These 12 short stories first appeared in The Strand magazine during 1891-2, and were published in book form in the latter year. Sherlock Holmes - had made his debut five years earlier in A Study in Scarlet, but it was this collection that established him as a detective nonpareil, and Arthur Conan Doyle as one of the most popular writers of the day. In 'The Red-Headed League', pawnbroker Jabez Wilson responds to an advertisement calling for a new recruit to that mysterious association. His hair colour secures him an undemanding, well-paid job - until the day he arrives for work to discover that the League has been summarily dissolved. Hydraulics expert Victor Hatherley also accepts a lucrative offer in 'The Engineer's Thumb', and receives a severed digit into the bargain. In 'The Blue Carbuncle' a fabulous gemstone turns up in a goose's throat. A terrified woman fears she will meet the same fate as her twin sister in 'The Speckled Band'. Sherlock Holmes takes these and other curiosities effortlessly in his stride. No matter how bizarre the facts, Holmes applies his forensic skills and towering intellect to the problem, and the truth will out.
--back cover