“The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes” by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Synopsis 

‘If I were assured of your eventual destruction I would, in the interests of the public, cheerfully accept my own.’
In The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, the consulting detective’s notoriety as the arch-despoiler of the schemes concocted by the criminal underworld at last gets the better of him.
Though Holmes and his faithful sidekick Dr Watson solve what will become some of their most bizarre and extraordinary cases – the disappearance of the race horse Silver Blaze, the horrific circumstances of the Greek Interpreter and the curious mystery of the Musgrave Ritual among them – a criminal mastermind is plotting the downfall of the great detective.
Half-devil, half-genius, Professor Moriarty leads Holmes and Watson on a grisly cat-and-mouse chase through London and across Europe, culminating in a frightful struggle which will turn the legendary Reichenbach Falls into a water double-grave . . .

My Review
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ & ❤︎❤︎❤︎❤︎❤︎❤︎❤︎❤︎

5+ stars (8/10 hearts). It wasn’t until last year that I realized why these are called the Memoirs. As always, I’m fascinated by Holmes and his methods; and in this book he shows more of his human self. He has his failings, but I do love him, for at least he is genuine. I really enjoy all the sarcasm and wit, and the pictures of daily life in the 1880s and ’90s. The stories are all pretty well balanced between more disturbing crimes and light/less serious ones, with even some sweetness mixed in. And the last story… ❤

Individual reviews: 

I. Silver Blaze

5 stars. This mystery always fascinated me. The conclusion is so very unexpected! And Holmes’ work is simply phenomenal. All the characters are as interesting as ever—particularly the Colonel; it’s so much fun to watch him against Holmes—but it’s the plot that really shines. I love watching Watson watch Holmes and even help him! It’s just such an epic story, one of the very best in the series.

Content: Smoking, swearing, a man has a mistress. 

A Favourite Quote: “I have already said that he must have gone to King’s Pyland or to Mapleton. He is not at King’s Pyland. Therefore he is at Mapleton. Let us take that as a working hypothesis and see what it leads us to.… See the value of imagination. It is the one quality which Gregory lacks. We imagined what might have happened, acted upon the supposition, and find ourselves justified. Let us proceed.”
A Favourite Beautiful Quote: The sun was beginning to sink behind the stables of Mapleton, and the long, sloping plain in front of us was tinged with gold, deepening into rich, ruddy browns where the faded ferns and brambles caught the evening light.
A Favourite Beautiful Quote: “As a man of the world, Colonel, you know that men do not carry other people’s bills about in their pockets. We have most of us quite enough to do to settle our own.”

II. The Adventure of the Cardboard Box

4 stars. This story has always intrigued and fascinated me even as it saddened me. I really liked the main character and felt that it isn’t totally his fault he ended up as he did… He made his choices and so did M., but it was S. who did the trouble and was the real villain. That aside, I loved Sherlock + Lestrade + Watson in this one—with Lestrade completely disbelieving but coming around at the right time, and Sherlock enjoying himself solving a little problem instead of lying on his sofa. Overall, I find this story very interesting to read and ponder over, although it probably isn’t for everyone. Recommended ages: 18+

Content: Smoking, swearing, drinking, violence, & conjugal issues (not actually detailed). Specified: WARNING! HIGHLIGHT FOR MASSIVE SPOILERS! 

A man is married and his sister-in-law falls in love with him. When he throws her off, she revenges herself by making his wife suspicious of them and then introducing her to another man. The wife ends up falling in love with the other man, and is actually caught alone with him, upon which her husband swears to kill her if he finds that again. When he sees them gallivanting off once more, he murders them and sends their ears to the sister-in-law. He expresses extreme remorse when caught.

END OF SPOILER!]

A Favourite Quote: “We approached the case, you remember, with an absolutely blank mind, which is always an advantage. We had formed no theories. We were simply there to observe and to draw inferences from our observations.”
A Favourite Humorous Quote: “‘In accordance with the scheme which we had formed in order to test our theories’ [the ‘we’ is rather fine, Watson, is it not?] ‘I went down to the Albert Dock yesterday at 6 p.m…. The affair proves, as I always thought it would, to be an extremely simple one, but I am obliged to you for assisting me in my investigation. With kind regards, yours very truly, G. Lestrade.’ Hum! The investigation really was a very simple one,” remarked Holmes, “but I don’t think it struck him in that light when he first called us in.

III. The Yellow Face

5 stars. This story always makes me smile! It’s another of my favourites. The characters are delightful—Grant & Effie are a darling couple, and the little stranger and Scottish lady sound so sweet, even if they hardly appear. The plot is dramatic and mysterious, yet the ending is unexpectedly adorable and heartwarming. It’s quite fascinating to see Sherlock’s conclusions, and his reaction at the truth is excellent. 😉 And I love the anti-racist message!

Content: Smoking, perhaps swearing. [HIGHLIGHT FOR SPOILER!

A woman is (falsely) suspected of having run away from a former husband and married a new one (hence a false marriage).

END OF SPOILER]

A Favourite Quote: “What do you think of my theory?” 
“It is all surmise.” 
“But at least it covers all the facts. When new facts come to our knowledge which cannot be covered by it, it will be time enough to reconsider it.”
A Favourite Beautiful Quote: “Just beyond it is a nice little grove of Scotch firs, and I used to be very fond of strolling down there, for trees are always a neighborly kind of things.”
A Favourite Humorous Quote: “My dear Mr. Grant Munro—” began Holmes. 
Our visitor sprang from his chair. “What!” he cried, “you know my name?” 
“If you wish to preserve your incognito,” said Holmes, smiling, “I would suggest that you cease to write your name upon the lining of your hat, or else that you turn the crown towards the person whom you are addressing.”

IV. The Stockbroker’s Clerk

4 stars. Apparently, my younger self (younger by a year) wasn’t impressed by this story, claiming that it was “a more obvious Sherlock story—even I figured out part of it. It doesn’t really show Sherlock’s powers, and he even messes up a bit at the end—I was yelling at him to do X the whole time!” I completely forgot about this negative feeling and reread the story this year with pleasure. The slip-up only makes him more human, which I enjoyed, and it still shows Sherlock’s inferences well, once they’re in the room with the villain. The mystery is interesting (I’d forgotten what happened and was eagerly awaiting the solution), and the characters are interesting as well—especially poor Mr. P.

Content: a rather gruesome suicide + swearing.

A Favourite Humorous Quote: “The public not unnaturally goes on the principle that he who would heal others must himself be whole, and looks askance at the curative powers of the man whose own case is beyond the reach of his drugs.”

V. The “Gloria Scott”

4.5 stars (5/10 hearts). This story has interesting value as the beginning of Sherlock’s career—the adventure that determined him to be a consulting detective. The quiet country setting is an enjoyable background, and the characters are interesting. Victor Trevor sounds like a nice young man, and his father at least did his best to expunge his sins. But Hudson and Prendergast are really terrible villains. Yet short, and violent, as it is, the story of the Gloria Scott is striking, and many of the characters caught my interest—they are so alive, so human, and their individual decisions all move the ship towards her terrible fate. The deductions were as fascinating as always, the moral is thought-provoking, and—although it’s not really tied at all to this story—I enjoy how Watson begins this tale.

Content: several mentions of drinking & smoking; a tattoo; 4 instances of swearing; 2 ugly descriptions of murder. Violence Level: 5/5 (high)

A Favourite Quote: ‘But what is the meaning of these “head-keepers” and “hen-pheasants”?’
‘It means nothing to the message, but it might mean a good deal to us if we had no other means of discovering the sender. You see that he has begun by writing “The…game…is,” and so on. Afterwards he had, to fulfill the prearranged cipher, to fill in any two words in each space. He would naturally use the first words which came to his mind, and if there were so many which referred to sport among them, you may be tolerably sure that he is either an ardent shot or interested in breeding.’

VI. The Musgrave Ritual

4.5 stars (5/10 hearts). I read an abridged copy of this story as a child and for years I struggled to enjoy this story as much as the other Sherlock stories simply because of the memory of how much it haunted me as a child. (Don’t read Sherlock at night all alone in a dark basement if you’re sensitive, kids.) However, it’s not by any means a bad story! To start off, the beginning is hilarious and SO GOOD. Then, it’s very interesting to see more of Sherlock before Watson’s time—in fact, ‘it is to the interest which was aroused by that singular chain of events, and the large issues which proved to be at stake, that I trace my first stride towards the position which I now hold.’ The deductions are simply brilliant and the story is fascinating, although pretty saddening, and it would have been fun if Reginald Musgrave showed up again. For Sherlock fans, this is not a story to pass up, and for those who enjoy studying humanity, this story holds a lot to think about. 

Content: smoking; murder; short but gruesome description of a body. Violence Level: 3/5 (medium)

Favourite Humorous Quote: ”But with [my untidiness] there is a limit, and when I find a man who keeps his cigars in the coal-scuttle, his tobacco in the toe end of a Persian slipper, and his unanswered correspondence transfixed by a jack-knife into the very centre of his wooden mantelpiece, then I begin to give myself virtuous airs. I have always held, too, that pistol practice should be distinctly an open-air pastime; and when Holmes, in one of his queer humors, would sit in an arm-chair with his hair-trigger and a hundred Boxer cartridges, and proceed to adorn the opposite wall with a patriotic V.R. done in bullet-pocks, I felt strongly that neither the atmosphere nor the appearance of our room was improved by it.”

VII. The Reigate Squire

5 stars. This is another of my favourite books. The storyline is fascinating, with Holmes being ill, a very unlikely and fascinating father/son duo, excellent detective work, and some lingering questions… The humour is excellent; and I love seeing Watson’s unselfish friendship!

Content: drinking, smoking, one exclamation of “heavens.” 

“The point is a simple one, but the Inspector had overlooked it because he had started with [a] supposition….. Now, I make a point of never having any prejudices, and of following docilely wherever fact may lead me.”

VIII. The Crooked Man

4 stars. The mystery of this book is quite sad, but it was definitely interesting, although more of a hunt than a mystery. The characters weren’t very nice, but Holmes + Watson were a fantastic duo. Their conversation was epic, and then the final words are so dryly humorous! 

Content: Violence, betrayal, language. 

A Favourite Quote: “What business is it of yours, then?” 
“It’s every man’s business to see justice done.”
A Favourite Humorous Quote: “It’s a dog,” said I.
“Did you ever hear of a dog running up a curtain? I found distinct traces that this creature had done so.”
“A monkey, then?”
“But it is not the print of a monkey.” … 
“Then what was the beast?”
“Ah, if I could give it a name it might go a long way towards solving the case.”

IX. The Resident Patient

4 stars. This is an interesting story, with some unique characters. I appreciated the more medical flavour—with the acting, the treatise, and how the inspector instantly realized who the villains were, while the two doctors were completely blank. And the “hunted” aspect of the story was intriguing, as well as Blessington’s ambiguous positioning in our sympathies… 

Content: language, gruesome description of a hanged man, smoking, drinking. 

A Favourite Humorous Quote: “Is there not one alternative,” I suggested, “grotesquely improbably, no doubt, but still just conceivable? Might the whole story of the cataleptic Russian and his son be a concoction of Dr. Trevelyan’s, who has, for his own purposes, been in Blessington’s rooms?”
I saw in the gaslight that Holmes wore an amused smile at this brilliant departure of mine. “My dear fellow,” said he, “it was one of the first solutions which occurred to me, but I was soon able to corroborate the doctor’s tale. This young man has left prints upon the stair-carpet which made it quite superfluous for me to ask to see those which he had made in the room. When I tell you that his shoes were square-toed instead of being pointed like Blessington’s, and were quite an inch and a third longer than the doctor’s, you will acknowledge that there can be no doubt as to his individuality.”

X. The Greek Interpreter

4 stars. Now this was an interesting story. Those two villains were creepily fascinating, and I would have loved to see them butt heads with Sherlock more! The plot is intriguing, and the three victims are also quite interesting. And it was delightful to meet Mycroft! The deducing dialogue between the two brothers is worthy of its fame.

Content: swearing; violence; a girl is kidnapped by two men and forced to live with them for a few months.

A Favourite Quote: “My dear Watson,” said he, “I cannot agree with those who rank modesty among the virtues. To the logician all things should be seen exactly as they are, and to underestimate one’s self is as much a departure from truth as to exaggerate one’s own powers. When I say, therefore, that Mycroft has better powers of observation than I, you may take it that I am speaking the exact and literal truth.”
A Favourite Humorous Quote: “It will not be an easy door to force, but we will try if we cannot make some one hear us.” He hammered loudly at the knocker and pulled at the bell, but without any success. Holmes had slipped away, but he came back in a few minutes. 
“I have a window open,” said he. 
“It is a mercy that you are on the side of the force, and not against it, Mr. Holmes,” remarked the inspector, as he noted the clever way in which my friend had forced back the catch. “Well, I think that under the circumstances we may enter without an invitation.”

XI. The Naval Treaty

5 stars. Oh, what a delightful story! The premise/plot is fascinating and mysterious, and the characters are particularly interesting—strong Annie, weak Phelps, noble Lord H., and merry Joseph especially, but the commissioner and his family throw in an extra twist. The humour is excellent—and there’s quite a lot of it!—and Holmes’ character and methods really shine—I especially love his remark on the boarding schools. One of my very favourite Sherlock stories!

Content: Swearing, smoking.

A Favourite Quote: “‘What a lovely thing a rose is! … Our highest assurance of the goodness of Providence seems to me to rest in the flowers. All other things, our powers our desires, our food, are all really necessary for our existence in the first instance. But this rose is an extra. Its smell and its color are an embellishment of life, not a condition of it. It is only goodness which gives extras, and so I say again that we have much to hope from the flowers.’”
A Favourite Humorous Quote: “‘If the treaty had reached, let us say, the French or Russian Foreign Office, you would expect to hear of it?’
“‘I should,’ said Lord Holdhurst, with a wry face. 
“‘Since nearly ten weeks have elapsed, then, and nothing has been heard, it is not unfair to suppose that for some reason the treaty has not reached them.’
“Lord Holdhurst shrugged his shoulders. ‘We can hardly suppose, Mr. Holmes, that the thief took the treaty in order to frame it and hang it up.’”

XII. The Final Problem

5 stars. What an ending. WHAT an ending! Wow! I’m blown away every time. It’s simply perfect—for the series, for Holmes, for Moriarty… yes. It’s amazing, and so well done. I applaud Conan Doyle for being able to create such a mastermind criminal and yet still managing to defeat him… even if Sherlock must pay the ultimate sacrifice to do so. I think this story really shows the heart of Sherlock’s detective work—he wants to make life better and protect people, and he dedicated his life to this, in spite of every temptation and reason to live a quiet life. He pitted himself against Moriarty not only because of his brains, but because of his heart—and he vanquished not only because of his brains, but because of his heart. This is the real Sherlock… and I love him. ❤ 

A Favourite Quote: “I think that you know me well enough, Watson, to understand that I am by no means a nervous man. At the same time, it is stupidity rather than courage to refuse to recognize danger when it is close upon you.”
A Favourite Beautiful Quote: “I think that I may go so far as to say, Watson, that I have not lived wholly in vain,” he remarked. “If my record were closed to-night I could still survey it with equanimity. The air of London is the sweeter for my presence. In over a thousand cases I am not aware that I have ever used my powers upon the wrong side. … Your memoirs will draw to an end, Watson, upon the day that I crown my career by the capture or extinction of the most dangerous and capable criminal in Europe.”
A Favourite Humorous Quote: “And I must further beg you to be so unconventional as to allow me to leave your house presently by scrambling over your back garden wall.” 
“But what does it all mean?” I asked. 
He held out his hand, and I saw in the light of the lamp that two of his knuckles were burst and bleeding. “It is not an airy nothing, you see,” said he, smiling. “On the contrary, it is solid enough for a man to break his hand over. …I was attacked by a rough with a bludgeon. I knocked him down, and the police have him in custody; but I can tell you with the most absolute confidence that no possible connection will ever be traced between the gentleman upon whose front teeth I have barked my knuckles and the retiring mathematical coach, who is, I dare say, working out problems upon a black-board ten miles away. You will not wonder, Watson, that my first act on entering your rooms was to close your shutters, and that I have been compelled to ask your permission to leave the house by some less conspicuous exit than the front door.”

Recommended ages: 16+

Download free on Gutenberg

Add on Goodreads

Tags: classics-genre, historical-fiction-genre, mystery-suspense-thriller-spy-etc, hisfic-1800s, adventure-genre, british-fiction-and-nonfiction, secular-books, short-story-collections, series, law-enforcement-and-prison-books, book-reviews-to-be-updated, autumn-fiction, contemporary-to-their-time-genre, friendship-story-books, my-favourite-books, new-adult-and-adult-genre, romance-genre, spring-books, summer-books, violent-content-books, well-done-characters-books, well-done-plot-books, well-done-writing-style-books, young-adult-genre, hisfic-1900s, 8-of-10-hearts.