The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes

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The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes is the final collection of Sherlock Holmes stories by Arthur Conan Doyle. Originally published in 1927, it contains stories published between 1921 and 1927.

1 Title of collection
2 Contents
3 Commentary
4 Texts in Wikisource

[edit] Title of collection

The first British edition and the first American edition of the collection were both published in June 1927. However, they had slightly different titles. The title of the British collection was The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes (hyphenated "Case-Book"), whereas the title of the American collection was The Case Book of Sherlock Holmes ("Case Book" as two words).

Further confusing the issue of the title, some later publishers would publish the collection under the title The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes ("Casebook" as a single word).

[edit] Contents

The original chronological order in which the stories in The Case-Book were published is as follows:

"The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone" (told in third-person)
"The Problem of Thor Bridge"
"The Adventure of the Creeping Man"
"The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire"
"The Adventure of the Three Garridebs"
"The Adventure of the Illustrious Client"
"The Adventure of the Three Gables"
"The Adventure of the Blanched Soldier" (narrated by Holmes)
"The Adventure of the Lion's Mane" (narrated by Holmes)
"The Adventure of the Retired Colourman"
"The Adventure of the Veiled Lodger"
"The Adventure of Shoscombe Old Place"

However, many newer editions of the The Case-Book favor the following ordering:

Because of the two orderings, "The Adventure of the Retired Colourman" has often been incorrectly identified as the last Sherlock Holmes story written by Arthur Conan Doyle to be published, when the last such story to be published is in fact "The Adventure of Shoscombe Old Place".

[edit] Commentary

The Case-Book is notable for containing three stories not narrated by Dr. Watson, as most Sherlock Holmes stories are. "The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone" is narrated in the third person, since it was adapted from a stage play in which Watson hardly appeared. "The Adventure of the Blanched Soldier" and "The Adventure of the Lion's Mane" are both narrated by Holmes himself, the latter being set after his retirement.

Most Holmesian aficionados and scholars consider the stories contained in The Case-Book to be among the least impressive in the Holmes canon. They were written at a time when Doyle was heavily immersed in his newfound passion for spiritualism and séances, and considerably less than interested in continuing to produce Sherlock Holmes stories, which he regarded by now as a distracting nuisance. By the time The Case-Book was published, 40 years had passed since publication of the first Holmes adventure, and the author's heart was no longer in his work, although sales remained very strong. A couple of the stories are comparable with Doyle's earlier work but in general this collection is considered a very much lesser entry in the Sherlock Holmes canon.