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Available
Call number
Genres
Collection
Publication
Penguin Books Ltd (1975), Edition: 19th printing, Paperback, 255 pages
Description
Classic Literature. Fiction. Short Stories. HTML: The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes collects together eleven stories detailing the famous exploits and adventures of Baker Street's greatest detective. Arthur Conan Doyle's compilation was originally published in 1894 and contains these stories: "Silver Blaze", "The Adventure of the Yellow Face", "The Stockbroker's Clerk", "The Gloria Scott", "The Musgrave Ritual", "The Adventure of the Reigate Squire", "The Adventure of the Crooked Man", "The Resident Patient", "The Greek Interpreter", "The Naval Treaty" and "The Final Problem.".
User reviews
LibraryThing member devenish
As the proud owner of all of Doyle's fiction and most of his non-fiction works I consider most of the stories in this volume and particularly The Final Problem to be amongst the best.
LibraryThing member nx74defiant
Silver Blaze a horse called Silver Blaze has gone missing The Yellow Face a man is concerned that his wife is hiding a secret from him. the Stock-Broker's Clerk a clerk is worried about what is going on at his new job. The "Gloria Scott" Holmes recalls a case that started his interest in
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detecting the Musgrave Ritual Holmes discovers the secret behind a family ritual The Reigate Puzzle Holmes solves a case of burglery and murder while convalescing. The Crooked Man the colonel dies while alone in a locked room with his wife The Resident Patient a Dr. asks Sherlock for help with a mysterious patient The Greek Interpreter We meet Sherlock's brother Mycroft who brings them the case of a greek interpreter is taken to interpret for a kidnap victim The Naval Treaty Dr. Watson's old classmate asks for his help The Final Problem the "death" of Sherlock Holmes. Show Less
LibraryThing member Matke
Another great entry in Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes series, this has eleven short stories of consistent worth. My favorite was “ The Case of the Yellow Face,” which tells of a complete failure in Homes’s reasoning from facts work. The conclusion of this one is quite moving, which isn’t a
And of course there’s the famous confrontation at Reichenbach Falls between Sherlock and Moriarty.
Highly recommended.
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word that applies to most of the Holmes stories.And of course there’s the famous confrontation at Reichenbach Falls between Sherlock and Moriarty.
Highly recommended.
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LibraryThing member Andrew-theQM
Although not a great fan of short stories, this was a good collection of cases involving Sherlock Holmes. Most of them left you wanting more. Interesting this early in the series of books to finish with Holmes and Moriarty at The Reichenbach Falls - also intriguing how this last scene wasn't told
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by Arthur Conan Doyle. Will always leave you wondering exactly what happened. Show Less
LibraryThing member LisaMaria_C
This is the second set of Sherlock Holmes short stories, eleven in all, that appeared in the Strand magazine and collected in The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes. I fell in love with the Holmes stories from the first I read for high school--"The Speckled Band" which appears in the first set of shorts,
In terms of being great puzzle pieces for me the stand outs are "Silver Blaze" (which refers to "the curious incident of the dog in the night-time"), "The Musgrave Ritual" (dealing with a centuries-old family ritual dating to the times of the Cavaliers and Round-heads), "The Reigate Squire" (with a clever deduction drawn from a torn note) and "The Naval Treaty" (which serves up a Victorian Age spy story). "The Crooked Man" features the one time in the canon Sherlock says "Elementary" (and Teddy the mongoose!) "The Yellow Face" imparts a message of racial tolerance that's remarkable for a work published in 1893. We also get some interesting glimpses of Sherlock Holmes' personal background. "The Gloria Scott" is his first case and involves his (only) college friend. "The Greek Interpreter" introduces us to Sherlock's brother, Mycroft. And "The Final Problem" introduces us to Holmes' great adversary Dr Moriarty and their fateful encounter at Reichenbach Falls. So, a very enjoyable collection, especially for those already fans of Sherlock Holmes.
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The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. Pretty much all my favorite Holmes shorts appear in that first volume, but a lot of these are memorable for one reason or the other. In terms of being great puzzle pieces for me the stand outs are "Silver Blaze" (which refers to "the curious incident of the dog in the night-time"), "The Musgrave Ritual" (dealing with a centuries-old family ritual dating to the times of the Cavaliers and Round-heads), "The Reigate Squire" (with a clever deduction drawn from a torn note) and "The Naval Treaty" (which serves up a Victorian Age spy story). "The Crooked Man" features the one time in the canon Sherlock says "Elementary" (and Teddy the mongoose!) "The Yellow Face" imparts a message of racial tolerance that's remarkable for a work published in 1893. We also get some interesting glimpses of Sherlock Holmes' personal background. "The Gloria Scott" is his first case and involves his (only) college friend. "The Greek Interpreter" introduces us to Sherlock's brother, Mycroft. And "The Final Problem" introduces us to Holmes' great adversary Dr Moriarty and their fateful encounter at Reichenbach Falls. So, a very enjoyable collection, especially for those already fans of Sherlock Holmes.
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LibraryThing member OscarWilde87
The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes is a collection of eleven Sherlock Holmes stories. In this collection, Sherlock's brother Mycroft is introduced as a new character. Mycroft Holmes is described as having even more deductive skill than his brother, yet lacking in ambition and therefore not being
An examination by experts leaves little doubt that a personal contest between the two men ended, as it could hardly fail to end in such a situation, in their reeling over, locked in each other's arms. An attempt at recovering the bodies was absolutely hopeless ...
Nowadays, the probable death of Sherlock Holmes is not a cliffhanger anymore as we have access to the complete works and know that The Return of Sherlock Holmes is going to follow. At the time of publication in 1894, however, the situation was completely different. Arthur Conan Doyle wanted to move on from Sherlock Holmes and had not intended to continue the series of stories centered around the detective. In The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes one can already find traces of the author wanting to be done with the Holmes stories. Some of the stories come to a rather sudden end and it seems that the author did not put that much work in the endings anymore. To be fair, this only goes for some of the stories while others are written with the same care as before. Before The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes were published as a collection the stories were published on their own in Strand Magazine. So, for the readers in the 1890s, the final story carries much more weight. It was not to be known for quite a while if there would ever be another Sherlock Holmes story. The readers' cry for more (and probably also financial issues) made Arthur Conan Doyle reconsider his decision and eventually bring the character of Sherlock Holmes back to life.
Despite the short endings of some of the stories, I found the stories in this collection as good as the ones in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. What I especially liked was the introduction of Mycroft Holmes as a new character and above all "The Final Problem". Given the minor flaws, The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes is still a 4 star read and a must-read for every Holmes fan.
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interested too much in detective work. Probably the most exciting story for Sherlock Holmes fans is "The Final Problem". Holmes' nemesis Professor James Moriarty chases Holmes from England across Europe to Switzerland as Holmes has managed to collect enough evidence to convict Moriarty and all his helpers. Moriarty is able to evade prosecution in England and sets his mind to kill Sherlock Holmes. At the end of "The Final Problem", which is also the end of this collection of short stories, it is alluded that Holmes takes matters into his own hands at Reichenbach Falls in Switzerland, where he is confronted by Moriarty. Watson finds a note of goodbye from Holmes but there is no sign of either Holmes or Moriarty. Both are suspected to have died falling down the cliffs at Reichenbach Falls.An examination by experts leaves little doubt that a personal contest between the two men ended, as it could hardly fail to end in such a situation, in their reeling over, locked in each other's arms. An attempt at recovering the bodies was absolutely hopeless ...
Nowadays, the probable death of Sherlock Holmes is not a cliffhanger anymore as we have access to the complete works and know that The Return of Sherlock Holmes is going to follow. At the time of publication in 1894, however, the situation was completely different. Arthur Conan Doyle wanted to move on from Sherlock Holmes and had not intended to continue the series of stories centered around the detective. In The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes one can already find traces of the author wanting to be done with the Holmes stories. Some of the stories come to a rather sudden end and it seems that the author did not put that much work in the endings anymore. To be fair, this only goes for some of the stories while others are written with the same care as before. Before The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes were published as a collection the stories were published on their own in Strand Magazine. So, for the readers in the 1890s, the final story carries much more weight. It was not to be known for quite a while if there would ever be another Sherlock Holmes story. The readers' cry for more (and probably also financial issues) made Arthur Conan Doyle reconsider his decision and eventually bring the character of Sherlock Holmes back to life.
Despite the short endings of some of the stories, I found the stories in this collection as good as the ones in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. What I especially liked was the introduction of Mycroft Holmes as a new character and above all "The Final Problem". Given the minor flaws, The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes is still a 4 star read and a must-read for every Holmes fan.
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LibraryThing member Barb_H
Short stories, most were good, some were boring. Left me hanging at the end though, going to have to find out what happened!
LibraryThing member ruthich
Another enjoyable group of short stories. Particularly enjoy The Gloria Scott.
LibraryThing member JapaG
I have read Sherlock Holmes stories sometime very long ago, and seem to remember liking them. I liked this set of stories as well, but did not like them very much. The stories are entertaining in themselves, and as separate entities, they are very enjoyable. But when read one after another, they do
I guess the thing that disturbed me the most in these was that I kinda remember (or thought) that the reader would have some kind of a chance of deciphering the case themselves - perhaps not the whole case, but at least some of it. Now the stories were laid out in such a fashion, that most of the facts were brought into the story only when Holmes described them to Watson at the end. These descriptions were very imaginative and cunning, and displayed very interesting feats of intellect on behalf of Holmes, but I would have liked the "mystery" to rack also MY brains a bit. From these stories, only "The Naval Treaty" seemed to give clues to the reader.
The stories are easy, fast, and enjoyable to read - but best read in small doses.
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seem to become less entertaining, since almost all of them have the same structure: A situation is described - Watson and Holmes discuss it - a time interval - Holmes explains the case to Watson.I guess the thing that disturbed me the most in these was that I kinda remember (or thought) that the reader would have some kind of a chance of deciphering the case themselves - perhaps not the whole case, but at least some of it. Now the stories were laid out in such a fashion, that most of the facts were brought into the story only when Holmes described them to Watson at the end. These descriptions were very imaginative and cunning, and displayed very interesting feats of intellect on behalf of Holmes, but I would have liked the "mystery" to rack also MY brains a bit. From these stories, only "The Naval Treaty" seemed to give clues to the reader.
The stories are easy, fast, and enjoyable to read - but best read in small doses.
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LibraryThing member mearso
First time reading any Holmes book, and very accessible. Will read some more
LibraryThing member tuckerresearch
If you're a fan of the old Baring Gould annotated edition, or you've seen the new Norton annotated edited by Leslie Klinger, it is better to spend your cash on this set annotated by Klinger. The annotations are (semi-)proper footnotes. The slim paperbacks in the Sherlock Holmes Reference Library
Quite properly, Klinger has emended the several chopped up stories in this collection. He restores "The Cardboard Box" to its proper place and replaces all correct texts.
The drawbacks. They are paperbacks, not hardcovers, so less durable. Published by a small outfit, there are a few typos, but maybe one or two every other story or so. The footnotes are great and brilliant, but as an historian I prefer a different style, though these are quite functional. The bibliography should be separated into book and article sections for ease of lookup. Also, I would prefer more discussion on the chronology of the tales, as Klinger only provides a table of chronologies for the stories at the end of the book.
The introduction was good, and at least this set is unburdened by Baring-Gould's shoddy, idiosyncratic timeline/chronology of events found in the Norton-Klinger annotated.
The best stories? "Silver Blaze," "The Musgrave Ritual," and "The Naval Treaty." (The whole bit with the rose!) I've never been much of a fan of "The Final Problem," a rather shoddy hit-piece,
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are easier to lug around, study, and read than the comparatively incomplete Klinger-Norton annotated edition. The annotations are extensive, covering a great range of Sherlockian speculation. They are endlessly diverting and thought provoking. The bibliography is extensive and complete. Quite properly, Klinger has emended the several chopped up stories in this collection. He restores "The Cardboard Box" to its proper place and replaces all correct texts.
The drawbacks. They are paperbacks, not hardcovers, so less durable. Published by a small outfit, there are a few typos, but maybe one or two every other story or so. The footnotes are great and brilliant, but as an historian I prefer a different style, though these are quite functional. The bibliography should be separated into book and article sections for ease of lookup. Also, I would prefer more discussion on the chronology of the tales, as Klinger only provides a table of chronologies for the stories at the end of the book.
The introduction was good, and at least this set is unburdened by Baring-Gould's shoddy, idiosyncratic timeline/chronology of events found in the Norton-Klinger annotated.
The best stories? "Silver Blaze," "The Musgrave Ritual," and "The Naval Treaty." (The whole bit with the rose!) I've never been much of a fan of "The Final Problem," a rather shoddy hit-piece,
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LibraryThing member 391
In The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes we really start to see Sherlock develop into the eccentric, wry, deeply intriguing character that we are all familiar with. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes are still a little clinical, a little trite, but in The Memoirs we see some superbly crafted plots,
All in all, the Adventures is excellent, and the stories only get better from here.
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characters and scenarios. Silver Blaze is a personal favorite, as it's one of the first Holmes stories I ever read when I was younger, but I am very fond of nearly all of them. The Adventure of the Yellow Face is a heartbreaker (in a good way!), I love it even more every time I read it, and The Musgrave Ritual is a nice bit of treasure-hunting that's always a fast read. And of course there is the infamous Final Problem, which takes our hero on his 'great hiatus' courtesy of Professor Moriarty.All in all, the Adventures is excellent, and the stories only get better from here.
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LibraryThing member tjsjohanna
There are nine stories in this collection, ranging from Mr. Holmes earliest days to the last case he worked on before his unfortunate demise. I can't say that any one story stood out particularly as being very interesting, but as more insight to the universe of Sherlock Holmes, they are fun reading.
LibraryThing member TinaV95
This was my first delve into the world of Sherlock Holmes. I have loved mysteries since I was a girl, but it wasn't until the recent SH movie, that I even considered reading what I thought would be a overtly male driven story line. I was incorrect. Although Holmes is obviously male, I had no
NOTE -- I thoroughly enjoyed these mysteries which I "read" on audio book. Apparently I started with the wrong book, as this contains the story of the death of Holmes. Very highly recommended anyway!
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trouble relating to him or to his incredible deductive reasoning process. I will definitely read more Sir Arthur Conan Doyle when I want a classical, individual, and highly detailed mystery!NOTE -- I thoroughly enjoyed these mysteries which I "read" on audio book. Apparently I started with the wrong book, as this contains the story of the death of Holmes. Very highly recommended anyway!
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LibraryThing member andyjb
A curious incident and the death of Holmes. Superb!
LibraryThing member rosalita
I've loved mysteries almost as long as I've known how to read. I devoured Nancy Drew and Trixie Belden stories as a youngster, and graduated to Rex Stout in high school. Reading more about that author's creation, Nero Wolfe, I learned that Stout loved the Sherlock Holmes canon, and left clues that
Of course, it's impossible to be a sentient being on Planet Earth in the 21st century and not be familiar with the basic facts of the Holmes-verse. From 221B Baker Street to "Elementary, my dear Watson!" to the detective's obsession with detail, his fondness for cocaine, his Calabash pipe and his deerstalker cap are well known even to those of us who have never read a single Conan Doyle text. I decided late last year that it was high time I made a point of becoming acquainted with this seminal detective, and found The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes available as a free e-book download.
I didn't realize until the last story in the collection that this wasn't the best book to start with. For one thing, it falls more or less in the middle of the Holmes canon, and therefore assumes that the reader is well-acquainted with the backstory of Holmes and his sidekick, Dr. John Watson. Fortunately, as I mentioned above, it's pretty impossible not to have gleaned enough Holmesian knowledge to be able to follow the stories easily. More problematic was the fact that the book ends with "The Final Problem," which is the famous story in which Holmes meets his tragic end at Reichenbach Falls. Of course, we know now that it was not the end of Sherlock Holmes, and Conan Doyle went on to write quite a few more novels and especially short stories before finally hanging up his cape and deerstalker for good.
The most striking element of these stories, to me, was their relative lightweightness, if that's a word. Yes, yes, Sherlock pays obsessive attention to detail, and numerous examples of his detecting based on observations that have completely escaped the notice of the police are scattered throughout the stories. But in many of the stories, the solution is arrived at rather too tidily for my more modern sensibilities. (I guess I like to see my detectives sweat a little.) In other stories, the ending is wrapped up rather over-neatly, with Watson reporting that the villain escaped to Europe or some such.
I'm not sorry I read The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, and I'll go back to the well and start at the beginning this time with [A Study in Scarlet]. But I am a bit surprised at myself for not falling immediately in love with one of the most beloved literary characters of all time.
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perhaps Nero should be seen as the illegitimate child of Sherlock and Irene Adler. That intrigued me, but not enough to prompt me to pick up any Holmes stories.Of course, it's impossible to be a sentient being on Planet Earth in the 21st century and not be familiar with the basic facts of the Holmes-verse. From 221B Baker Street to "Elementary, my dear Watson!" to the detective's obsession with detail, his fondness for cocaine, his Calabash pipe and his deerstalker cap are well known even to those of us who have never read a single Conan Doyle text. I decided late last year that it was high time I made a point of becoming acquainted with this seminal detective, and found The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes available as a free e-book download.
I didn't realize until the last story in the collection that this wasn't the best book to start with. For one thing, it falls more or less in the middle of the Holmes canon, and therefore assumes that the reader is well-acquainted with the backstory of Holmes and his sidekick, Dr. John Watson. Fortunately, as I mentioned above, it's pretty impossible not to have gleaned enough Holmesian knowledge to be able to follow the stories easily. More problematic was the fact that the book ends with "The Final Problem," which is the famous story in which Holmes meets his tragic end at Reichenbach Falls. Of course, we know now that it was not the end of Sherlock Holmes, and Conan Doyle went on to write quite a few more novels and especially short stories before finally hanging up his cape and deerstalker for good.
The most striking element of these stories, to me, was their relative lightweightness, if that's a word. Yes, yes, Sherlock pays obsessive attention to detail, and numerous examples of his detecting based on observations that have completely escaped the notice of the police are scattered throughout the stories. But in many of the stories, the solution is arrived at rather too tidily for my more modern sensibilities. (I guess I like to see my detectives sweat a little.) In other stories, the ending is wrapped up rather over-neatly, with Watson reporting that the villain escaped to Europe or some such.
I'm not sorry I read The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, and I'll go back to the well and start at the beginning this time with [A Study in Scarlet]. But I am a bit surprised at myself for not falling immediately in love with one of the most beloved literary characters of all time.
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LibraryThing member Wiszard
Another masterpiece from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. In these stories we learn more about Sherlock Holmes, from his older brother Mycroft to his nemesis, Professor Moriarity. These stories are guaranteed to stimulate your mind as you try to solve some of Holme's toughest cases.
LibraryThing member MonicaMusik
This is actually not the best collection of Sherlock Holmes mysteries but it's still a very good read. You definitely need to be a fan in order to appreciate them. That being said there are lot of classics contained in this volume and it's always exciting just reading about how Holmes' mind works.
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The interplay between Homes and Watson is another good reason to give this volume a read. A lot of the mysteries in this volume are shorter in length than may be expected but I think that makes them more accessible. Show Less
LibraryThing member Literary_butterfly
Well, you can't beat a bit of Sherlock Holmes, can you? These stories about this quintessentially English eccentric must probably have a place on most bookshelves - at least in Britain. I chose this book because it includes The Final Problem - the story in which Sherlock Holmes finally meets his
I don't usually enjoy collections of short stories - I find it frustrating for a story to end just as I'm starting to get into it. I've had a really busy week though, so it was actually great to be able to dip into the book for a few minutes and read a whole story. As expected, I found that the format didn't really work for me - once I'd got to the end of one of the stories I didn't have as much incentive to pick the book up again as I would have done if I'd been in the middle of an exciting novel.
I hadn’t read a Sherlock Holmes story since I was a teenager, and as I progressed through the stories I began to realise how naive my youthful preconceptions of the detective and Doctor Watson were. In my head they were a stereotypical duo of the infallible detective and his likeable but bumbling assistant, but this turned out not to be the case at all. Holmes is in fact a very complicated man with more vices than virtues and, as Watson (the narrator) is often at pains to point out he isn't always entirely successful in his investigations. In several of the stories the mystery is solved in spite of, rather than because of, Holmes' interference. Watson also surprised me. He certainly gave very little help to Holmes in his investigations but, unlike Ziukin in "The Coronation", neither did he get in Holmes' way or try to take it upon himself to get involved in the action. He also came across as an extremely sensible and supportive friend, although maybe a little too accepting of Holmes' eccentric behaviours and dour moods.
I liked the variety of the mysteries in the book - they are not all crimes. Some are very simple domestic or relationship problems although they all had fairly improbable solutions. My main problem with the book, however, was that the reader was rarely given the chance to solve the mystery before Holmes did. I suppose it's difficult in a short story to provide the reader with all the clues and red herrings that would be possible in a full-length novel, but time-and-time again, at the denouement, I would be exasperated by the amount of information Holmes had at his fingertips that the reader had not been given access to. Maybe I'm unusual, but my favourite thing about detective stories is getting to play detective myself. On the rare occasion that I work out who the culprit is I'm always so proud of myself, and so I felt rather cheated in most of these stories.
The story I enjoyed the most was The Final Problem, which surely contains one of the most famous scenes in English literature - even people who haven't read it have heard of it. I'm really glad that I've finally read it for myself. What I hadn't realised was that Watson didn't witness the final events at first hand - his narrative is based on a reconstruction of the likely events based on the evidence left at the scene. This makes for really powerful narrative - both Watson and the reader are forced to imagine what might have happened to Holmes and Moriarty, which somehow makes the scene far more vivid than if it had been recounted in detail. The end of the book really is desolating - I felt so sorry for poor Doctor Watson. In his typically reserved English style he makes very little of his own emotions but beneath the understatement it is easy to see that his life will never be the same again. I'm glad Conan Doyle at least had the decency to marry him off.
One tiny thing - I really, really don't like the cover of this edition. I just don't get it. It looks like it should be on the front of a collection of ghost stories. Very unattractive.
On the whole I did enjoy this book and I'm glad I've finally read it. Holmes and Watson are both fascinating people to spend a bit of time with, and even when the detective element of the stories didn't quite do it for me, the character study of Sherlock Holmes was always fun to read.
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match at the hands of the evil Professor Moriarty. I had never actually read this story, but of course I knew of it, and the final scene in Akunin's "The Coronation" seemed to be something of a homage to it.I don't usually enjoy collections of short stories - I find it frustrating for a story to end just as I'm starting to get into it. I've had a really busy week though, so it was actually great to be able to dip into the book for a few minutes and read a whole story. As expected, I found that the format didn't really work for me - once I'd got to the end of one of the stories I didn't have as much incentive to pick the book up again as I would have done if I'd been in the middle of an exciting novel.
I hadn’t read a Sherlock Holmes story since I was a teenager, and as I progressed through the stories I began to realise how naive my youthful preconceptions of the detective and Doctor Watson were. In my head they were a stereotypical duo of the infallible detective and his likeable but bumbling assistant, but this turned out not to be the case at all. Holmes is in fact a very complicated man with more vices than virtues and, as Watson (the narrator) is often at pains to point out he isn't always entirely successful in his investigations. In several of the stories the mystery is solved in spite of, rather than because of, Holmes' interference. Watson also surprised me. He certainly gave very little help to Holmes in his investigations but, unlike Ziukin in "The Coronation", neither did he get in Holmes' way or try to take it upon himself to get involved in the action. He also came across as an extremely sensible and supportive friend, although maybe a little too accepting of Holmes' eccentric behaviours and dour moods.
I liked the variety of the mysteries in the book - they are not all crimes. Some are very simple domestic or relationship problems although they all had fairly improbable solutions. My main problem with the book, however, was that the reader was rarely given the chance to solve the mystery before Holmes did. I suppose it's difficult in a short story to provide the reader with all the clues and red herrings that would be possible in a full-length novel, but time-and-time again, at the denouement, I would be exasperated by the amount of information Holmes had at his fingertips that the reader had not been given access to. Maybe I'm unusual, but my favourite thing about detective stories is getting to play detective myself. On the rare occasion that I work out who the culprit is I'm always so proud of myself, and so I felt rather cheated in most of these stories.
The story I enjoyed the most was The Final Problem, which surely contains one of the most famous scenes in English literature - even people who haven't read it have heard of it. I'm really glad that I've finally read it for myself. What I hadn't realised was that Watson didn't witness the final events at first hand - his narrative is based on a reconstruction of the likely events based on the evidence left at the scene. This makes for really powerful narrative - both Watson and the reader are forced to imagine what might have happened to Holmes and Moriarty, which somehow makes the scene far more vivid than if it had been recounted in detail. The end of the book really is desolating - I felt so sorry for poor Doctor Watson. In his typically reserved English style he makes very little of his own emotions but beneath the understatement it is easy to see that his life will never be the same again. I'm glad Conan Doyle at least had the decency to marry him off.
One tiny thing - I really, really don't like the cover of this edition. I just don't get it. It looks like it should be on the front of a collection of ghost stories. Very unattractive.
On the whole I did enjoy this book and I'm glad I've finally read it. Holmes and Watson are both fascinating people to spend a bit of time with, and even when the detective element of the stories didn't quite do it for me, the character study of Sherlock Holmes was always fun to read.
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LibraryThing member TLHelen
The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes is a great book to read. One of the best books to read by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle about a great detective solving crime, murder mysteries. There are several different interesting murder cases and it is like travelling and solving mysteries and other great adventures
E.C.
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with Sherlock Holmes and Doctor John Watson. Full of exciting and great mysterious adventures. E.C.
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LibraryThing member dulac3
Another series of the adventures of Sherlock Holmes as reported by his faithful biographer Dr. Watson and it becomes clearer than ever that the real draw of these stories is the fascinating character of Holmes himself. The mysteries are secondary to the enjoyment, though many of them do prove to
The first of these in this book is “The Adventure of the Gloria Scott” – The primary interest in this tale comes from the glimpse it gives us to Holmes’ first ‘case’ (though the following tale, “The Musgrave Ritual” is really better classified as his first actual case, since the Gloria Scott comes across more as an intriguing mystery to which Holmes is largely a spectator) and the impetus for his decision to become a detective. We also get a glimpse at Holmes’ college days and of the only friend he made there (and thus far in the stories the only friend at all that he seems to have ever had aside from Watson). Finally this tale gives us a glimpse of a young Holmes still capable of emotion and surprise to the point that he cries out in horror at certain circumstances that, in later tales, would have left little other than a wry smile and remark of interest on his lips.
As noted above “The Musgrave Ritual” provides us with a look at what could probably be considered Holmes’ first real case in which another University acquaintance of Holmes’ comes to him, based on his youthful reputation, with an apparently insoluble puzzle that revolves around the man’s lothario butler and a bizarre family tradition. Holmes of course breaks the case and takes no small relish in recounting the strange tale of an event “done prematurely before my biographer had come to glorify me” to his friend Watson.
“The Greek Interpreter” continues in our discovery of the details of the mysterious past of Sherlock Holmes as we discover he actually does have a family and did not, as might seem more likely, spring from the brow of Zeus full grown. We in fact meet his older brother Mycroft, a man even more withdrawn from normal human society than his brother, but who also seems to possess even greater observational powers (a fact that leaves both Watson and the reader shocked to say the least). It was indeed quite amusing to see the two siblings spar with each other, each vying to outdo the other’s seemingly gnomic observations upon two strangers viewed from a window, and each gently chiding and correcting the other. This scene, nothing more a game of one-upmanship between brothers, does an excellent job at both making Sherlock seem more human at the same time that it exemplifies the peculiarity of his abilities and his subsequent estrangement from other ‘normal’ people. I also wondered in passing whether the germ for Nero Wolfe was planted in the mind of Rex Stout upon reading Sherlock’s comment about his brother: “If the art of the detective began and ended in reasoning from an arm-chair, my brother would be the greatest criminal agent that ever lived.” All that is needed is Archie Goodwin to do the foot work, a brownstone in New York and we’re off to the races.
The Memoirs even show a bizarrely puckish aspect to Holmes’ personality when, in the second to last tale “The Naval Treaty”, Holmes plays a practical joke for his own amusement at the expense of the nerves of his already rattled client…something strange indeed (though perhaps not altogether out of character given Holmes’ obvious desire to showboat and his distinct streak of misanthropy).
Other tales in the volume that were of interest: “The Crooked Man” which I found to be a rather affecting tale of retribution in the face of personal tragedy and “The Yellow Face” which, at the same time that it displayed some squicky elements of racism and abandonment, still managed to rise above them and display a story of ultimate familial devotion and personal love.
Of course one can’t leave off discussion of this volume without making mention of “The Final Problem” the story in which Holmes’ greatest adversary Moriarty, the Napoleon of Crime, is born. Doyle had grown weary of the public clamour for more tales of his peerless sleuth and decided it was time to end it so that he could concentrate on other characters and stories. Well, as it turns out this was not to be, but what resulted was an exciting tale in which Holmes finds himself pitted against the greatest adversary of his voluminous career. After months of playing cat-and-mouse with Moriarty and his insidious league of crime Holmes finally has gathered the pieces he needs to crush the vast criminal organization and its most dangerous leader. Moriarty, of course, is not likely to take such a possibility lying down and thus we have a final chase across London and Switzerland that ends inan off-screen (and thus retcon-able) death for both Holmes and his adversary. Watson’s final realization of what has happened to his friend is moving, as is the typically dry (though sincere) letter which Holmes leaves for him on the edge of Reichenbach Falls.
All in all, while some of the tales may have been weaker than others, I can’t do anything other than give this collection a five-star rating due to the great interest of the many tales of Holmes’ early life, as well as the singular event ofhis “death”.
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have distinct elements of interest (otherwise why would the great detective have bothered himself about them?), but it really is in observing the fascinating character of Holmes himself that the reader is immersed in them. Indeed, this collection provides a rare treat for the reader in that we learn more about the detective and his early life and connections than has previously been the case. Thus it was that some of the most interesting stories here, for me at least, were those that hearkened back to Holmes’ youth and showed us the man he was and in which we can see the seeds of the man he would come to be.The first of these in this book is “The Adventure of the Gloria Scott” – The primary interest in this tale comes from the glimpse it gives us to Holmes’ first ‘case’ (though the following tale, “The Musgrave Ritual” is really better classified as his first actual case, since the Gloria Scott comes across more as an intriguing mystery to which Holmes is largely a spectator) and the impetus for his decision to become a detective. We also get a glimpse at Holmes’ college days and of the only friend he made there (and thus far in the stories the only friend at all that he seems to have ever had aside from Watson). Finally this tale gives us a glimpse of a young Holmes still capable of emotion and surprise to the point that he cries out in horror at certain circumstances that, in later tales, would have left little other than a wry smile and remark of interest on his lips.
As noted above “The Musgrave Ritual” provides us with a look at what could probably be considered Holmes’ first real case in which another University acquaintance of Holmes’ comes to him, based on his youthful reputation, with an apparently insoluble puzzle that revolves around the man’s lothario butler and a bizarre family tradition. Holmes of course breaks the case and takes no small relish in recounting the strange tale of an event “done prematurely before my biographer had come to glorify me” to his friend Watson.
“The Greek Interpreter” continues in our discovery of the details of the mysterious past of Sherlock Holmes as we discover he actually does have a family and did not, as might seem more likely, spring from the brow of Zeus full grown. We in fact meet his older brother Mycroft, a man even more withdrawn from normal human society than his brother, but who also seems to possess even greater observational powers (a fact that leaves both Watson and the reader shocked to say the least). It was indeed quite amusing to see the two siblings spar with each other, each vying to outdo the other’s seemingly gnomic observations upon two strangers viewed from a window, and each gently chiding and correcting the other. This scene, nothing more a game of one-upmanship between brothers, does an excellent job at both making Sherlock seem more human at the same time that it exemplifies the peculiarity of his abilities and his subsequent estrangement from other ‘normal’ people. I also wondered in passing whether the germ for Nero Wolfe was planted in the mind of Rex Stout upon reading Sherlock’s comment about his brother: “If the art of the detective began and ended in reasoning from an arm-chair, my brother would be the greatest criminal agent that ever lived.” All that is needed is Archie Goodwin to do the foot work, a brownstone in New York and we’re off to the races.
The Memoirs even show a bizarrely puckish aspect to Holmes’ personality when, in the second to last tale “The Naval Treaty”, Holmes plays a practical joke for his own amusement at the expense of the nerves of his already rattled client…something strange indeed (though perhaps not altogether out of character given Holmes’ obvious desire to showboat and his distinct streak of misanthropy).
Other tales in the volume that were of interest: “The Crooked Man” which I found to be a rather affecting tale of retribution in the face of personal tragedy and “The Yellow Face” which, at the same time that it displayed some squicky elements of racism and abandonment, still managed to rise above them and display a story of ultimate familial devotion and personal love.
Of course one can’t leave off discussion of this volume without making mention of “The Final Problem” the story in which Holmes’ greatest adversary Moriarty, the Napoleon of Crime, is born. Doyle had grown weary of the public clamour for more tales of his peerless sleuth and decided it was time to end it so that he could concentrate on other characters and stories. Well, as it turns out this was not to be, but what resulted was an exciting tale in which Holmes finds himself pitted against the greatest adversary of his voluminous career. After months of playing cat-and-mouse with Moriarty and his insidious league of crime Holmes finally has gathered the pieces he needs to crush the vast criminal organization and its most dangerous leader. Moriarty, of course, is not likely to take such a possibility lying down and thus we have a final chase across London and Switzerland that ends in
All in all, while some of the tales may have been weaker than others, I can’t do anything other than give this collection a five-star rating due to the great interest of the many tales of Holmes’ early life, as well as the singular event of
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LibraryThing member JeremyPreacher
Just as entertaining as the Adventures. The Final Problem was one I'd heard so much about that it seemed like I must have read it, but it was nice to actually do so. The stories don't stick in my head much - they're fairly slight - but fun and worth the read.
LibraryThing member anneofia
I read these stories a long time ago, and really enjoyed them. The 12 stories include: Silver Blaze, The Cardboard Box, The Yellow Face, The Stockbroker's Clerk, The Gloria Scott, The Musgrage Ritual, The Reigate Squires, The Crooked Man, The Resident Patient, The Greek Interpreter, The Naval
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Treaty, and The Final Problem. Show Less
LibraryThing member sageness
3.5 stars, rounding up out of love. *g*
Some of the most famous classic Holmes stories are in this volume, as well as some I haven't seen mentioned in decades. Doyle's boredom with the 'verse (or disenchantment with it, given the pressure put on him to produce more and more Holmes serials) is
Disability tag is for mental illness this time.
Some of the most famous classic Holmes stories are in this volume, as well as some I haven't seen mentioned in decades. Doyle's boredom with the 'verse (or disenchantment with it, given the pressure put on him to produce more and more Holmes serials) is
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grossly apparent in some of the stories, which just end -- suddenly -- as if Doyle couldn't be bothered to write a proper conclusion. Then there are others that are richly detailed with complex plots and gorgeous characterization. I am ridiculously fond.Disability tag is for mental illness this time.
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LibraryThing member katekf
I have always enjoyed Sherlock Holmes and when I realized this book filled a hole in my collection, it was a pleasure to acquire it. Holmes shares with Watson tales of his early adventures in The Musgrave Ritual and the "Gloria Scott" as they pursue new ones together. The short stories within this
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volume make a good introduction to a new Sherlock Holmes' reader as they are each succinct and fascinating. Reading these it is easy to see how Holmes and Watson captured the imagination of readers in the 1890s with their clever plots and comfortable banter. Show Less
Subjects
Awards
Language
Original publication date
1892-12 to 1893-12: The Strand Magazine UK ∙ Individual stories
1893: Book - dated 1894
Physical description
256 p.; 7.01 inches
ISBN
0140007857 / 9780140007855