The Complete Sherlock Holmes comprises four novels and fifty-six short stories revolving around the world’s most popular and influential fictional detective—the eccentric, arrogant, and ingenious Sherlock Holmes. He and his trusted friend, Dr. Watson, step from Holmes’s comfortable quarters at 221b Baker Street into the swirling fog of Victorian London to exercise that unique combination of detailed observation, vast knowledge, and brilliant deduction. Inevitably, Holmes rescues the innocent, confounds the guilty, and solves the most perplexing puzzles known to literature.
Volume I of The Complete Sherlock Holmes starts with Holmes’s first appearance, A Study in Scarlet, a chilling murder novel complete with bloodstained walls and cryptic clues, followed by the baffling The Sign of Four, which introduces Holmes’s cocaine problem and Watson’s future wife. The story collections The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes feature such renowned tales as “A Scandal in Bohemia,” “The Red-Headed League,” …
The Complete Sherlock Holmes comprises four novels and fifty-six short stories revolving around the world’s most popular and influential fictional detective—the eccentric, arrogant, and ingenious Sherlock Holmes. He and his trusted friend, Dr. Watson, step from Holmes’s comfortable quarters at 221b Baker Street into the swirling fog of Victorian London to exercise that unique combination of detailed observation, vast knowledge, and brilliant deduction. Inevitably, Holmes rescues the innocent, confounds the guilty, and solves the most perplexing puzzles known to literature.
Volume I of The Complete Sherlock Holmes starts with Holmes’s first appearance, A Study in Scarlet, a chilling murder novel complete with bloodstained walls and cryptic clues, followed by the baffling The Sign of Four, which introduces Holmes’s cocaine problem and Watson’s future wife. The story collections The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes feature such renowned tales as “A Scandal in Bohemia,” “The Red-Headed League,” and “The Musgrave Ritual.”
Tired of writing stories about Holmes, his creator, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, killed him off at the end of “The Final Problem,” the last tale in The Memoirs. But the public outcry was so great that eight years later he published the masterful The Hound of the Baskervilles, which supposedly takes place before Holmes’s death.
The separate Volume II of The Complete Sherlock Holmes collects the remaining accounts of Holmes’s exploits, including “The Adventure of the Empty House,” which reveals the elaborate circumstances behind Holmes’s literary resurrection.
(front flap)
Beh, che dire, dovevo leggere altro ma ho finito questo. Volevo togliermi questo mattoncino dalle scatole. Mattoncino che mi è piaciuto un po' ma non quanto avrei voluto.
Certi racconti erano più belli di altri, tipo il mastino dei Baskerville o la valle della paura o uno studio in rosso. Gli altri sono stati un po' meh. Belli eh, ma meh.
Tutto sommato è stata una buona e bella lettura. Da non rifare però, soprattutto con questo volume così grosso. No, se proprio vorrò rileggere di Sherlock Holmes, prenderò i singoli. Anche perché rileggerei solo quelli che mi son veramente piaciuti!
Review of 'The Penguin Complete Sherlock Holmes' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
I adore the Sherlock Holmes canon, and this has to be the preeminent audio edition. It is splendid from start to finish. I can't imagine a better narrator than Stephen Fry, whose mellifluous voice, and deft use of accent and characterization bring every nuance of these classic stories to vibrant life. Early in the set, I was mesmerized by Stephen Fry's adept voice acting, but in the later chapters I heard only Holmes, Watson, and their supporting characters.
My singular critique is that Fry's default "male American" voice appeared with little variation between the stories which called for it, which left a very minor blemish in the veil of believability in the separateness of the characters. There were variations for other "male American" characters, especially when several appeared in a single story, but this standard voice was uniquely identifiable enough to stand out.
This is a phenomenal achievement, and if …
I adore the Sherlock Holmes canon, and this has to be the preeminent audio edition. It is splendid from start to finish. I can't imagine a better narrator than Stephen Fry, whose mellifluous voice, and deft use of accent and characterization bring every nuance of these classic stories to vibrant life. Early in the set, I was mesmerized by Stephen Fry's adept voice acting, but in the later chapters I heard only Holmes, Watson, and their supporting characters.
My singular critique is that Fry's default "male American" voice appeared with little variation between the stories which called for it, which left a very minor blemish in the veil of believability in the separateness of the characters. There were variations for other "male American" characters, especially when several appeared in a single story, but this standard voice was uniquely identifiable enough to stand out.
This is a phenomenal achievement, and if you're a Holmes fan I would hold this up—along with the Jeremy Brett television series—as one of the definitive, canonical Holmes collections.
Review of 'The Penguin complete SherlockHolmes' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
I'm reading the kindle edition of this book. I doubt there is anyone who hasn't heard of Mr. Holmes yet but it's not wrong to repeat - it's one of the greatest books ever. There are a lot to love but here are the top three: i) Hints - there are always enough hints to track the progress but never enough to reveal the suspense. Conan Doyle balances this really well. That's why Sherlock Holmes remains my all time favorite ii) Cleverness - Seems like the author has a never ending pool of ideas. Story after story there is something or the other that makes you say wow. iii) English - It's fascinating to see the choice of words and phrases of (not so) old English.
