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First short-story collection, originally published in The Strand Magazine (1891–92), collected 1892. Twelve stories narrated by John Watson. Establishes the iconic formula of the consulting detective.
Stories
| # | Code | Title | Notable for |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | SCAN | A Scandal in Bohemia | Introduces Irene Adler; Holmes bested by a woman |
| II | REDH | The Red-Headed League | Tunnel robbery disguised as absurd scheme |
| III | IDEN | A Case of Identity | Stepfather impersonates suitor; first IDEN case type |
| IV | BOSC | The Boscombe Valley Mystery | Holmes exonerates the accused; deathbed confession |
| V | FIVE | The Five Orange Pips | KKK; Holmes fails to prevent the client’s murder |
| VI | TWIS | The Man with the Twisted Lip | Opium den; hidden identity; social class anxiety |
| VII | BLUE | The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle | Stolen gem in a goose; Christmas setting |
| VIII | SPEC | The Adventure of the Speckled Band | Swamp adder; locked-room murder; Dr. Grimesby Roylott |
| IX | ENGI | The Adventure of the Engineer’s Thumb | Hydraulic press; counterfeiting operation |
| X | NOBL | The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor | Runaway bride; trans-Atlantic bigamy |
| XI | BERY | The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet | Banker’s son; family honour; Arthur Holder |
| XII | COPP | The Adventure of the Copper Beeches | Governess; sinister household; imprisoned daughter |
Key takeaways
- Irene Adler (SCAN) is the only person to have outwitted Holmes, earning the epithet “the Woman.” She appears in only this one story but looms large in the Canon’s mythology.
- The five orange pips (FIVE) is one of very few stories where Holmes fails to save his client — the client dies before Holmes can act.
- SPEC is widely cited by readers as the most popular Holmes story; it establishes the locked-room mystery template and contains some of Holmes’s most theatrical behaviour.
- TWIS introduces the opium-den setting and the question of Holmes’s own drug use, developed more fully in The Sign of the Four.
- COPP ends the collection with a case where Holmes’s delay contributes to violence — a self-critical note.
First appearances
- Irene Adler — SCAN
- Jabez Wilson — REDH
- Dr. Grimesby Roylott (villain, SPEC)
- The formula of the client arriving at 221B with a strange problem — codified here
Illustrations
Illustrated by Sidney Paget for The Strand Magazine. ~102 illustrations across the 12 stories.
| Code | Story | Illustrations |
|---|---|---|
| SCAN | A Scandal in Bohemia | 10 |
| REDH | The Red-Headed League | 10 |
| IDEN | A Case of Identity | 7 |
| BOSC | The Boscombe Valley Mystery | 10 |
| FIVE | The Five Orange Pips | 6 |
| TWIS | The Man with the Twisted Lip | 8 |
| BLUE | The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle | 8 |
| SPEC | The Adventure of the Speckled Band | 9 |
| ENGI | The Adventure of the Engineer’s Thumb | 8 |
| NOBL | The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor | 8 |
| BERY | The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet | 8 |
| COPP | The Adventure of the Copper Beeches | 9 |
Note: BOSC is the first story where Paget depicted Holmes in the deerstalker cap — a detail never mentioned in Doyle’s text that became the character’s defining visual.
Browse all: Adventures category on Wikimedia Commons
SCAN — A Scandal in Bohemia · all 10
REDH — The Red-Headed League · all 10
IDEN — A Case of Identity · all 7
BOSC — The Boscombe Valley Mystery · all 10
First appearance of the deerstalker cap.
FIVE — The Five Orange Pips · all 6
TWIS — The Man with the Twisted Lip · all 8
BLUE — The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle · all 8
SPEC — The Adventure of the Speckled Band · all 9
ENGI — The Adventure of the Engineer’s Thumb · all 8
NOBL — The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor · all 8
BERY — The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet · all 8
COPP — The Adventure of the Copper Beeches · all 9
