A Study in Scarlet & The Sign of The Four

by Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan; Davies, David Stuart

• ISBN13: 9781909621763
• ISBN10: 1909621765
• Edition: Unabridged
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2016-08-23
• Publisher: Collectors Library

Summary

A Study in Scarlet introduced the great scientific detective Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson, his friend and chronicler, to the reading public. This novel, a cornerstone in the annals of crime fiction, tells of their first meeting and how they set up in rooms together in Baker Street. It is not long before the charismatic sleuth and his faithful companion are plunged into a dramatic mystery which starts with the discovery of a corpse in a deserted house and the letters RACHE scrawled on the wall in blood. The Sign of the Four, the second Holmes novel, presents the detective with one of his greatest challenges - solving the theft of the great Agra treasure in India. In these two classic novels you have the foundation of the Sherlock Holmes legend. As well as his witty and illuminating Afterword to this edition, David Stuart Davies, the illustrious editor of Sherlock magazine, has provided a fascinating chronology of the Sherlock Holmes Stories.

With an Afterword by David Stuart Davies, a Fellow of the Royal Literary Fund, and an authority on Sherlock Holmes. He has written the Afterwords for all the Macmillan Collector's Library Holmes volumes.

Designed to appeal to the book lover, the Macmillan Collector's Library is a series of beautifully bound gift editions of much loved classic titles. Bound in real cloth, printed on high quality paper, and featuring ribbon markers and gilt edges, Macmillan Collector's Library are books to love and treasure.

Author Biography

Arthur Conan Doyle was born in Edinburgh in 1859. After a rigorous Jesuit education, at Stonyhurst College in Lancashire, he trained to be a doctor at Edinburgh University. Eventually he set up in medical practice in Southsea and, during the quiet periods between patients, he turned his hand to writing. Although Sherlock Holmes was Doyle's greatest creation, he believed his historical novels such as Micah Clarke and The White Company were of greater literary quality. He also created the irascible Professor Challenger in The Lost World and the comic French soldier Brigadier Gerard who appeared in a series of short stories. Doyle was knighted in 1902. Towards the end of his life he devoted much of his time to his belief in Spiritualism, using his writings as a means of providing funds to support his activities in this field. He died in 1930.