About this title: This classic collection consists of the early mysteries featuring the unflappable Sherlock Holmes and his trustworthy assistant, Dr. Watson.
Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
"A brilliant London-based "consulting detective", Sherlock Holmes is famous for his intellectual prowess, and is renowned for his skillful use of astute observation, deductive reasoning and inference to solve difficult cases.
Stories included in this unabridged edition includes:
"The Adventure of the Greek Interpreter" ~ Mr. Melas, a Greek interpreter, tells a rather unnerving experience to Mycroft Holmes, who like his brother Sherlock Holmes, is remarkably endowed with powers of observation and deduction. Sherlock claims that his brother's powers actually outstrip his own, but he is a lazy, apathetic character who rarely uses his powers to their full potential. Melas was called upon one evening by a man named Harold Latimer to go to a house, supposedly in Kensington, to do some translation in a business matter.
"The Gloria Scott" ~ This story is related mainly by Holmes rather than Watson, and is the first case to which Holmes applied his powers of deduction, having treated it as a mere hobby until this time. A piece of trivia for Holmes's fans: the phrase "smoking gun" meaning undeniable guilt is often attributed to this short story.
"The Resident Patient" ~ Having been a brilliant student but a poor man, Dr. Trevelyan has found himself a participant in an unusual business arrangement. A man named Blessington, claiming to have some money to invest, has set Dr. Trevelyan up in premises with a prestigious address and paid all his expenses. In return, he demands three-fourths of all the money that the doctor's practice earns. However, something has happened to Mr. Blessington. He has become excitable and agitated, this after he said that he had read about a burglary somewhere in the city.
"The Boscombe Valley Mystery" ~ Set in 1888, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson are called down to Boscombe Valley to investigate the death of Mr. Charles McCarthy. James, his son, was seen by one witness following his father to the nearby pond, and another, a young girl, saw the two remonstrating with each other by the pond. There are some facts that simply do not seem to fit. Whom was McCarthy going to the pond to meet? He had told his serving-man that he had to keep an appointment there, from which he never came back alive. How could the meeting have been with James when McCarthy believed that his son was in Bristol? Why did McCarthy use the call "Cooee!", which his son is used to using? Why did he get angry with James? Why won't James reveal the exact nature of the conversation when his silence might well put his neck in a noose? How did a piece of clothing a few yards from James and his dying father vanish without a trace while James was right there? What did McCarthy's dying words about "a rat" mean? Who could have wanted McCarthy dead, if not James, and why? Is Miss Turner, who wants to marry James, somehow tied into all this?
"The Three Students" ~ Sherlock Holmes finds himself in a famous university town (probably either Oxford or Cambridge) when a tutor and lecturer of St Luke's College, Mr. Hilton Soames, brings him an interesting problem. Someone got into Soames's office and had a look at some galley proofs of an Ancient Greek exam that were lying on his desk. Soames's main concern is to avoid a scandal, but there is also money at stake. A sizeable scholarship will be awarded to the best student. The college and the whole university could wind up under a cloud if the cheater is not found and dealt with quickly.
"The Noble Bachelor" ~ The story entails the bride of the fictional Lord St. Simon disappearing on the day of their marriage. Lord St. Simon tells Holmes that he noticed a change in the young lady's mood just after the wedding ceremony. She was uncharacteristically sharp with him. The only obvious happening at the church where the wedding took place that was out of the ordinary was Hatty's little accident: She dropped her wedding bouquet and a gentleman in the front pew picked it up and handed it back to her.
"The Adventure of the Crooked Man" ~ Colonel James Barclay, of The Royal Mallows based at Aldershot Camp, is dead, apparently by violence, and his wife Nancy is the prime suspect. Holmes believes that the case is not what it at first appears to be. Although the staff are quite sure that they only heard the Colonel's and his wife's voices, Holmes is convinced that a third person came into the room at the time of the Colonel's death, and rather oddly, made off with the key. This Holmes deduces from footmarks found in the road, on the lawn, and in the morning room. Odder still, the mystery man seems to have brought an animal with him.
"The Five Orange Pips" ~ A young Sussex gentleman named John Openshaw has a strange story: in 1869 his uncle Elias Openshaw had suddenly come back to England to settle on an estate at Horsham, West Sussex after living for years in the United States as a Planter in Florida and serving as a Colonel in the Confederate Army. Strange things happened: papers from the locked room were burnt and a will was drawn up leaving the estate to John Openshaw. The Colonel's behaviour became bizarre-he would either lock himself in his room and drink or he would go shouting forth in a drunken sally with a pistol in his hand. On May 2, 1883 he was found dead in a garden pool.
Book Details:
Title The Mysterious Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (Puffin Classics) Author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Reviewed By Purplycookie"
""I can see nothing," said I (Watson), handing it back to my friend. "On the contrary, Watson, you can see everything. You fail however to reason from what you see. You are too timid in drawing your inferences." This is the heart of Sherlock Holmes' detective skills. He "not only sees, but also observes," drawing conclusions which are often bizarre in their peculiarity, but frightfully accurate. In this collection of mysteries, all of Holmes' abilities are tested as he solves A Scandal in Bohemia, The Red-Headed League, A Case of Identity, The Boscombe Valley Mystery, The Five Orange Pips, The Man with the Twisted Lip, The Blue Carbuncle, The Speckled Band, The Engineer's Thumb, The Noble Bachelor, The Beryl Coronet, and The Copper Beeches. I believe my personal favorites were The Red-Headed League and The Beryl Coronet, but they were all quite enjoyable pieces of fiction. A very fun and easy read."
"While not every story (or novel) is a five-star piece, the Holmes canon is intoxicatingly good.
I must single out this edition for praise because it lacks illustrations, letting Conan Doyle's prose and the reader's imagination do the work, and is properly typeset rather than being reproduced from the original magazine serializations. Some will dislike this manner of presentation, but I find it preferable."
"Classic Starts: The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes features abridged versions of six short stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The language is simplified for younger readers, but the essence of the original stories is not compromised. The book includes "A Scandal in Bohemia", "The Red-Headed League", "The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle", "The Greek Interpreter" and "The Adventure of the Six Napoleons".
There are several nice black and white illustrations to complement each story. My only criticism of the illustrations is that Watson seems too old. Dr. Watson was only a few years Sherlock Holmes' senior, but is depicted as much older in several screen adaptations. The illustrations in this book seem to be based more on the screen versions of the characters than the original Sidney Padget drawings. Padget's illustrations show the two men to be much closer in age. However, this is a very minor quibble on my part. The age difference will likely help young children differentiate between Holmes and Watson.
The modern, easy-to-read language and abridged format in this book make these classic stories accessible to younger readers who may find the complex vocabulary or length of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's original work too challenging. This would be a great choice for a 7-10 year old who enjoys mysteries but might not be ready to tackle the Sherlock Holmes books on their own just yet. Classic Starts: The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes also includes discussion questions to help broaden the reader's understanding of the stories."
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