Chronological or Right Order To Read Sherlock Holmes' Novels and Stories

Who Doesn’t want to solve crimes and be like the great Sherlock Holmes?

Sherlock Holmes is one of the best British crime shows which is liked and loved by people from different parts of the world. The famous Sherlock Holmes show was aired on BBC, and it immediately made fans from all over the world!

So if you’re just starting or want a revision about Sherlock Holmes and do not know where to start from, this article will help you do that.

Who is Sherlock Holmes?

Sherlock Holmes is a fictional character written by British author Sir Arthur Conan-Doyle, Sherlock Holmes first appeared in 1887 in 'A Study in Scarlet' and last appeared in 1927 in 'The Advantage of Shoscombe Old Place'. This character is presented as a very intelligent, strong, and relatable detective whose observation skills are very interesting as his IQ level is placed at 190. Sherlock is one of the most intelligent characters ever written.

Sherlock Holmes, the fictional detective character is based on a real man named Dr. Joseph Bell, a renowned forensic scientist at Edinburgh University whom Canon-Doyle studied under. Canon created this character in the middle of his career as a doctor and a botanist and was 27 when he wrote A Study in Scarlet. Sherlock Holmes is not the first fictional detective to be read but C. Augusta Dupin and Monsieur Lecoq have not served such familiar household names.

What are Sherlock Holmes stories and Novels?

The Sherlock Holmes character was written in between the 80s to 90s. There is a total of 56 stories including 4 novels about Sherlock Holmes written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

The four novels are known as:

1. A Study in Scarlet (1887)
2. The Sign of the Four (1890)
3. The Hound of the Baskervilles (1901-1902)
4. The Valley of Fear (1914 to 1915)

The 56 short stories were compiled in five books. Below are the names of books in which these short stories were compiled:

1. The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes (1892)
2. The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes (1894)
3. The Return of Sherlock Holmes (1905)
4. His Last Bow (1817)
5. The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes (1817)

Now, below are the names of the stories covered in each book:

[1] The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes (1891 to 1892):

Published October 14, 1892, it includes 12 stories that were published between July 1891 to June 1892.

1. A Scandal in Bohemia 1891)
2. The Red-Headed League (1891)
3. A Case of Identity(1891)
4. The Boscombe Valley Mystery (1891)
5. The Five Orange Pips (1891)
6. The Man with the Twisted Lip (1891)
7. The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle (1892)
8. The Adventure of the Speckled Band (1892)
9. The Adventure of the Engineer's Thumb (1892)
10. The Adventure of the Noble Bachlor (1992)
11. The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet (1992)
12. The Adventure of the Copper Beeches (1992)

[2] The Memoirs of the Sherlock Holmes (1893-94)

It is also composed of 12 stories and is presented as the additional episode of the adventures between December 1892 to December 1893.

1. The Adventure of Silver Blaze (1902)
2. The Adventure of the Cardboard Box (1903)
3. The Adventure of the Yellow Face (1903)
4. The Adventure of the Stokbroker's Clerk (1903)
5. The Adventure of the Gloria Scott (1903)
6. The Adventure of the Musgrave Ritual (1903)
7. The Adventure of the Reigate Squire (1903)
8. The Adventure of the Crooked Man (1903)
9. The Adventure of the Resident Patient (1903)
10. The Adventure of the Greek Interpreter (1903)
11. The Adventure of the Naval Treaty (1903)
12. The Final Problem (1903)

[3] The Return of Sherlock Holmes (1903 to 1905)

This composition contains 13 stories published between October 1903 and December 1904.

1. The Adventure of the Empty House (1903)
2. The Adventure of the Norwood Builder (1903)
3. The Adventure of the Dancing Men (1903)
4. The Adventure of the Solitary Cyclist (1904)
5. The Adventure of the Priory School (1904)
6. The Adventure of Black Peter (1904)
7. The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton (1904)
8. The Adventure of the Six Napoleons (1904)
9. The Adventure of the Three Students (1904)
10. The Adventure of the Golden Prince-Nez (1904)
11. The Adventure of the Missing Three-Quarter (1904)
12. The Adventure of the Abbey Grange (1904)
13. The Adventure of the Second Stain (1904)

[4] His Last Bow (1908 to 1917)

The fourth Book composed of the Sherlock Holmes stories contains only seven stories that were published between 1908 to 1917.

1. The Adventure of the Wisteria Lodge (1908)
2. The Adventure of the Brice-Parington Plans (1908)
3. The Adventure of the Devil's Foot (1910)
4. The Adventure of the Red Circle (1911)
5. The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax (1911)
6. The Adventure of the Dying Detective (1913)
7. His Last Bow. The War Service of Sherlock Holmes. (1917)

[5] The Case-Boom of Sherlock Holmes (1921 to 1927)

This last book of Sherlock Holmes contains 12 stories. They were published from 1921 to 1927.

1. The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone (1921)
2. The Problem of the Thor Bridge (1822)
3. The Adventure of the Creeping Man (1923)
4. The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire (1924)
5. The Adventure of the Three Garridebs (1924)
6. The Adventure of the Illustrious Client (1924)
7. The Adventure of the Three Gables(1926)
8. The Adventure of the Blanched Soldier (1926)
9. The Adventure of the Lion's Mane (1924)
10. The Adventure of the Retired Colourman (1926)
11. The Adventure of the Veiled Lodger (1927)
12. The Adventure of Shoroscombe Old Place (1927)

Chronological way to read Sherlock Holmes Novels and stories?

The Chronological way to read the Sherlock Holmes Novels and stories, according to publishing manner will be:

We can start from “A Study in Scarlet” and then “The Sign of the four” novels. Then we should read two short stories straight, namely The adventure of Sherlock Holmes and The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, returning to two last novels and after that, we can read the rest of the books as the names and dates are mentioned earlier to follow chronological publication order. Otherwise one can read those novels and books without any order but they should start it from the beginning to enjoy and understand the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.

Which is the best among Sherlock Holmes stories and novels?

The most famous Sherlock Holmes stories are, The Hound of the Baskervilles, which is the scariest among all, then The sign of the Four ranks second and after this A Study in Scarlet, which is the first-ever Sherlock novel ranks in the third number while The Valley of the Fear is the least ranked novel by comparing the others.

The reason behind Sherlock Holmes still being so popular

The main character Sherlock Holmes is amazingly intelligent and strong. We still love the combination of Sherlock's intellect, his fascinating skills of assumptions, remarks, and the specific attitude in which Holmes works, which is worthy of admiring the Sherlock Holmes books. To this day, his stories are still full of inspiration which fictionalize the kinds, from new detective stories to television shows, movies, and much more success and desirable interest is predicted in the future as well.

The main idea of Sherlock Holmes's stories makes us learn that the value of observation develops knowledge that governs more power. Each story of Sherlock Holmes is a recurring motif of the wisdom and awareness that can be achieved about a person or a circumstance by performing nothing more than really looking instead of barely noticing.

Conclusion:

There is a reason why Sherlock Holmes has become a household name. The character has evolved over the years, however, the suspense of crimes has not which is precisely what the audience loves.

Also read: The Right Order To Read Nassim Nicholas Taleb Incerto Book Series

I hope this help you understand and in reading the right order of Sherlock Holmes novels and stories.