I suppose it does not come as a shock that I loved reading Sherlock Holmes stories as a kid. They were among the first adult mysteries I ever read. But because I started with his very first case, A Study in Scarlet, I brought the book back to the library and didn’t go near Sherlock for a couple more years. That story is ridiculously long and a little boring for a kid. The book I should have started with was The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. Great stories, all of them short.
I wrote two Sherlock-themed posts for SleuthSayers in the past year, devoted to the new Netflix series, Enola Holmes, based on the life of Sherlock’s youngest sibling, a teenager named Enola. Actress Millie Bobby Brown stars as the titular character, based on a series of books by the Edgar Award-winning writer, Nancy Springer.
After I posted these two articles, I went back in the blog’s archives and discovered two other Sherlock posts I’d written and forgotten about. So here they are in one place. At this point, I probably won’t write about Sherlock again until another installment of Enola drops.
Here are the posts in order from most recent to least:
Sherlock’s Kid Sister Returns!
For the Love of Enola
A Sherlock Holmes Canon for Kids
Sherlock Holmes: Brilliant on Paper
For what it’s worth, if you are interested in an ebook version of the original Sherlock Holmes stories, the best digital version I’ve found is the one by Top Five Classics. It’s officially licensed by the Conan Doyle Estate, and contains all four novels, all 56 stories, and all the original illustrations by Sidney Paget and other artists. It’s a wonderful book, and it’s only $2.99.
I always like to point out great editions of public domain works because once those stories become free for the world, sloppy publishers issue crappy digital and print editions. I once deleted a “complete” Sherlock Holmes collection from my device when it became clear that no one had bothered to proofread the thing, and that they had erroneously inserted the part of one story into another. Stick with conscientious publishers. You will be happy with the Top Five pick, I assure you.
Photo of Sherlock Holmes pub, London, above, copyright Denise Kiernan 2022