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The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

Arthur Conan DoylePublic domain work
Public Books📖 49 chapters👁 0General

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Synopsis

In The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Arthur Conan Doyle introduced the world to the most famous detective in literature through twelve short stories narrated by Dr. John Watson. Each tale presents a seemingly baffling mystery—a king threatened by scandal, a secret society of red-haired men, a stepfather’s sinister scheme—that Holmes unravels through his extraordinary powers of observation and deduction. The collection showcases Holmes’s cold, precise intellect alongside his unorthodox methods, while Watson provides the human warmth and moral compass that make their partnership so compelling. Published in 1892, these stories arrived during the height of the Victorian era, a time fascinated by science, order, and the belief that reason could solve any problem. Doyle’s creation tapped into this cultural moment, but also subverted it: Holmes operates outside official institutions, dispensing his own brand of justice that often favors the vulnerable over the powerful. The stories explore themes of identity, class, and the hidden darkness beneath respectable society, all while maintaining a brisk, suspenseful pace that keeps readers turning pages. More than a century later, these tales remain essential reading not only as the foundation of the modern detective genre but as masterful examples of short fiction. Doyle’s ability to construct a puzzle, introduce memorable characters, and deliver a satisfying resolution in just a few thousand words is unmatched. The stories invite us to see the world as Holmes does—to notice the small details that reveal larger truths—and remind us that even in the most ordinary circumstances, extraordinary mysteries await those who know how to look.

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Chapters

  1. Chapter 01

    Part 1

    • Part 1

      The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle Contents I. A Scandal in Bohemia II. The Red-Headed League III. A Case of Identity IV. The Boscombe Valley Mystery V. The Five Orange Pips VI. The Man with the T…

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  2. Chapter 02

    Part 2

    • Part 2

      A man entered who could hardly have been less than six feet six inches in height, with the chest and limbs of a Hercules. His dress was rich with a richness which would, in England, be looked upon as akin to bad taste…

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  3. Chapter 03

    Part 3

    • Part 3

      “I then lounged down the street and found, as I expected, that there was a mews in a lane which runs down by one wall of the garden. I lent the ostlers a hand in rubbing down their horses, and received in exchange two…

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  4. Chapter 04

    Part 4

    • Part 4

      As he spoke the gleam of the sidelights of a carriage came round the curve of the avenue. It was a smart little landau which rattled up to the door of Briony Lodge. As it pulled up, one of the loafing men at the corne…

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  5. Chapter 05

    Part 5

    • Part 5

      “I am immensely indebted to you. Pray tell me in what way I can reward you. This ring—” He slipped an emerald snake ring from his finger and held it out upon the palm of his hand. “Your Majesty has something which I s…

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  6. Chapter 06

    Part 6

    • Part 6

      “‘Well,’ said he, showing me the advertisement, ‘you can see for yourself that the League has a vacancy, and there is the address where you should apply for particulars. As far as I can make out, the League was founde…

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  7. Chapter 07

    Part 7

    • Part 7

      “I went home to Saxe-Coburg Square, and I took the advice of my assistant. But he could not help me in any way. He could only say that if I waited I should hear by post. But that was not quite good enough, Mr. Holmes.…

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  8. Chapter 08

    Part 8

    • Part 8

      “You may place considerable confidence in Mr. Holmes, sir,” said the police agent loftily. “He has his own little methods, which are, if he won’t mind my saying so, just a little too theoretical and fantastic, but he …

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  9. Chapter 09

    Part 9

    • Part 9

      “You see, Watson,” he explained in the early hours of the morning as we sat over a glass of whisky and soda in Baker Street, “it was perfectly obvious from the first that the only possible object of this rather fantas…

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  10. Chapter 10

    Part 10

    • Part 10

      “Oh, yes, mother is alive and well. I wasn’t best pleased, Mr. Holmes, when she married again so soon after father’s death, and a man who was nearly fifteen years younger than herself. Father was a plumber in the Tott…

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  11. Chapter 11

    Part 11

    • Part 11

      “You appeared to read a good deal upon her which was quite invisible to me,” I remarked. “Not invisible but unnoticed, Watson. You did not know where to look, and so you missed all that was important. I can never brin…

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  12. Chapter 12

    Part 12

    • Part 12

      “The man married a woman very much older than himself for her money,” said he, “and he enjoyed the use of the money of the daughter as long as she lived with them. It was a considerable sum, for people in their positi…

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  13. Chapter 13

    Part 13

    • Part 13

      “The two McCarthys were seen after the time when William Crowder, the game-keeper, lost sight of them. The Boscombe Pool is thickly wooded round, with just a fringe of grass and of reeds round the edge. A girl of four…

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  14. Chapter 14

    Part 14

    • Part 14

      Holmes laughed softly to himself and stretched himself out upon the cushioned seat. “Both you and the coroner have been at some pains,” said he, “to single out the very strongest points in the young man’s favour. Don’…

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  15. Chapter 15

    Part 15

    • Part 15

      “Ah! who? I would call your attention very particularly to two points. One is that the murdered man had an appointment with someone at the pool, and that the someone could not have been his son, for his son was away, …

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  16. Chapter 16

    Part 16

    • Part 16

      “It is obvious. And now, you see, I had narrowed the field down considerably. The possession of a grey garment was a third point which, granting the son’s statement to be correct, was a certainty. We have come now out…

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  17. Chapter 17

    Part 17

    • Part 17

      When I glance over my notes and records of the Sherlock Holmes cases between the years ’82 and ’90, I am faced by so many which present strange and interesting features that it is no easy matter to know which to choos…

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  18. Chapter 18

    Part 18

    • Part 18

      “I signed the paper as directed, and the lawyer took it away with him. The singular incident made, as you may think, the deepest impression upon me, and I pondered over it and turned it every way in my mind without be…

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  19. Chapter 19

    Part 19

    • Part 19

      “Then I shall call upon you in a day, or in two days, with news as to the box and the papers. I shall take your advice in every particular.” He shook hands with us and took his leave. Outside the wind still screamed a…

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  20. Chapter 20

    Part 20

    • Part 20

      “That hurts my pride, Watson,” he said at last. “It is a petty feeling, no doubt, but it hurts my pride. It becomes a personal matter with me now, and, if God sends me health, I shall set my hand upon this gang. That …

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  21. Chapter 21

    Part 21

    • Part 21

      I walked down the narrow passage between the double row of sleepers, holding my breath to keep out the vile, stupefying fumes of the drug, and looking about for the manager. As I passed the tall man who sat by the bra…

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  22. Chapter 22

    Part 22

    • Part 22

      “This discovery, and the evident confusion which the cripple showed, made the inspector realise that the matter was serious. The rooms were carefully examined, and results all pointed to an abominable crime. The front…

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  23. Chapter 23

    Part 23

    • Part 23

      He snatched it from her in his eagerness, and smoothing it out upon the table he drew over the lamp and examined it intently. I had left my chair and was gazing at it over his shoulder. The envelope was a very coarse …

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  24. Chapter 24

    Part 24

    • Part 24

      “Great heavens!” cried the inspector, “it is, indeed, the missing man. I know him from the photograph.” The prisoner turned with the reckless air of a man who abandons himself to his destiny. “Be it so,” said he. “And…

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  25. Chapter 25

    Part 25

    • Part 25

      “My dear fellow, there lies the problem. It is true that ‘For Mrs. Henry Baker’ was printed upon a small card which was tied to the bird’s left leg, and it is also true that the initials ‘H. B.’ are legible upon the l…

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  26. Chapter 26

    Part 26

    • Part 26

      “Very. But will he see it?” “Well, he is sure to keep an eye on the papers, since, to a poor man, the loss was a heavy one. He was clearly so scared by his mischance in breaking the window and by the approach of Peter…

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  27. Chapter 27

    Part 27

    • Part 27

      Holmes turned to the page indicated. “Here you are, ‘Mrs. Oakshott, 117, Brixton Road, egg and poultry supplier.’” “Now, then, what’s the last entry?” “‘December 22nd. Twenty-four geese at 7s. 6d.’” “Quite so. The…

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  28. Chapter 28

    Part 28

    • Part 28

      “Well, I did what she said, Mr. Holmes, and I carried the bird all the way to Kilburn. I told my pal what I had done, for he was a man that it was easy to tell a thing like that to. He laughed until he choked, and we …

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  29. Chapter 29

    Part 29

    • Part 29

      “But a terrible change came over our stepfather about this time. Instead of making friends and exchanging visits with our neighbours, who had at first been overjoyed to see a Roylott of Stoke Moran back in the old fam…

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  30. Chapter 30

    Part 30

    • Part 30

      “I have one or two things which I would wish to do now that I am in town. But I shall return by the twelve o’clock train, so as to be there in time for your coming.” “And you may expect us early in the afternoon. I ha…

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  31. Chapter 31

    Part 31

    • Part 31

      A small side door led into the whitewashed corridor from which the three bedrooms opened. Holmes refused to examine the third chamber, so we passed at once to the second, that in which Miss Stoner was now sleeping, an…

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  32. Chapter 32

    Part 32

    • Part 32

      I had forgotten the strange pets which the Doctor affected. There was a cheetah, too; perhaps we might find it upon our shoulders at any moment. I confess that I felt easier in my mind when, after following Holmes’ ex…

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  33. Chapter 33

    Part 33

    • Part 33

      “It’s a new patient,” he whispered. “I thought I’d bring him round myself; then he couldn’t slip away. There he is, all safe and sound. I must go now, Doctor; I have my dooties, just the same as you.” And off he went,…

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  34. Chapter 34

    Part 34

    • Part 34

      “I thought of the fifty guineas, and of how very useful they would be to me. ‘Not at all,’ said I, ‘I shall be very happy to accommodate myself to your wishes. I should like, however, to understand a little more clear…

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  35. Chapter 35

    Part 35

    • Part 35

      “We went upstairs together, the colonel first with the lamp, the fat manager and I behind him. It was a labyrinth of an old house, with corridors, passages, narrow winding staircases, and little low doors, the thresho…

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  36. Chapter 36

    Part 36

    • Part 36

      “There you are,” said he. “That circle is drawn at a radius of ten miles from the village. The place we want must be somewhere near that line. You said ten miles, I think, sir.” “It was an hour’s good drive.” “And you…

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  37. Chapter 37

    Part 37

    • Part 37

      “Oh, you mean the little problem of the Grosvenor Square furniture van. That is quite cleared up now—though, indeed, it was obvious from the first. Pray give me the results of your newspaper selections.” “Here is the …

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  38. Chapter 38

    Part 38

    • Part 38

      “Well, to tell the truth, I saw then the first signs that I had ever seen that her temper was just a little sharp. The incident however, was too trivial to relate and can have no possible bearing upon the case.” “Pray…

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  39. Chapter 39

    Part 39

    • Part 39

      It was after five o’clock when Sherlock Holmes left me, but I had no time to be lonely, for within an hour there arrived a confectioner’s man with a very large flat box. This he unpacked with the help of a youth whom …

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  40. Chapter 40

    Part 40

    • Part 40

      “From the first, two facts were very obvious to me, the one that the lady had been quite willing to undergo the wedding ceremony, the other that she had repented of it within a few minutes of returning home. Obviously…

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  41. Chapter 41

    Part 41

    • Part 41

      “‘You understand, Mr. Holder, that I am giving you a strong proof of the confidence which I have in you, founded upon all that I have heard of you. I rely upon you not only to be discreet and to refrain from all gossi…

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  42. Chapter 42

    Part 42

    • Part 42

      “‘You may as well face the matter,’ said I; ‘you have been caught in the act, and no confession could make your guilt more heinous. If you but make such reparation as is in your power, by telling us where the beryls a…

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  43. Chapter 43

    Part 43

    • Part 43

      “Then I will.” Holmes suddenly bent his strength upon it, but without result. “I feel it give a little,” said he; “but, though I am exceptionally strong in the fingers, it would take me all my time to break it. An ord…

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  44. Chapter 44

    Part 44

    • Part 44

      “As long as she was on the scene he could not take any action without a horrible exposure of the woman whom he loved. But the instant that she was gone he realised how crushing a misfortune this would be for you, and …

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  45. Chapter 45

    Part 45

    • Part 45

      “Pshaw, my dear fellow, what do the public, the great unobservant public, who could hardly tell a weaver by his tooth or a compositor by his left thumb, care about the finer shades of analysis and deduction! But, inde…

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  46. Chapter 46

    Part 46

    • Part 46

      “Well, there seems to me to be only one possible solution. Mr. Rucastle seemed to be a very kind, good-natured man. Is it not possible that his wife is a lunatic, that he desires to keep the matter quiet for fear she …

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  47. Chapter 47

    Part 47

    • Part 47

      “‘Oh, yes,’ said he, turning to me, ‘we are very much obliged to you, Miss Hunter, for falling in with our whims so far as to cut your hair. I assure you that it has not detracted in the tiniest iota from your appeara…

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  48. Chapter 48

    Part 48

    • Part 48

      “There was a little passage in front of me, unpapered and uncarpeted, which turned at a right angle at the farther end. Round this corner were three doors in a line, the first and third of which were open. They each l…

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  49. Chapter 49

    Part 49

    • Part 49

      “I will soon make it clear to you,” said she; “and I’d have done so before now if I could ha’ got out from the cellar. If there’s police-court business over this, you’ll remember that I was the one that stood your fri…

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About this work

Author
Arthur Conan Doyle
Language
English
Chapters
49