Dr Watson comments: 'The stage lost a fine actor' when Holmes chose to devote his formidable talents to the solution of crime. In two of these stories, The Reigate Squire and The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet, Sherlock Holmes demonstrates his thespian powers as he unravels the mysteries. In the first he explains a rural mystery while in the second, Holmes' timely intervention prevents something of a national - even royal scandal.

The Boscombe Valley Mystery takes Holmes and Watson once again into the English countryside, but the famous detective uncovers old Australian animosities to get to the root of the problem. The Yellow Face, which concludes this selection, is one of the most fascinating in the whole canon, raising some social issues of the time.
--back cover