The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

 ‘'It was a cold morning of the early spring, and we sat after breakfast on either side of a cheery fire in the old room at Baker Street. A thick fog rolled down between the lines of dun-coloured houses, and the opposing windows loomed like dark, shapeless blurs through the heavy yellow wreaths. Our gas was lit and shone on the white cloth and glimmer of china and metal, for the table had not been cleared yet. Sherlock Holmes had been silent all the morning, dipping continuously into the advertisement columns of a succession of papers until at last, having apparently given up his search, he had emerged in no very sweet temper to lecture me upon my literary shortcomings.''

‘'To Sherlock Holmes she is always the woman.''

A Scandal in Bohemia: The Woman who defeated the great detective in the funny hat.
(Sorry, I just could NOT resist the reference...)

The Red-Headed League: A suspicious league hires red-headed men to copy the Encyclopedia Britannica. Yes, something is definitely rotten...

A Case of Identity: Sherlock aids a distraught young lady whose fiance has mysteriously disappeared. This story was deliciously depicted in one of those perfect ‘flash cases' in BBC's Sherlock in the even more perfect episode The Empty Hearse.

Yes, I used the word ‘'perfect'' twice.

The Boscombe Valley Mystery: Sherlock is required to prove the innocence of a young man who is accused of the murder of his father.

The Five Orange Pips: A story in which Sherlock investigates a case of five orange pips sent in an empty envelope, a ‘'message'' of death, and finds himself dealing with the tentacles of the abominable KKK.

The Man With the Twisted Lip: The disappearance of a husband brings Sherlock into opium dens in a story that has always reminded me of Agatha Christie's The Disappearance of Mr Davenheim.

The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle: A classic Christmas story in which Sherlock and Dr Watson find themselves involved in a peculiar mystery centred around a precious blue stone. And a goose.

The Adventure of the Speckled Band: Strange deaths plague a woman's family and Sherlock comes face-to-face with a horrible patriarch in a wonderful, atmospheric story.

The Adventure of the Engineer's Thumb: An injured thumb leads Sherlock to a gang of coiners and London's underbelly.

The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor: When a bride disappears on the day of her wedding, Sherlock discovers secrets whose roots can be found years ago in San Francisco.

The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet: An invaluable coronet reveals the secrets within a prominent family.

The Adventure of the Copper Beeches: In one of the most fascinating stories, a young woman asks for Sherlock's advice after she has been promised a generous salary. However, there is a strange condition. She has to obey her employers' requests which include cutting her hair short. Cruelty, obsession, love and Violet Hunter steals the show...

Always an immense joy to revisit Sherlock and Dr Watson's adventures. And this particular editiom is just beautiful!

‘'No; I shall be my own police. When I have spun the web they may take the flies, but not before.''