Sherlock Holmes: Where to Start with the Short Stories

You know the detective’s name. You may even know several screen versions. But opening a collection can still leave you wondering which story to choose first.

For this guide, you only need one book: The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle. The Project Gutenberg edition linked below contains twelve stories, including all five selected here. You do not need to collect five separate EPUB files. These are starting suggestions, not a ranking of the best Holmes cases.¹

The descriptions stop at the setup. They do not reveal culprits, the explanation of a mystery, or the endings.

Pick the kind of reading you want today

These are editorial ways into the stories, based on their opening situations, not difficulty ratings or required reading order.²

1. The Red-Headed League

A red-haired man brings Holmes a puzzling account of unusually attractive work. The conditions of the offer are stranger than the work itself.²

Try this one when you enjoy asking why a seemingly generous arrangement needs such specific rules. Before chasing a solution, distinguish what the client actually knows from what he has been told.

On a first reading, ask: which part of this situation would I have accepted without another question? That keeps you involved without turning the story into a test.

2. A Scandal in Bohemia

A visitor wants help recovering a photograph connected with Irene Adler. Watson introduces the case by making clear that she left an unusual impression on Holmes.²

Choose this story to pay attention to how people judge one another. Rather than importing everything you remember from an adaptation, let this particular account introduce its characters on its own terms.

Notice when you begin to feel sure about what someone can or cannot do. After reading, return to the opening and ask whether you now hear it differently. The first paragraphs often read differently once you know the case.

3. The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle

Watson arrives shortly after Christmas and finds Holmes examining a battered hat. An apparently minor incident becomes the start of an investigation.²

This is a useful choice when you want to start with something small and concrete. Look carefully at what is observed, then separate it from what is inferred.

Not every inference holds up as a real-world rule. Read the exchange as a piece of storytelling: when does an object stop being background and begin to demand attention? That question can be enjoyable even on a reread, when the solution is no longer a surprise.

4. The Adventure of the Speckled Band

A frightened young woman comes to Baker Street early in the morning. Her account takes Holmes and Watson toward a troubling family situation.²

Pick this when you want tension rather than the comfort of a harmless puzzle. It includes death, threats, and abusive behavior; on a day when you want something gentler, start elsewhere.

As you read, keep track of what the visitor fears and what Holmes asks her to clarify. Those need not be identical. Avoid searching for explanations of the title before you finish; the title itself is part of the reading experience.

5. The Adventure of the Copper Beeches

Violet Hunter asks for advice about a governess position. The pay is appealing, but the employer’s conditions have made her uneasy.²

Choose this when you like a mystery that begins with an ordinary decision. What would you want to know before accepting the offer? Which questions would become more pressing after the first conversation?

Let those questions guide your attention rather than trying to force every detail into an immediate solution. This is also a good place to notice how a client participates in the story, instead of watching only for the detective’s conclusions.

A simple reading route, not homework

Start with The Red-Headed League if an odd premise appeals to you, or A Scandal in Bohemia if you want to meet a memorable figure through the original prose. After one story, choose the next by mood rather than obligation.

You can also follow the collection’s table of contents from the beginning. You will know whether you like the voice of these stories long before any reading plan is done.

For a first pass, keep your notes small: one observation, one assumption, and one question. After the ending, see which you would change. Avoid copying an elaborate solution from an explanation site before giving the story a chance to do its own work.

Reading the original English

These are original stories, not simplified language-learning adaptations. A short story can still contain unfamiliar vocabulary and expressions. Do not treat this list as a promise of easy English or a particular language level.²

Look up a word immediately when it prevents you from following the situation. Otherwise, consider finishing the paragraph first. The right amount of lookup is whatever lets you keep enjoying the book.

Some stories contain dated attitudes or expressions. You can recognize the historical wording without adopting it. Read the text before choosing a story for a child; a familiar detective’s name is not an age recommendation.

Get the EPUB and start with one case

Open The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes on Project Gutenberg

Use the catalogue page to choose an EPUB download or the option to read online. The catalogue is a better place to bookmark than a particular download-file address. Project Gutenberg advises readers outside the United States to check the copyright rules that apply where they are.¹³

To use BlueReader, save the EPUB, sign in, and upload it. After server processing, open the collection from your bookshelf and select the story in its table of contents. BlueReader requires an upload; this is not a device-only file-reading workflow. Keep your original EPUB separately.⁴

Sign in to add an EPUB

For more sources, see where to download free EPUB books. For a different kind of short fiction, try O. Henry beyond “The Gift of the Magi”.