Sherlock Holmes and the Crime of Theft: A Collection of Short Mystery Stories - With Original Illustrations by Sidney Paget

By Arthur Conan Doyle and Sidney Paget

Showcasing the legendary detective’s investigations into cases of theft and robbery, this comprehensive collection features six classic Sherlock Holmes stories.

Join Sherlock Holmes as he investigates six complex plots of high-stakes robbery and attempts to bring the thieves to justice. From valuable jewels and large sums of money to vital government documents, the remarkable detective uses his sharp mind and keen eye for detail to unravel these cases and reveal the truth behind the crimes.

The stories featured in this collection are:

- The Red-Headed League (1891)

- The Blue Carbuncle (1892)

- The Beryl Coronet (1892)

- The Stockbroker's Clerk (1893)

- The Naval Treaty (1893)

- The Three Gables (1926)

Each of these stories highlights the exceptional abilities of Sherlock Holmes and the brilliant writing of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. This new collection from Read & Co. Books features the original illustrations by Sidney Paget and a specially commissioned introduction.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Read Books Ltd.
• Release date: Mar 31, 2016
• ISBN: 9781473360501

Arthur Conan Doyle

Arthur Conan Doyle was a British writer and physician. He is the creator of the Sherlock Holmes character, writing his debut appearance in A Study in Scarlet. Doyle wrote notable books in the fantasy and science fiction genres, as well as plays, romances, poetry, non-fiction, and historical novels.

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Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Arthur Conan Doyle was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1859 to Charles and Mary Doyle. He was the eldest of nine siblings, seven of whom reached adulthood. His mother was effectively a single parent for the majority of his childhood due to his father’s struggle with alcoholism. In 1864, the family were separated, and Conan Doyle lived with a family friend for three years. When he was reunited with his parents and siblings, they lived in three squalid tenement flats. With the support of his extended family, he was sent to a Jesuit boarding school in England at the age of nine before moving to Austria at 16 to complete his education. Despite attending Catholic schools, he later rejected the faith and described himself as agnostic.

Between 1876 and 1881, Conan Doyle studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh. While studying, he began writing short stories. His first piece, ‘The Mystery of Sasassa Valley’ (1879), was published in Chambers's Edinburgh Journal before he was 20. He also met the man who would later become the inspiration for his remarkable character Sherlock Holmes. Doctor Joseph Bell was a highly observant man whose powerful skills of deduction influenced the fictional detective’s unparalleled attention to detail.

Graduating with a Bachelor of Medicine and Master of Surgery in 1881, Conan Doyle went on to work onboard the SS Mayumba as the ship’s surgeon. He then completed his Doctor of Medicine degree and moved to Plymouth to practice medicine in 1882. Settling in Southsea, he opened an independent medical practice and began writing in between seeing patients. It was here that he fell in love with Louisa Hawkins, and the pair married in 1885. They went on to have two children, Mary Louise (1889–1976) and Arthur Alleyne Kingsley (1892–1918).

After several unsuccessful attempts to get his fiction published, Conan Doyle’s first significant work, A Study in Scarlet, was printed in Beeton’s Christmas Annual in 1887. The novel is the first instalment in the Sherlock Holmes series and introduces the detective and his loyal confidant, Doctor John Watson. When he began to write short Holmes stories for The Strand Magazine in 1891, his writing career took off, and he abandoned his medical practices.

The Sherlock Holmes stories were a commercial triumph, garnering an international following. Despite being one of the best-paid authors of the time, Conan Doyle wanted to write less of the detective’s adventures so he could focus on the work he truly enjoyed: historical fiction. He attempted to end Holmes’ narrative on multiple occasions, but both the fans and the publishers demanded more. The beloved character features in a total of 56 short stories and four novels, including Conan Doyle’s magnum opus, The Hound of the Baskervilles (1902).

Aside from his fiction, Conan Doyle was also a passionate political campaigner. A pamphlet he published in 1902 defending the United Kingdom’s much-criticised role in the Boer War is seen as a major contributor to his receiving of a knighthood later that same year.

Since rejecting his Catholic upbringing, the author turned to mystic spiritualism. He developed a close friendship with the American escape artist Harry Houdini before the two had a public falling out in 1922 when the magician publicly declared his disbelief in spiritualism.

Conan Doyle’s first wife passed away in 1906 after battling tuberculosis. The following year, he married his close friend, Jean Elizabeth Leckie, who shared his spiritual interests and was a self-proclaimed psychic medium. They had three children together, Denis Percy Stewart (1909–1955), Adrian Malcolm (1910–1970), and Jean Lena Annette (1912–1997).

In the last years of his life, Conan Doyle dedicated most of his time to preaching the spiritualist movement. Travelling Australia, Northern America, and Europe, he gave a series of lectures on the subject. In 1925, he opened The Physic Bookshop dedicated to spiritualism in London. Having published the final volume of Holmes stories in 1927, Conan Doyle launched a five-month tour of Africa the following year, giving more lectures across the continent. Exhausted from his travels, he suffered a heart attack in 1929. Despite doctors’ advice, he continued to work, which led to a final heart attack in his East Sussex home on 7th July 1930. He passed away aged 71 as the most famous detective fiction writer of all time.

THE LEGACY OF

SHERLOCK HOLMES

An Introduction

Known for his sharp mind, astute observations, and remarkable skills of deduction, Sherlock Holmes is the most influential and beloved detective in literary history. Written between 1887 and 1927 by Arthur Conan Doyle, the Holmes stories were a turning point in the evolution of crime fiction, with the original Holmes universe spanning an impressive 40 years across four novels and 56 short stories.

The detective’s obsessive personality, unrivalled intelligence, and cold, calculating demeanour are combined with his exceptional skills of observation and deduction, making him a remarkable sleuth but an almost unbearable person to be around. Despite this, the community of Holmes fans stretches to every corner of the globe over a century after the detective’s first story was published. So, what makes the character so widely loved? And how did the Victorian London setting, combined with the author’s tragic personal life, influence the character? Explore the legacy of Sherlock Holmes and examine the detective’s story beyond his fictional adventures.

Arthur Conan Doyle was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, on 22nd May 1859 to Charles and Mary Doyle. His father struggled greatly with depression and alcoholism, and in 1864, the family were separated. Forced to live across the city with various family friends due to Charles Doyle’s drinking habits, it wasn’t until 1867 that the family came together again to live in squalid tenement flats. In 1876, Charles Doyle was dismissed from his job and sent to a nursing home for alcoholics, where he developed epilepsy. This troubling background of alcohol abuse and addiction crept from Conan Doyle’s personal life into his writing. Holmes himself is seen using cocaine and morphine (both of which were legal at the time) in many of his stories. The detective's knowledge of chemistry and anatomy is utilised to manage his usage, but Conan Doyle doesn’t attempt to hide the drug-induced mania that many addicts suffer from.

In the same year as his father’s admission to the rehabilitation centre, Conan Doyle began studying at the University of Edinburgh Medical School. While studying, he met the man who would become the inspiration for Holmes’s iconic character. Doctor Joseph Bell (1837–1911) was a Scottish surgeon and lecturer and was considered a forensic science pioneer. He mesmerised Conan Doyle with his remarkable ability to deduce a stranger’s occupation and ailments by simply observing them. While working as Doctor Bell’s clerk at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, Conan Doyle beheld the surgeon’s skills and considered the potential such abilities held outside of diagnosis. The seed of a remarkable idea was forming, and in 1887, Conan Doyle wrote the short story often considered the Sherlock Holmes prototype. The protagonists of the early piece, ‘Uncle Jeremy’s Household’, Hugh Lawrence and John H. Thurston, work together as an amateur detective duo and bear a strong resemblance to Sherlock Holmes and John H. Watson.

Just months later, Conan Doyle altered the course of his life with the publication of the first Holmes novel, A Study in Scarlet (1887). It was printed in Beeton’s Christmas Annual, and although it didn’t bring the author instant success, it was the springboard he needed. In 1889, the Managing Editor of Lippincott’s Monthly Magazine invited Conan Doyle to dinner, along with the prolific Irish writer Oscar Wilde. The three dined together, and both The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890) and the second Holmes novel, The Sign of the Four (1889), were commissioned in a single evening.

Conan Doyle’s real breakthrough came in 1891 when he discovered The Strand Magazine. Proposing a series of short stories detailing a masterful detective’s adventures, he published the first short Holmes tale, ‘A Scandal in Bohemia’, in the literary magazine, then quickly signed a contract to provide one story per month. Abandoning his medicinal practices, he was able to devote himself to his writing.

Despite Holmes’ cold and often selfish persona, his fanbase grew rapidly as Conan Doyle’s short stories continued to be released. Each issue of The Strand was available for sixpence, which was half the cost of similar publications, making the magazine an accessible form of literature. Set in the heart of fog-shrouded Victorian London, the serialised stories often highlight the drastic class divide of the nineteenth century. Holmes’ adventures stretch from the grand houses built on the wealth of the British Empire to the Dickensian side of the city, where cholera and typhoid ravaged the population and children made a living for their families in the workhouses. Despite Conan Doyle only living in the capital for a total of four years (and often presenting misinformation regarding London in his work), he successfully captured the rapidly transforming city. London is as vivid a character in the stories as the detective himself.

Holmes is a protagonist like none other in literary history. His remarkably sharp mind and renowned skills of deduction and observation are juxtaposed with his emotional incapabilities and complete lack of empathy. Yet he remains a true Victorian gentleman, consistently taking care of his appearance and working to preserve social order. Not only does he have detailed knowledge of science, literature, and law, but he also excels in fencing and boxing and is a talented violinist. His combination of inconceivable brilliance and calculating coldness makes him fascinating.

To this day, the name Sherlock Holmes remains more famous than Arthur Conan Doyle’s, and fans widely believed that the detective was a real individual. This possibly arose due to the stories being narrated by Doctor Watson, Holmes' trusted companion and sleuthing partner. The author often received fan mail addressed to Holmes alongside requests for his autograph and letters asking him to find their missing possessions. Avid readers began identifying as Sherlockians or Holmesians, and the more stories Conan Doyle produced, the deeper the fans’ faith in the detective seemed to go.

There was just one problem, despite the overwhelming adoration the character had garnered, Conan Doyle couldn’t tolerate Holmes. The pressure to continually produce narratives featuring the detective weighed heavily on the author. Holmes had metamorphosed into Conan Doyle’s own version of Frankenstein’s monster, and the only plausible escape he could envision was to lay the detective’s storyline to rest permanently. He finally reached a breaking point when his father passed away after enduring a protracted period of medical intervention. In December 1893, just two months following his father’s death, ‘The Final Problem’ was published. The author was inspired to set the climactic battle between Holmes and Professor Moriarty at Switzerland's Reichenbach Falls, a location he had visited earlier in the year. When the battling pair appeared to have plunged to their demise, the public was outraged.

The fans’ love for Holmes was so ingrained they couldn’t come to terms with the idea of never reading another story featuring the detective. Conan Doyle was less affected by the death of his protagonist. The day he wrote the ill-fated scene, his journal entry simply read, ‘Killed Holmes.’ But he began receiving threats through the post, demanding he revive the beloved character. Londoners were even reported to be wearing black armbands in mourning. The impact of the fictional death was not only felt by the author but also inflicted a blow on The Strand Magazine. Reportedly, the number of readers who cancelled their subscription to the publication amounted to over 20,000, nearly causing it to go out of print.

Over the ensuing eight-year break, there was an inordinate demand for more Holmes stories. Entreated by the fans, Conan Doyle released a new novel, The Hound of the Baskervilles (1902), featuring Holmes but set before the detective's death. This period became known among readers as the Great Hiatus, and The Strand staff were reported to have referred to Holmes’ death as ‘the dreadful event’. The real comeback occurred in 1903 when ‘The Adventure of the Empty House’ was first published in the magazine. In a long-awaited twist, the short story is set three years after Holmes’ supposed death. Featuring the detective’s revival, Holmes reveals to Watson that he faked the scene at Reichenbach Falls to delude and escape Moriarty’s vengeful henchmen.

The Strand published a further 12 stories before Conan Doyle again attempted to end the series in Holmes’ retirement. In an interview with the Daily Mail in 1904, the author stated that Holmes was moving to the countryside and taking up beekeeping, concluding that ‘there is not the slightest intention of his ever again entering on the work of the detection of crime.’ Yet, finding himself once more in the position of Victor Frankenstein, it was impossible for Conan Doyle to destroy the monster he had created. Three subsequent volumes of Holmes stories, including another novel, were published before the author’s death. Two are set prior to the detective’s retirement, and ‘The Last Bow’ details his service during the First World War. The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes (1927) concludes the series with a collection of short stories set before the war.

In 1930, Conan Doyle died of a heart attack in his home at the age of 71 as one of the best-paid authors of the time. Despite the detective’s tales having come to an indisputable end, the author’s death heightened the public’s fascination with Sherlock Holmes.

In 1934, the first official Sherlock Holmes literary society was founded by American novelist Christopher Morley. Eponymously named the Baker Street Irregulars (BSI) after the group of young street urchins Holmes occasionally called upon for assistance, the group still regularly publish a range of scholarship dedicated to their favourite literary figure. Operating as an exclusive, invitation-only club, notable members include Isaac Asimov and Neil Gaiman. There were no female members until 1991, when Conan Doyle’s second daughter, Jean, was invested. The BSI has its own printing press dedicated to publishing volumes related to Sherlock Holmes and Conan Doyle. The Baker Street Journal is also released quarterly by the society featuring scholarly articles and pieces revolving around the Great Game, in which fans imagine and record character backstories and history not provided by Conan Doyle. The Great Game, also known as Holmesian Speculation and the Sherlockian Game, is based on the belief that Watson is the true author of the detective’s adventures. Members must avoid using Conan Doyle’s name when attending BSI meetings and events and instead refer to him as Watson’s literary agent. Other notable societies include the Sherlock Holmes Society of London (founded in 1951) and the Adventuresses of Sherlock Holmes, which was founded in the 1960s as an exclusive women’s society.

Over a century since Sherlock Holmes made his first appearance, the iconic character has become a cultural touchstone. Inspiring generations of fans, filmmakers, and writers, the detective has made an ineradicable mark not only on the literary world but wider pop culture. Conan Doyle’s work altered the way readers interact with literature, prompting the formation of many dedicated fan groups worldwide, including prestigious societies and printing presses. From the smoke-filled rooms of 221B Baker Street and the spirited streets of Victorian London to the rolling countryside hills and misty moors, the Holmes stories are a rich portrayal of nineteenth-century England and enhance our understanding of the social and cultural context of the time. Conan Doyle’s literary influence will continue to captivate and inspire for many decades to come. The legacy of Sherlock Holmes is a testament to the enduring power of great storytelling.

Lizzie Stoddart

Bristol, 2023

I

THE RED-HEADED LEAGUE

I had called upon my friend, Mr. Sherlock Holmes, one day in the autumn of last year and found him in deep conversation with a very stout, florid-faced, elderly gentleman with fiery red hair. With an apology for my intrusion, I was about to withdraw when Holmes pulled me abruptly into the room and closed the door behind me.

You could not possibly have come at a better time, my dear Watson, he said cordially.

I was afraid that you were engaged.

So I am. Very much so.

Then I can wait in the next room.

Not at all. This gentleman, Mr. Wilson, has been my partner and helper in many of my most successful cases, and I have no doubt that he will be of the utmost use to me in yours also.

The stout gentleman half rose from his chair and gave a bob of greeting, with a quick little questioning glance from his small fat-encircled eyes.

Try the settee, said Holmes, relapsing into his armchair and putting his fingertips together, as was his custom when in judicial moods. I know, my dear Watson, that you share my love of all that is bizarre and outside the conventions and humdrum routine of everyday life. You have shown your relish for it by the enthusiasm which has prompted you to chronicle, and, if you will excuse my saying so, somewhat to embellish so many of my own little adventures.

Your cases have indeed been of the greatest interest to me, I observed.

You will remember that I remarked the other day, just before we went into the very simple problem presented by Miss Mary Sutherland, that for strange effects and extraordinary combinations we must go to life itself, which is always far more daring than any effort of the imagination.

A proposition which I took the liberty of doubting.

You did, Doctor, but none the less you must come round to my view, for otherwise I shall keep on piling fact upon fact on you until your reason breaks down under them and acknowledges me to be right. Now, Mr. Jabez Wilson here has been good enough to call upon me this morning, and to begin a narrative which promises to be one of the most singular which I have listened to for some time. You have heard me remark that the strangest and most unique things are very often connected not with the larger but with the smaller crimes, and occasionally, indeed, where there is room for doubt whether any positive crime has been committed. As far as I have heard, it is impossible for me to say whether the present case is an instance of crime or not, but the course of events is certainly among the most singular that I have ever listened to. Perhaps, Mr. Wilson, you would have the great kindness to recommence your narrative. I ask you not merely because my friend Dr. Watson has not heard the opening part but also because the peculiar nature of the story makes me anxious to have every possible detail from your lips. As a rule, when I have heard some slight indication of the course of events, I am able to guide myself by the thousands of other similar cases which occur to my memory. In the present instance I am forced to admit that the facts are, to the best of my belief, unique.

The portly client puffed out his chest with an appearance of some little pride and pulled a dirty and wrinkled newspaper from the inside pocket of his greatcoat. As he glanced down the advertisement column, with his head thrust forward and the paper flattened out upon his knee, I took a good look at the man and endeavoured, after the fashion of my companion, to read the indications which might be presented by his dress or appearance.

Mr. Jabez Wilson.

I did not gain very much, however, by my inspection. Our visitor bore every mark of being an average commonplace British tradesman, obese, pompous, and slow. He wore rather baggy grey shepherd’s check trousers, a not over-clean black frock-coat, unbuttoned in the front, and a drab waistcoat with a heavy brassy Albert chain, and a square pierced bit of metal dangling down as an ornament. A frayed top-hat and a faded brown overcoat with a wrinkled velvet collar lay upon a chair beside him. Altogether, look as I would, there was nothing remarkable about the man save his blazing red head, and the expression of extreme chagrin and discontent upon his features.

Sherlock Holmes’ quick eye took in my occupation, and he shook his head with a smile as he noticed my questioning glances. Beyond the obvious facts that he has at some time done manual labour, that he takes snuff, that he is a Freemason, that he has been in China, and that he has done a considerable amount of writing lately, I can deduce nothing else.

Mr. Jabez Wilson started up in his chair, with his forefinger upon the paper, but his eyes upon my companion.

How, in the name of good-fortune, did you know all that, Mr. Holmes? he asked. How did you know, for example, that I did manual labour. It’s as true as gospel, for I began as a ship’s carpenter.

Your hands, my dear sir. Your right hand is quite a size larger than your left. You have worked with it, and the muscles are more developed.

Well, the snuff, then, and the Freemasonry?

I won’t insult your intelligence by telling you how I read that, especially as, rather against the strict rules of your order, you use an arc-and-compass breastpin.

Ah, of course, I forgot that. But the writing?

What else can be indicated by that right cuff so very shiny for five inches, and the left one with the smooth patch near the elbow where you rest it upon the desk?

Well, but China?

"The fish that you have tattooed immediately above your right wrist could only have been done in China. I have made a small study of tattoo marks and have even contributed to the literature of the subject. That trick of