |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25 | HOUN | The Hound of the Baskervilles | August 1901 – April 1902 |
Book published: 25 March 1902. Written as a period piece set before FINA — Holmes not yet “returned.”
The Return of Sherlock Holmes
(The Strand Magazine, October 1903 – December 1904)
| # | Code | Title | First published |
|---|---|---|---|
| 26 | EMPT | The Adventure of the Empty House | October 1903 |
| 27 | NORW | The Adventure of the Norwood Builder | November 1903 |
| 28 | DANC | The Adventure of the Dancing Men | December 1903 |
| 29 | SOLI | The Adventure of the Solitary Cyclist | January 1904 |
| 30 | PRIO | The Adventure of the Priory School | February 1904 |
| 31 | BLAC | The Adventure of Black Peter | March 1904 |
| 32 | CHAS | The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton | April 1904 |
| 33 | SIXN | The Adventure of the Six Napoleons | May 1904 |
| 34 | 3STU | The Adventure of the Three Students | June 1904 |
| 35 | GOLD | The Adventure of the Golden Pince-Nez | July 1904 |
| 36 | MISS | The Adventure of the Missing Three-Quarter | August 1904 |
| 37 | ABBE | The Adventure of the Abbey Grange | September 1904 |
| 38 | SECO | The Adventure of the Second Stain | December 1904 |
Collection published: 7 March 1905.
The Valley of Fear
(The Strand Magazine, September 1914 – May 1915)
| # | Code | Title | Serialised |
|---|---|---|---|
| 39 | VALL | The Valley of Fear | September 1914 – May 1915 |
Book published: 27 June 1915.
His Last Bow
(Various, 1908–1917)
| # | Code | Title | First published |
|---|---|---|---|
| 40 | WIST | The Adventure of Wisteria Lodge | September–October 1908 |
| 41 | BRUC | The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans | December 1908 |
| 42 | DEVI | The Adventure of the Devil’s Foot | December 1910 |
| 43 | REDC | The Adventure of the Red Circle | March–April 1911 |
| 44 | LADY | The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax | December 1911 |
| 45 | DYIN | The Adventure of the Dying Detective | December 1913 |
| 46 | LAST | His Last Bow: The War Service of Sherlock Holmes | September 1917 |
Collection published: October 1917.
The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes
(The Strand Magazine, 1921–1927)
Stories are listed here in publication order — the book collection arranges them differently.
| # | Code | Title | First published |
|---|---|---|---|
| 47 | MAZA | The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone | October 1921 |
| 48 | THOR | The Problem of Thor Bridge | February–March 1922 |
| 49 | CREE | The Adventure of the Creeping Man | March 1923 |
| 50 | SUSS | The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire | January 1924 |
| 51 | 3GAR | The Adventure of the Three Garridebs | January 1925 |
| 52 | ILLU | The Adventure of the Illustrious Client | February–March 1925 |
| 53 | 3GAB | The Adventure of the Three Gables | October 1926 |
| 54 | BLAN | The Adventure of the Blanched Soldier | November 1926 |
| 55 | LION | The Adventure of the Lion’s Mane | December 1926 |
| 56 | RETI | The Adventure of the Retired Colourman | January 1927 |
| 57 | VEIL | The Adventure of the Veiled Lodger | February 1927 |
| 58 | SHOS | The Adventure of Shoscombe Old Place | April 1927 |
Collection published: June 1927. Final Holmes fiction Doyle published.
The novels in publication context
| # | Code | Title | First serialised / published |
|---|---|---|---|
| — | STUD | A Study in Scarlet | November 1887 (Beeton’s Christmas Annual); book 1888 |
| — | SIGN | The Sign of the Four | February 1890 (Lippincott’s Monthly Magazine); book October 1890 |
| 25 | HOUN | The Hound of the Baskervilles | August 1901–April 1902 (Strand); book March 1902 |
| 39 | VALL | The Valley of Fear | September 1914–May 1915 (Strand); book June 1915 |
Key publishing milestones
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| November 1887 | A Study in Scarlet — Holmes’s debut |
| July 1891 | SCAN — The Strand short-story run begins; Holmes becomes a phenomenon |
| December 1893 | FINA — Doyle kills Holmes at Reichenbach Falls |
| August 1901 | Hound serialisation begins — Holmes returns, set before his “death” |
| October 1903 | EMPT — Holmes’s full return confirmed; 10-year hiatus ends |
| September 1917 | LAST — final story in internal chronological order (set 1914) |
| April 1927 | SHOS — last story published; final Holmes fiction |
| 7 July 1930 | Arthur Conan Doyle dies |
Notes on the 60-story count
The standard “60 stories” count excludes two minor works sometimes cited:
- The Field Bazaar (1896) — a short parody Holmes piece written for a student charity publication
- How Watson Learned the Trick (1924) — a very short sketch written for a miniature book
The ACD Encyclopedia counts 62 works including these two; the Sherlockian tradition counts 60.