The Canon

The 4 Sherlock Holmes novels

      A Study in Scarlet  (Dec. 1887)  The 1st published Holmes story

      The Sign of Four  (Early 1890)  

     The first two novels were written before any short stories.

      The Hound of the Baskervilles  (August 1901 - April 1902)

      The Valley of Fear  (Sept. 1914 - May 1915)  


The 5 original Holmes short story collections  (56 stories in all)

Prior to being published as collections, the individual stories appeared in a monthy magazine, almost all in London's The Strand Magazine.


NOTE: The prefix "The Adventure of" has been removed from the titles of the dozens of stories that begin with it

NOTE:  The most popular Holmes stories are listed in bold type


The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes  (1891 - 1892)  -  12 stories

      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 Blue Carbuncle   
      The Speckled Band    
      The Engineer's Thumb
      The Noble Bachelor
      The Beryl Coronet
      The Copper Beeches


The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes  (1893)  -  12 stories

      Silver Blaze  
      The Yellow Face
      The Stockbroker's Clerk
      The “Gloria Scott”          -  Holmes' 1st case
      The Musgrave Ritual      -  Holmes 2nd case
      The Reigate Squires (or Reigate Puzzle) 
      The Crooked Man
      The Resident Patient
      The Greek Interpreter            -  1st story with Mycroft
      The Naval Treaty    
      The Final Problem               -  Holmes and Professsor James Moriarty perish at Reichenbach Falls


1902  -  The novel The Hound of the Baskervilles


The Return of Sherlock Holmes  (1903 - 1904)  -  13 stories

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


His Last Bow  (1917)  -  7 stories plus Preface & Epilogue 

      Preface by John H. Watson, M.D.  (1917)
      Wisteria Lodge   (1908)
      The Cardboard Box  (1892)
      The Red Circle  (1911)
      The  Bruce-Partington Plans  (1908)
      The Dying Detective  (1913)
      The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax  (1911)
      The Devil's Foot  (1910)
      His Last Bow. An Epilogue of Sherlock Holmes  (1917)  -  Holmes and Watson last meet. 


The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes  (1927)  - 12 stories

      The Illustrious Client  (1924)
      The Blanched Soldier  (1926)
      The Mazarin Stone  (1921)
      The Three Gables  (1926)
      The Sussex Vampire  (1924)
      The Three Garridebs  (1924)
      The Problem of Thor Bridge  (1922)
      The Creeping Man  (1923)
      The Lion's Mane  (1926)
      The Veiled Lodger  (1927)
      Shoscombe Old Place  (1927)
      The Retired Colourman  (1926)


Annotated Sherlock Holmes collections:

Baring-Gould, William S.  The Annotated Sherlock Holmes: The Four Novels and Fifty-Six Short Stories Complete (ordered chronologically by case date, not publication date)

It is common for the 2 volumes set to be sold in "very good" used condition on Amazon for about $30, sometimes less.

     In two hardcover volumes  (1,500 pages, 1967)  $151.00

         Click here to find in "very-good" used condition (much cheaper)


     In two hardcover volumes  (1,400 pages, 1988)  $177.00 

         Click here to find in "very-good" used condition (much cheaper)


     In one (new) hardcover volume  (1,592 pages, 1992)  $ 39.92  (a nice price, but it is very heavy to hold)

         Click here to find in "very-good" used condition (much cheaper)



This can be borrowed at the Jacksonville Public Library

Klinger, Leslie S.  The New Annotated Sherlock Holmes  (3 volumes)

     This set came out after 2000.  It received very good reviews, but is very expensive.  There are three volumes:


         The Complete Short Stories, Vol I

         The Complete Short Stories, Vol II

         The Complete Novels

     Volumes I and 2 can be purchased separately or as a set

      Click here to see the various offerings