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    The Complete Sherlock Holmes, Volume II (Barnes & Noble Classics Series)
    Unavailable
    The Complete Sherlock Holmes, Volume II (Barnes & Noble Classics Series)
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    The Complete Sherlock Holmes, Volume II (Barnes & Noble Classics Series)
    Ebook1,267 pages20 hours

    The Complete Sherlock Holmes, Volume II (Barnes & Noble Classics Series)

    By Arthur Conan Doyle and Kyle Freeman

    4.5/5

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    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    &&LDIV&&R&&LDIV&&R&&LI&&RThe Complete Sherlock Holmes, Volume II&&L/I&&R, by &&LB&&RSir Arthur Conan Doyle&&L/B&&R, is part of the &&LI&&RBarnes & Noble Classics&&L/I&&R&&LI&&R &&L/I&&Rseries, which offers quality editions at affordable prices to the student and the general reader, including new scholarship, thoughtful design, and pages of carefully crafted extras. Here are some of the remarkable features of &&LI&&RBarnes & Noble Classics&&L/I&&R: &&LDIV&&R
    • New introductions commissioned from today's top writers and scholars
    • Biographies of the authors
    • Chronologies of contemporary historical, biographical, and cultural events
    • Footnotes and endnotes
    • Selective discussions of imitations, parodies, poems, books, plays, paintings, operas, statuary, and films inspired by the work
    • Comments by other famous authors
    • Study questions to challenge the reader's viewpoints and expectations
    • Bibliographies for further reading
    • Indices & Glossaries, when appropriate
    All editions are beautifully designed and are printed to superior specifications; some include illustrations of historical interest. &&LI&&RBarnes & Noble Classics &&L/I&&Rpulls together a constellation of influences—biographical, historical, and literary—to enrich each reader's understanding of these enduring works.&&L/DIV&&R&&L/DIV&&R&&LP style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"&&R&&LI&&R&&L/I&&R &&L/P&&R&&LP style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"&&R&&LI&&RThe Complete Sherlock Holmes&&L/I&&R comprises four novels and fifty-six short stories revolving around the world’s most popular and influential fictional detective—the eccentric, arrogant, and ingenious Sherlock Holmes. He and his trusted friend, Dr. Watson, step from Holmes’s comfortable quarters at 221b Baker Street into the swirling fog of Victorian London to combine detailed observation and vast knowledge with brilliant deduction. Inevitably, Holmes rescues the innocent, confounds the guilty, and solves the most perplexing puzzles known to literature. &&LBR&&R&&LBR&&R&&LI&&RVolume II&&L/I&&R of &&LI&&RThe Complete Sherlock Holmes&&L/I&&R begins with &&LI&&RThe Return of Sherlock Holmes&&L/I&&R. &&LB&&RSir Arthur Conan Doyle&&L/B&&R, tired of writing about Holmes, had killed him off at the end of “The Final Problem,” the last tale in &&LI&&RThe Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes&&L/I&&R (found in &&LI&&RVolume I&&L/I&&R of &&LI&&RThe Complete Sherlock Holmes&&L/I&&R). Public demand for new Holmes stories was so great, however, that Conan Doyle eventually resurrected him. The first story in &&LI&&RThe Return&&L/I&
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBarnes & Noble Classics
    Release dateJun 1, 2009
    ISBN9781411431980
    Unavailable
    The Complete Sherlock Holmes, Volume II (Barnes & Noble Classics Series)
    Author

    Arthur Conan Doyle

    Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859–1930) was a Scottish writer and physician, most famous for his stories about the detective Sherlock Holmes and long-suffering sidekick Dr Watson. Conan Doyle was a prolific writer whose other works include fantasy and science fiction stories, plays, romances, poetry, non-fiction and historical novels.

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    Reviews for The Complete Sherlock Holmes, Volume II (Barnes & Noble Classics Series)

    4.5/5

    1,839 ratings39 reviews

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    • 4/5
      It's SOO GOOD. I had read two Sherlock Holmes stories while a kid and recently, I decided to read them ALL.. I love Sherlock Holmes SO MUCH :D! It just draws me in! :D
    • 5/5
      Loved every story. A very addictive read.
    • 4/5
      While it is handy to have the entire Canon in one volume, this edition contains a plethora of errors, as well as failing to correct the awkwardness that ensued when Doyle moved "The Cardboard Box." If you can manage it, spring for the 12-volume Oxford edition -- also unlike this volume, the Oxford books are a convenient size for carrying and reading.
    • 3/5
      my dad is obsessed with Sherlock! it was his shizzle when he was younger. So of course, he got me an entire set of a book series I don't even like. im not a huge mystery person. its not my scene. sorry dad...thanks anyway. I tried and read a good amount.
    • 5/5
      Whilst reading these stories you can see why they became such classics. Arthur Conan Doyle really sets the scene wonderfully, with each story making the reader speculate as to how the crime was committed. In Sherlock, Doyle created a fascinating character which is why he has stood the test of time with many an adaptation.
    • 5/5
      I purchased a gorgeous copy of the Complete Sherlock Holmes which included some nicely done vintage illustrations along with the most AMAZING narration performed by Simon Vance. I didn't read the entire book all at once, but savored the stories, interspersing them with other books. What a joy! I can see why Sherlock Holmes has become part of our culture with movies, TV shows, and the dozens of newly released mystery books that include him as a character. My biggest surprise was reading some of the novellas and seeing Arthur Conan Doyle's skill in describing a scene, or characters outside of the typical London mysteries. Great experience!
    • 4/5
      I had a hard time figuring out a rating for this first volume, because I really disliked the first two novels (weird Mormon tangent, anyone?), felt indifferent about a few more, and loved some others (especially Hound of the Baskervilles). On average, my rating probably falls between 3.5 and 4.
    • 5/5
      I am one of the many that decided to take on this mammoth of a book after watching the BBC series Sherlock.

      Sherlock Holmes is Arthur Conan Doyle's famous creation - a creation we all know the author would later come to despise.

      Sherlock Holmes is blunt, crass and just plain rude, but because is a genius the people who come to him for help really just have to put up with it. He's an addict; several times in the book, in different stories, we see him taking cocaine much to the chagrin of his friend John Watson.

      One of my main gripes about this book though is Mary. She just disappears without warning halfway through! Only when I finished the book and researched what happened to Mary Morstan did I realise she had an off-screen death that prompted John to move back in with Sherlock. And then we don't even see John upset by this. His wife just died and he's all "Meh" about it.

      Ah, true love in the Victorian Era. How quaint.
    • 5/5
      Conan Doyle's intellect never ceases to amaze me. Every time I pick up a Holmes' story, I am shocked. It's like watching Criminal Minds play out in the nineteenth century. Detective/ Crime novella fans these books are for you guys. Doyle knows his stuff.
    • 5/5
      Oh yeah, I read every single work about the master detective Sherlock Holmes. They're not all great, but they never fail to intrigue. It's especially interesting to see how the personal relationship of Holmes and Watson strengthens over the course of these works. I think everyone should read Sherlock Holmes, at least The Sign of Four and a selection of short stories.
    • 2/5
      Wonderful, wonderful. But only two stars, because the teeny-tiny typeface and the vast number of pages render it practically unreadable. Time to start preparing for my retirement and buying up some Folio editions.
    • 4/5
      Why do I like Sherlock Holmes? Let me quote Dr. Watson: These stories "give the prefrence to those cases which derive their interest not so much from the brutality of the crime as from the ingenuity and dramatic quality of the solution." This make a welcome change from the many blood thirsty books and movies out there. Yet many of the Holmes stories are thrillers. Perfect reading for a dark and stormy night.
    • 5/5
      All children should read Sherlock Holmes.I know it's not children's literature per se, but in my experience, in my own life, it had such a formative effect upon me and the way I read that I am not sure I would be the same kind of person today had I never read these books.1) Sherlock Holmes is a great introduction to classic literature. It's easy to read and has stable characters who, although they are in very few ways dynamic, are usually not caricatures of themselves: the kind of characters anyone can enjoy, and the kind of characters children can easily understand. Furthermore, though the language is out of date, it is not difficult to read. These books bridged the gap between pulp fiction and literature, and they can have the same effect upon modern readers. If you want a kid to start reading old classics, then get them to read something like this first. It will get them comfortable with the idea of reading 'old books' and 'old language' while never overstretching their abilities. There are no 'difficult' characters here, but there is still certainly a lot to think about.2) These books are simply excellently written. If you want a kid to know what solid, solid writing is, hand them some Holmes. These are perfect little short stories. They're not short short stories in the sense we may think of them today-- most are a bit longer than some popular modern ones-- but they're perfect for what they are. They certainly expanded my vocabulary when I first read them.3) They're exciting. Children should be reading exciting, compelling things that make them think and wonder.4) A child who enjoys a good Sherlock Holmes book is going to want to read them all. Now, this particular edition, the omnibus, took me about two weeks to get through when I recently decided to plow through all of them again-- and that was reading for quite a long time every day, and I was familiar with all the stories already. Get a kid hooked on these and they'll be reading for months.5) Cultural literacy. If a kid speaks English, they need to know who Sherlock Holmes is just as much as they're going to need to know who Darth Vader, Julius Ceasar and Brutus, and Romeo and Juliet are. All of these characters have become part of our cultural lexicon. People certainly say "No shit, Sherlock!" as often as they say "Luke, I am your father!", "Et tu, Brute?", or "Wherefore art thou, Romeo?". In fact, I'd bet that Sherlock references, conscious or not, verbal or symbolic (the deerstalker, pipe, etc.), are all in all probably more common in our society than any of these others I've mentioned.Everyone who speaks English should at least TRY to read these. I know you can't always get adults hooked on these stories-- a lot of the joy I get from reading them comes from remembering what it was like to read them for the first time when I was eight or nine. You've got to inculcate these things early. Part of the reason for this would be my final point:6) The whole message of these stories is that, in the end, the smartest and bravest one wins. Look at Sherlock. He's like a genius scholar boxer swordsman adventurer extraordinaire. How did he get this way? By staying in school, kids. Yup. I'd guess that at least subconsciously I was effected by these stories-- it's not every tale where the hero manages to win the praise of all despite being rude, socially backward, and romantically uninvolved. Kids need to know that effort trumps all-- and that's certainly what these stories teach.I don't know why I made the education/indoctrination of children the main point of this review. But I believe everything I've written. If you have a kid, quick, go grab them the first collection of short stories! You haven't much time to lose!
    • 5/5
      The novels and short stories are of somewhat uneven quality but, come on, there's a reason why Doyle was forced by the reading public to resurrect Holmes from death...it's a lot of fun!
    • 5/5
      Engrossing. I like the fact that these are short and they're engrossing.
    • 5/5
      One cannot get away from the fact that Holmes is a true classic which captivates the attention every time it is read (one never tires of these stories). I can't help but feel that if I lived in the right era I would have been right alongside those who objected to the detectives 'death' and insisted he be re-animated! I have seen many different film/TV adaptations and read untold books on Sherlock Holmes and his very appropriate down-to-earth side-kick Dr. Watson and hope to continue for many years. These stories will never enter obscurity.
    • 5/5
      My introduction to Sherlock Holmes. I fell in love. So nice to have most of the stories all to hand, no waiting to find the next book. The illustrations in this are great too.
    • 4/5
      Catchy. Good, solid writing. Humorous, entertaining characters. Only quip is the second half to the first novel; the first half is wonderful (you can wonder in awe, with Watson, about who Sherlock is); however, the second half is displaced from the immediate story line, and worse, the girl (when young) was irrecoverably annoying. For that, I am tempted to say that AC Doyle was better at the short story form than the novel, but the other novels make up for the first. (4)
    • 3/5
      All the short stories and the novels together in one book. Reading the short stories its quickly apparent that Holmes is not that clever in most of them. He often intreprets on or two "facts" and the remainder of the story is a long and often dull narrative from the other person involved. It is of course all told from Watson's POV, but even he can't add much levity to the situation. The novels are better, and some of the short stories much better than others.
    • 4/5
      It's Sherlock Holmes! How can you go wrong. For some reason I've always preferred the short stories, and with this book you have them all at easy reach. The novels are included as well though, of course.
    • 2/5
      There are a two reasons this took me 2.5 years to read. One is that it is nine books bundled - four novels and five collections, though I only get "credit" for one.The other is that Doyle waned tedious so much! Oh My Flying Spaghetti Monster! The repetition was aggravating; the hat/rabbit pulling of unknown to the reader "clues" maddening; the plodding narratives numbing.For me, Holmes is the rare case (accidental pun not intended) of interpretations being orders of magnitude better than the book(s). Even Guy Ritchie's pugilistic Homes in lieu of intellect is better than Doyle's.This is my assessment. Fans can and will cry foul all they want.I'll sum this complete collection in one word: soporific.
    • 5/5
      Read every story at least 5 times. Forever and ever a diehard Sherlock Holmes fan.
    • 4/5
      More like a 4.5 stars.
      I really like the stories, but in some points I'm too modern for them. The conviction that the looks of people and their features say something about their character is foreign to me and somehow weird.
    • 5/5
      This is the complete collection of Sherlock Holmes, with a sympathetic introduction by Christopher Morley and without some of the sillier notes in some other editions. It is Holmes, all Homes, and nothing but Holmes. When I was young, my mother won a mystery quiz competition run by the Toledo (Ohio) Blade newspaper for which the prize was one mystery book. My brother and I asked her to request this, and she did. Before this, I had had a book with a selection of Holmes stories, and I may have seen a few others elsewhere,but I had not had access to the entire set. For many years, this was the Holmes volume for our family.
    • 5/5
      I just spent the last three weeks reading the complete works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle relating to his famous character, Sherlock Holmes. Three. Weeks. It occurred to me that non-readers or not-very-fast readers may feel as I did when they read a regular novel… am I ever going to be finished with this book? But it was definitely worth the three weeks of my time to have read the 4 novels and 56 short stories contained within. In fact, it made me kind of sad to finish the last story… to know that there is no more of the original tales of Sherlock and Dr. Watson out there for me to read.

      It was so refreshing to be back in my element of classic literature, not worrying about coming across f-bombs and other forms of vulgarity in the pages. The writing is witty and smart, the characters fascinating, and the stories engaging. They make you think. Toward the end of the 56 short stories, I must admit that the beginnings of the stories all seemed the same, but I suppose that must be forgiven, since some of them at least were originally released as part of a regular magazine publication, and were in need of supplying a slight background for the new reader. Overall, I would characterize the stories as creatively brilliant.

      I must admit, I love all things Sherlock Holmes, and it’s surprising to me that I hadn’t read more of the original stories before now. I think I remember reading a short story or two in middle school, but other than that, I had read none of these original works. My husband and I enjoy watching deductive reasoning shows. We watched and enjoyed both recent Sherlock Holmes movies starring Robert Downey Jr. We loved the first two seasons of the BBC series “Sherlock” and are anxiously awaiting the third series. I must admit, as I was reading the book, the actors from this series were who I pictured most, even though we’ve also began watching the newest spin on the Sherlock stories, the CBS series “Elementary” (Also good – I love Watson as a woman).

      As usual, however, the old standby of the book being better than the movie still applies. Nothing engages the mind quite like a book, and this one (or ones, as it’s a compilation) is definitely mind-engaging and well worth the read. 5 of 5 stars.
    • 5/5
      This is the complete adventures of Sherlock Holmes, a “consultant” detective, with an amazing power of deduction, and his roommate at 221B, Baker Street, Dr. John Watsons they travel across England to solve cases that has left the Police clueless. Nowadays, Sherlock Holmes is a name known to everyone. I liked this book for Sherlock’s eccentric behavior, and Watson’s cluelessness about what Sherlock thinks. Conan Doyle is a very good author, who puts himself well into the skin of Watson to tell the amazing stories of his two protagonists and how they fight crime and Sherlock’s archenemy, Moriarty.
    • 4/5
      This is not quite the same version - I got the 1.99 version on my Nook.

      Just started this. The first story introduces us to Watson, who is trying to find suitable apartments to rent. A friend of his mentions a rather odd if pleasant gentleman who is looking for a roommate for an apartment he just found...

      Great so far! Love that Holmes disses other literary detectives.

      12-24 Still loving this. More than halfway done with the 1,700 some pages. I'll really miss it when I'm done.

      I have not quite gotten through the last of these... but I'm marking it as "read" because I've simply gone through way more than half of these numerous stories. Definitely fodder for a re-read sometime.
    • 4/5
      This is a massive omnibus so I will be reviewing the bits as I finish them. (I have read one or two of the short story collections before - everything else should be fairly new.)

      A Study in Scarlet:

      I knew the bones of the mystery already - it's been riffed on so many times it's impossible not to. But I was struck by first, how charming the introduction of Our Heroes is, and secondly how wacky the random Western stuck in the middle seemed. I would have found it more charming if I had any patience right now for sinister Mormons and the caricatured portrayals thereof.

      The Sign of the Four:

      Similarly, this mystery is centered around discovering what happened in far-off exotic places that came home to roost. It feels more slight than A Study in Scarlet and there's a degree of period-standard racism than makes me flinch, but Watson and Holmes remain entertaining.

      The Hound of the Baskervilles:

      A pure English countryside mystery. Holmes is really kind of a dick to Watson, but one can't argue too much with success, and of course Watson doesn't. Definitely one of those where the reader really can't jump ahead too much, because the solution is dependent on clues we just don't get until the end. I don't mind that too much, but I know it infuriates some people.

      The Valley of Fear:

      Again a local mystery bracketed around an Exciting Adventure in Foreign Parts. I find this device baffling, although the interstitial story was much better than the previous two examples. Introduces Moriarty in a distant sort of way.

      The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes:

      The short stories begin! This and the following volume I had read previously. I can definitely see why Holmes and Watson are such resilient characters - their relationship is delightful. The actual stories are pleasantly short, and I was satisfied that while I couldn't actually solve the mystery most of the time (the reader doesn't get enough info) I could usually see the shape of it, which made me anticipate the reveal more than I would have otherwise.

      The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes:

      Just as entertaining as the Adventures. The Final Problem was one I'd heard so much about that it seemed like I must have read it, but it was nice to actually do so. The stories don't stick in my head much - they're fairly slight - but fun and worth the read.

      His Last Bow:

      A few interesting variations - a story written in the third person, one written from Holmes' perspective - but otherwise more of the same.

      The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes:

      The joy does seem to have gone out by this point. Fairly rote, although reading for homoeroticism remains a delight.

      Incidental note: This is a huge cheap edition that I picked up for a song. Wouldn't recommend it - heavy, unwieldy, and unlovely.
    • 2/5


      I would have left Sherlock Holmes on better grounds if I had read a selected collections book instead of the entirety of the works. There are some great concoctions in here, but I think, in this case, the inspirations that followed are much better realizations than, sadly, the original.
    • 4/5
      Sherlock Holmes started out as Doyle's steady-money potboilers, a series of stories ground out in exchange for a paycheck. But they caught the public imagination, and Holmes' fame grew until he became the best-known fictional detective out there. Countless remakes, pastiches, parodies, and retellings later, Holmes has finally made it into a rather unique position: he is currently featured as an action hero in several TV shows and quite a few movies, and yet on the polar opposite of the snobbery spectrum, he is Literature--I even took a college course where he was included on the syllabus. With all of the revamps and remakes and recharacterizations, it's easy to forget about the original character. With all of the analysis and study of symbolism and historiography, it's easy to forget what Sherlock Holmes is really all about: a set of rattling good yarns.

      Whatever your literary polarity, Sherlock Holmes is a worthwhile read. The stories themselves are fun and the writing style is surprisingly contemporary for the time period: lots of snappy and often hilarious dialogue, a humorous first person narrator, and quite a lot of action. I haven't seen--and have no intention of seeing--the various remakes of Holmes, but I'm not convinced they captured the characters. Watson also always seems to lose out in the remakes--in the books, he is a bit stolid, but certainly not a buffoon. Holmes's complex and quirky personality is perhaps one of the reasons that his stories captured the public imagination. He is not a lovelorn superhero; rather, he is a somewhat sociopathic, drug-addicted, lonely misanthrope. At the same time, he is very different from the cold and uptight Brett from the old movies--he has a completely wacky sense of humour, an obsession with disguise, and a tendency to jump into action, his trusty revolver at the ready. His personality is rather static--possibly one reason why Doyle tried so hard to make that drop off Reichenbach Falls fatal. I believe that he is the prototype for a massive collection of later detectives from Alleyn to Poirot to Qwilleran in which the detective acts as the single fixed frame for an everchanging cast of characters.

      Plotwise, the stories may not be brilliant, but they are a lot of fun. They also precede the times when detective stories necessarily required a murder--almost all of the stories function without dead-body-driven action. Holmes' adventures range from a mysteriously disappearing league apparently set up to benefit redheads to a treasure hunt for a hidden chamber to a run-in with the KKK to frolics with supernaturally glowing hounds.

      If you're reading for fun, I suggest The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, a set of some of the earlier short stories. Holmes' adventures technically begin with the novel, A Study in Scarlet, but I think Holmes functions better in his short stories--more wackiness and variety. Adventures also contains the famous run-in with Irene Adler. If you're searching for Moriarty--who, by the way, is only even mentioned in a handful of stories--then he's in Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, which also contains the story "Silver Blaze," where Holmes utters his famous line about the curious incident of the dog in the night-time. (But the dog did nothing in the night-time! Yes, that was the curious incident.) If you're reading for historical analysis, take a look at The Valley of Fear, which is nominally a Holmes story, but is really about violent secret societies in the US--interesting from a historiographical perspective.

      So if you are interested in the history of mystery, or you're a fan of one of the various Sherlock enterprises, from the new show to House, take a look at the original. You'll enjoy it.