Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, who first appeared in publication in 1887. Created by British author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Holmes is identified as a ''consulting detective'' in the stories. Known for his uncanny proficiency with observation, forensic science, and logical reasoning, which he utilizes to startling effect, Holmes solves mysteries large and small much to the continued amazement of his partner Dr. Watson.Sherlock Holmes is arguably the world’s most famous fictional private detective and is one of the best-known and most universally recognizable literary characters in any genre. Considered by many a British cultural icon, Holmes and his stories have had a profound and lasting effect on mystery writing and popular culture as a whole, with both the original stories as well as thousands of others written by authors other than Conan Doyle being adapted into stage and radio plays, television, films, video games, and other media for over one hundred years.Conan Doyle wrote four novels and fifty-six short stories that featured Holmes. All but four stories were narrated by Holmes' friend and biographer, Dr. John H. Watson, two having been narrated by Holmes himself, and two others written in the third person. The first two stories, short novels, appeared in Beeton's Christmas Annual for 1887 and Lippincott's Monthly Magazine in 1890. The character grew tremendously in popularity with the beginning of the first series of short stories in The Strand Magazine in 1891. Further series of short stories and two serialized novels appeared almost right up to Conan Doyle's death in 1930. The tales cover a period from around 1878 up to 1903, with a final case in 1914. In this collection you will find the following adventures of Sherlock Holmes: Novels: • A Study in Scarlet • The Sign of the Four • The Hound of the Baskervilles • The Valley of Fear Short Story Collections: • The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes • The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes • The Return of Sherlock Holmes • His Last Bow • The Casebook of Sherlock HolmesAs an added bonus, also included in the collection is:Some Personalia about Sherlock Holmes (an article on Holmes written by Arthur Conan Doyle published in The Strand Magazine in December 1917).