The Sherlock Holmes Collection

Like many people, I was familiar with Sherlock to since childhood. I'd read a couple of stories in high school, seen a few Sherlock Holmes movies. This collection of Sherlock Holmes stories contains an exhaustive collection of original Sherlock Holmes stories written in Victorian English. I loved these stories, both novels and novella's. I appreciated the ability to highlight a word and get the definition because I was unfamiliar with.many of the old English words and terms. Even for a rabid reader, this collection offers many hours of reading. It kept my interest all through the collection because no one story is too long in and of itself. The writing is so convincing that I had to look up Sherlock Holmes after finishing reading the collection because I was convinced Watson and Holmes must have been real people! I thoroughly enjoyed being transported back in time to 1880's and 1890's London where Holmes done most of his work. Doyle's descriptions of the man and the places he lived and worked are amazingly vivid. Nearly every time I was sure I had a case figured out, I would be surprised at the outcome and would find myself saying "of course, that was so obvious!" I would recommend this collection for everyone from teens through retirees! I came to love the stories that contained the infamous Professor Moriarty, Holmes' chief nemesis. I also enjoyed meeting Holmes brother, Mylof, who, though blessed with the same uncanny ability for deductive reasoning as his more famous brother, instead used his skills in service to the English government instead of crime fighting. Whether you're familiar with Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson's adventures, or have never read a Sherlock Holmes book, I believe most people will find this collection to be addictive reading once you start. There are some typos, and unless you're a scholar in vintage English language, you will probably do as I did and consult the embedded dictionary often, but I was truly sorry when I read the last story. I read at least 2 or 3 stories a day for weeks and yet I crave more. For a free book, you can't go wrong here. Go ahead, give it a shot... I think you'll be happy you did!

This was free on Amazon. I have read or listened 🎶 to all of the stories individually or as last of other multiple story books 📚. I would recommend this collection and author to 👍 readers and fans of Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Watson and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. 2023 😀😯👑🏰

The mysteries themselves are much better than five stars. The only thing that mars this collection is that about halfway through, the compiler became lazy in proofreading. Errors in spelling make that clear. But the stories themselves are delightful, as their long-standing popularity amply proves. An hour or two with a good cigar, a nice beverage near your elbow, and these stories is very nice time indeed.

Very good collection of Holmes stories. The stores are great and wonderful to read. Nice to have all in one place.

Being a Gary Jennings devotee, this 1200 page tome didn’t deter me. I’d read a few Sherlock Holmes stories in my life, but never really considered myself a fan, by any means. It was only after being captivated by the BBC‘s current version of Sherlock, that I decided to read more of Doyle’s work. About halfway through, I was becoming tired of Sherlock; at 850 pages, I was thoroughly exhausted. But with 350 pages left, I dug in and went for the gold. Most people with common sense will take their time with this book, reading a few stories at a time. Unfortunately for me, I am not one of these people. Regardless, by the end, there’s no way I can give him less than five stars. Even if the stories are lackluster and rushed at times, the body of work Arthur Conan Doyle was able to accomplish and the quality thereof as a whole, deserves the best I can give; because his best is exactly what he gave to so many readers- and it still shows- over a century and a half later.

If you haven't read the Holmes books and you love mysteries you really should give them a go. These might be older stories and books, but they are pretty timeless. Absent is any of the flowery Victorian phrasing, these are told in a straightforward way that should be more closely emulated by the scores of writers following in Doyle's footsteps. there are a few very minor formatting issues with the digital transformation, just the usual stuff though. Some times a capital I turns into a T, etc. Still it's free and the stories and books are all here. A must for any mystery buff!

I just bought the Kindle version of this book. I have a couple of other versions already (that I can now expunge forever), but they are all US versions. Many people may not realize that the manuscripts were altered when they were published in the US. For instance, The Reigate Squires became The Reigate Puzzle. The rival stables in Silver Blaze changed from Capleton to Mapleton (goodness only knows why). And some entire passages were omitted. For example, in the Yellow Face, there is a whole passage where Holmes talks about the putting of sham flies into the sham amber of pipes that is completely missing from US editions. So far I have also not come across any of the egregious typos that appear in other Kindle editions of Holmes. There are no illustrations, as another reviewer has pointed out, but as I already own an excellent two volume annotated hardcover set by William S. Baring-Gould, that does not bother me. I just wanted this to read while traveling. Update 5/27/2014 I would take off 1/2 a star because there is not a decent table of contents. You cannot jump to an individual story. I didn't realize how important that is until I lost my place while reading!

For the hardcover books in a slip case: The print is good and I have not noticed any defects. I find the text to be on the smaller side; I would not want to read these books in low light conditions. The book bindings are exceptional. They feel nice in my hands and do not show signs of wear after being read. I do not like that two stories are combined into one book. "A Study in Scarlet" and "The Sign of the Four" should be split into two different books. The same goes for "The Hound of the Baskervilles" and "The Valley of Fear". If they were trying to save space in the set they should not have included a blank journal: a blank journal that is not shown in the pictures of the product. The blank journal seems like a good idea, but it is something that does not fit in with the theme of the book set. This product is a book set and not a detectives set; if you are taking notes it will be in a notebook and not in the supplied Journal. I view it as unneeded and it makes the case bigger. Because of the combined stories and the blank journal I took off two stars. As is, I would not repurchase this product. If they separate stories into individual books (with or without the journal) I would repurchase this product.