Sherlock Holmes

The Complete Sherlock Holmes Canon


Sherlock Holmes – the inestimable detective created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, appears in four novels, and 56 short stories.

Dr. Watson – Holmes' friend, partner, and chronicler records Holmes’ exploits, but not always in chronological order. In fact, Dr. Watson does not appear in Holmes’ first two cases, but only records those adventures as Holmes later recounts them.

I am reading the Sherlock Holmes canon as arranged in my 1967, two-volume, illustrated edition of the Annotated Sherlock Holmes. This collection is unique in that it attempts to put Holmes’ adventures into chronological order – no easy feat as Dr. Watson is seldom specific about dates. The order is not undisputed, but studiously researched using contextual clues, and probably comes quite close.

The Gloria Scott
The Musgrave Ritual
A Study in Scarlet
The Adventure of the Speckled Band
The Resident Patient
The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor
The Adventure of the Second Stain
The Reigate Squires
A Scandal in Bohemia
The Man with the Twisted Lip
The Five Orange Pips
A Case of Identity
The Red-Headed League
The Adventure of the Dying Detective
The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle
The Valley of Fear
The Yellow Face
The Greek Interpreter
The Sign of the Four
The Hound of the Baskervilles
The Adventure of the Copper Beeches
The Boscombe Valley Mystery
The Stockbroker’s Clerk
The Naval Treaty
The Cardboard Box
The Adventure of the Engineer’s Thumb
The Crooked Man
The Adventure of Wisteria Lodge
The Adventure of Silver Blaze
The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet
The Final Problem
The Adventure of the Empty House
The Adventure of the Golden Pince-Nez
The Adventure of the Three Students
The Adventure of the Solitary Cyclist
The Adventure of Black Peter
The Adventure of the Norwood Builder
The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans
The Adventure of the Veiled Lodger
The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire
The Adventure of the Missing Three-Quarter
The Adventure of the Abbey Grange
The Adventure of the Devil’s Foot
The Adventure of the Dancing Men
The Adventure of the Retired Colourman
The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton
The Adventure of the Six Napoleons
The Problem of Thor Bridge
The Adventure of the Priory School
The Adventure of the Shoscombe Old Place
The Adventure of the Three Garridebs
The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax
The Adventure of the Illustrious Client
The Adventure of the Red Circle
The Adventure of the Blanched Soldier
The Adventure of the Three Gables
The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone
The Adventure of the Creeping Man
The Adventure of the Lion’s Mane
His Last Bow

Common arrangements of the canon:

Novels
A Study in Scarlet
The Sign of the Four
The Hound of the Baskervilles
The Valley of Fear

Short Story Collections
Titles were sometimes changed when they were arranged into various short story collection, such as The Gloria Scott became The Adventure of the Gloria Scott

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
A Scandal in Bohemia
The Red-Headed League
A Case of Identity
The Boscombe Valley Mystery
The Five Orange Pips
The Man with the Twisted Lip
The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle
The Adventure of the Speckled Band
The Adventure of the Engineer’s Thumb
The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor
The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet
The Adventure of the Copper Beeches

The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes
The Adventure of Silver Blaze
The Adventure of the Cardboard Box
The Adventure of the Yellow Face
The Adventure of the Stockbroker’s Clerk
The Adventure of the Gloria Scott
The Adventure of the Musgrave Ritual
The Adventure of the Reigate Squires
The Adventure of the Crooked Man
The Adventure of the Resident Patient
The Adventure of the Greek Interpreter
The Adventure of the Naval Treaty
The Final Problem

The Return of Sherlock Holmes
The Adventure of the Empty House
The Adventure of the Norwood Builder
The Adventure of the Dancing Men
The Adventure of the Solitary Cyclist
The Adventure of the Priory School
The Adventure of Black Peter
The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton
The Adventure of the Six Napoleons
The Adventure of the Three Students
The Adventure of the Golden Pince-Nez
The Adventure of the Missing Three-Quarter
The Adventure of the Abbey Grange
The Adventure of the Second Stain

His Last Bow: Some Later Reminiscences of Sherlock Holmes
Preface by John H. Watson, M.D.
The Adventure of Wisteria Lodge
The Adventure of the Red Circle
The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans
The Adventure of the Dying Detective
The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax
The Adventure of the Devil’s Foot
His Last Bow

The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes
The Adventure of the Illustrious Client
The Adventure of the Blanched Soldier
The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone
The Adventure of the Three Gables
The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire
The Adventure of the Three Garridebs
The Problem of Thor Bridge
The Adventure of the Creeping Man
The Adventure of the Lion’s Mane
The Adventure of the Veiled Lodger
The Adventure of Shoscombe Old Place
The Adventure of the Retired Colourman

Authorized Pastiches
The Exploits of Sherlock Holmes
short story collection by Adrian Conan Doyle and John Dickson Carr

The House of Silk
a Sherlock Holmes novel by Anthony Horowitz

Moriarty
sequel by Anthony Horowitz

2 comments:

  1. Conan Doyle is a favorite of mine with Sherlock perhaps the best. I have read the Sherlock canon several times. Enjoy!!

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    Replies
    1. I'm taking this very slow but I'm thoroughly enjoying it. With just a few exceptions, they are mostly first time reads for me.

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