The Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Sherlock Holmes was created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in 1887 and he is probably one of the most famous fictional detectives to date. He is especially famous for his powers of observation and deduction which come across as almost supernatural at times. In his stories, he is usually accompanied by his equally as famous friend, Dr. John H. Watson who is also the narrator of most of the stories.

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes first appeared in The Strand Magazine where the stories were published on a monthly basis for a year. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes as a book was first published in 1892 and it contains the full set of these 12 short stories. Download The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes PDF book and enjoy 12 of Sir Arthur C. Doyle’s most famous Sherlock Holmes stories.

The Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes PDF

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Is The Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes PDF Free To Download?

Yes, it is! The Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes was published in 1892 so it is now in the public domain. You are therefore welcome to download and read it for free!

The Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes Summary (Spoilers Ahead)

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes is a compilation of stories that were written by Arthur Conan Doyle in 1891. They were first published in a monthly magazine called The Strand Magazine in London and proved so popular that they were published as a complete book in 1892. All in all Arthur C Doyle published four Sherlock Holmes novels and 56 short stories. These are the stories that appeared in The Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes book.

A Scandal in Bohemia

In A Scandal in Bohemia, the King of Bohemia has an affair with a beautiful opera singer by the name of Irene Adler. There is a photograph of the two lovers that the king would like back because he is scared that Irene will use it to blackmail him. The king is engaged to marry the daughter of the King of Scandinavia and he doesn’t want his affair and the photograph to derail his marriage.

The King of Bohemia hires Sherlock Holmes to get the photograph back and, while Sherlock Holmes does find the photo, Irene manages to leave the country before he can get it back from her. She however leaves behind a portrait of herself for the king and a letter for Sherlock Holmes. Irene is the only person to have outwitted Sherlock Holmes.

And that was how a great scandal threatened to affect the kingdom of Bohemia, and how the best plans of Mr. Sherlock Holmes were beaten by a woman’s wit. He used to make merry over the cleverness of women, but I have not heard him do it of late. And when he speaks of Irene Adler, or when he refers to her photograph, it is always under the honorable title of the woman.

The Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes – A Scandal In Bohemia

The Red-Headed League

In The Red-Headed League, we meet Jabez Wilson. He is a red-headed pawnbroker who was offered a job simply because of his red hair. It was a menial job where he was asked to simply copy the Encyclopedia Britannica. It however kept him away from his shop for long periods of time.

After two months the job suddenly ended. Jabez then contacted Sherlock Holmes to help him find out what happened. It is discovered that two thieves had dug a tunnel from Jabez Wilson’s shop to a bank and they were going to use the tunnel to rob the bank. Sherlock Holmes contacts the police inspector and the bank manager and they hide in the vault of the bank where they manage to catch the two thieves.

A Case Of Identity

In A Case Of Identity, a young woman by the name of Mary Sutherland asks for Sherlock Holmes’s help after her fiance, Hosmer Angel disappears on the morning of her wedding. However, before his disappearance he makes Mary promise that she will remain faithful to him regardless of what may happen.

Sherlock Holmes discovers that Mary’s stepfather had disguised himself as a Hosmer Angel in order to trick Mary into staying a spinster all her life. He did this to try to maintain his control of her money and her inheritance.

The Boscombe Valley Mystery

In the Boscombe Valley Mystery, a man by the name of Charles McCarty has been brutally murdered. His son, James McCarthy is suspected of being the murderer because there is a lot of evidence that has been gathered against him. A young woman by the name of Alice Turner hires holmes because she believes James McCarthy is innocent. Sherlock Holmes discovers that James is innocent and manages to get him acquitted.

The Five Orange Pips

A wealthy man by the name of John Openshaw contacts Sherlock Holmes. He tells Sherlock Holmes about how his uncle had died a couple of months after receiving a letter with five orange seeds inside it along with just the letters “K.K.K” written on it. His father received a similar letter and he also died shortly after receiving it. John himself had now also received the same letter and he feared for his life.

Sherlock Holmes starts investigating the case but John Openshaw is killed shortly thereafter. Sherlock discovers who the killers are and sends them the same letter with five orange seeds. The killers are then lost at sea shortly thereafter and are never seen or heard from again!

The Man With The Twisted Lip

In The Man With The Twisted Lip, a man by the name of Neville St. Clair disappears. His wife swears that she saw him in the window of an opium den but on investigation, she only finds a beggar who said that he never saw Neville St. Clair.

When St. Clair’s clothes are later found in the room, the beggar is arrested for the crime. However, shortly thereafter St. Claire’s wife receives a letter from him saying that she should not worry about him. Sherlock Holmes soon discovers that the beggar is in fact St. Claire himself and that he has been living a double life because he made more money as a beggar than an average man.

The Adventure Of The Blue Barbuncle

A precious stone by the name of The Blue Barbuncle is stolen and a local plumber with a criminal record is arrested for the crime. The stone was stolen from the hotel suite of the Countess of Morcar. However, the stone is soon found in a Christmas goose that was dropped during a scuffle in the street. After investigating the case Holmes discovers that the Head Attendant at the hotel and the Countess’s maid had framed the poor plumber for the theft. The stone was then fed to a goose in an attempt to hide it.

The Adventure Of The Speckled Band

In The Adventure Of The Speckled Band, a young woman by the name of Helen Stoner contacts Sherlock Holmes because she believes her stepfather may be trying to kill her. She is engaged and her stepfather would lose a substantial part of his inheritance if Helen got married. Helen tells Holmes that her sister had died a couple of years earlier shortly before her wedding and her stepfather had asked her to stay in the bedroom where her sister had died.

The Adventure Of The Engineer’s Thumb

When an engineer by the name of Victor Hatherley survives an attempted murder, Sherlock Holmes discovers that a very suspicious man by the name of Lysander Stark has been counterfeiting coins using Victor Hatherley’s engineering equipment. When Victor discovered what he was doing they tried to kill him. However, when they went to confront the criminals they found that the house was on fire and the Lysander Stark and his gang of criminals had disappeared.

The Adventure Of The Noble Bachelor

In The Adventure Of The Noble Bachelor, an American woman by the name of Hatty Doran disappears directly after her wedding. Her husband, Lord Robert St. Simon contacts Sherlock Holmes to help find her. It is soon discovered that Hatty had run away with her actual husband who she thought had died.

The Adventure Of The Beryl Coronet

A banker by the name of Alexander Holder contacts Sherlock Holmes after a very precious Beryl Caronet is damaged in an attempted robbery in his home. Alexander Holder was concerned about the security of the beryl coronet at his bank so he decided to store it in his safe at home. He had told his son Arthur and his niece Mary about it.

That same night, Auther was caught red-handed with the coronet and although he denied trying to steal it there was a corner of the coronet missing. On investigation, Sherlock Holmes finds out that Mary had been having an affair with a friend of Arthur’s who loved to gamble. Mary had tried to steal the coronet but Arthur had tried to stop her with the corner of the coronet getting damaged in the scuffle.

The Adventure Of The Copper Beeches

In The Adventure Of The Copper Beeches, a young woman by the name of Violet Hunter contacts Sherlock Holmes. She has been offered a job as a governess with very good pay. However, as part of her employment, she has to cut her hair along with a number of other unusual conditions. She takes the job but contacts Holmes shortly thereafter because strange things start happening and she finds a sealed-off section to the house.

The Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes Movies & Adaptations

It is said that Sherlock Holmes is probably one of the most popular characters in film, television and radio.

The four-volumes of the Universal Sherlock Holmes (1995) compiled by Ronald B. De Waal lists over 25,000 Holmes-related productions and products. They include the original writings, “together with the translations of these tales into sixty-three languages, plus Braille and shorthand, the writings about the Writings or higher criticism, writings about Sherlockians and their societies, memorials and memorabilia, games, puzzles and quizzes, phonograph records, audio and video tapes, compact discs, laser discs, ballets, films, musicals, operettas, oratorios, plays, radio and television programs, parodies and pastiches, children’s books, cartoons, comics, and a multitude of other items — from advertisements to wine — that have accumulated throughout the world on the two most famous characters in literature.”

Wikipedia | Adaptations Of Sherlock Holmes

From 1984 to 1994 a TV series was produced by Granada Television called The Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes. Jeremy Brett played Sherlock Holmes and many think he was one of the best Sherlock Holmes ever. It is also said that he would specifically go out of his way to make sure that the series remained true to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s original writings. All in all, five films and 36 episodes were made before Jeremy Brett passed away in 1995. Most of the stories in The Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes PDF book are featured in this series. Here is the first in the series – A Scandal In Bohemia.

The Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes: A Scandal In Bohemia

Conclusion

The Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes short stories are the beginning of a legend and should definitely be on your to-read list especially if you love everything Sherlock Holmes! Download The Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes PDF book free here.

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