The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes

The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes is a collection of Sherlock Holmes stories, originally published in 1894, by Arthur Conan Doyle.

The twelve stories (eleven in American editions) of the Memoirs are:
    "Silver Blaze"
    "The Adventure of the Cardboard Box" (this story is in His Last Bow in American editions of the canon)
    "The Adventure of the Yellow Face"
    "The Adventure of the Stockbroker's Clerk"
    "The Adventure of the Gloria Scott"
    "The Adventure of the Musgrave Ritual"
    "The Adventure of the Reigate Squire"
    "The Adventure of the Crooked Man"
    "The Adventure of the Resident Patient"
    "The Adventure of the Greek Interpreter"
    "The Adventure of the Naval Treaty"
    "The Final Problem"

The first London edition of the Memoirs in 1894 did not include "The Adventure of the Cardboard Box", although all twelve stories had appeared in the Strand Magazine. The first U.S. edition did include the story, but it was very quickly replaced with a revised edition that omitted it.

The reasoning behind the suppression is unclear. In Britain the story was apparently removed at Doyle's request as it included adultery and so was unsuitable for younger readers. This may have also been the cause for the rapid removal of the story from the U.S. edition, and some sources state that the publishers believed the story was too scandalous for the American public.

As a result, this story was not republished in the U.S. until many years later, when it was added to His Last Bow. Even today, most American editions of the canon include it with His Last Bow, while most British editions keep the story in its original place in The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, as we do in this book.


Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930) was a Scottish physician and writer, most noted for his stories about the detective Sherlock Holmes, generally considered a milestone in the field of crime fiction, and for the adventures of Professor Challenger. He was a prolific writer whose other works include science fiction stories, plays, romances, poetry, non-fiction and historical novels.

Sherlock Holmes is a London-based "consulting detective" whose abilities border on the fantastic, Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to adopt almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve difficult cases.

Holmes, who first appeared in publication in 1887, was featured in four novels and 56 short stories.

Novels: A Study in Scarlet (1887), The Sign of the Four (1890), The Hound of the Baskervilles (1902) and The Valley of Fear (1915)

Short stories: The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1892), The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes (1894), The Return of Sherlock Holmes (1905), His Last Bow (1917) and The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes (1927)