A silver magnifying glass resting on a book – Arthur Conan Doyle Books in Order

Arthur Conan Doyle Books in Order: The Complete Reading Guide

Updated September 2026

Arthur Conan Doyle Books in Order: The Short Answer

Arthur Conan Doyle (1859–1930) wrote far more than detective stories, but most people looking up Arthur Conan Doyle books in order want Sherlock Holmes. The complete Holmes canon is 60 stories: 4 novels and 56 short stories, gathered into nine books. In publication order:

  1. A Study in Scarlet (novel, 1887)
  2. The Sign of the Four (novel, 1890)
  3. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (12 stories, 1892)
  4. The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes (11 or 12 stories, 1894)
  5. The Hound of the Baskervilles (novel, serialized 1901–02)
  6. The Return of Sherlock Holmes (13 stories, 1905)
  7. The Valley of Fear (novel, serialized 1914–15)
  8. His Last Bow (7 or 8 stories, 1917)
  9. The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes (12 stories, 1927)

Reading them in that order is the best way to do it. Beyond Holmes, Doyle wrote the Professor Challenger adventures (starting with The Lost World), the comic Brigadier Gerard stories, and a set of historical novels he considered his best work. Those are covered further down.

In this guide:

Every Sherlock Holmes Story, Book by Book

Here are all 60, in the order they appear in the original British book editions.

The four novels

  • A Study in Scarlet (1887) — first published in Beeton's Christmas Annual. Holmes and Watson meet and take rooms at 221B Baker Street.
  • The Sign of the Four (1890) — stolen treasure from India, a boat chase on the Thames, and Watson meets his future wife, Mary Morstan.
  • The Hound of the Baskervilles (1901–02) — the family curse on Dartmoor. Set before Holmes's "death," though written after it.
  • The Valley of Fear (1914–15) — a murder in a moated manor house, with a long flashback to a secret society in American coal country.

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1892)

  1. A Scandal in Bohemia
  2. The Red-Headed League
  3. A Case of Identity
  4. The Boscombe Valley Mystery
  5. The Five Orange Pips
  6. The Man with the Twisted Lip
  7. The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle
  8. The Adventure of the Speckled Band
  9. The Adventure of the Engineer's Thumb
  10. The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor
  11. The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet
  12. The Adventure of the Copper Beeches

The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes (1894)

  1. Silver Blaze
  2. The Yellow Face
  3. The Stockbroker's Clerk
  4. The "Gloria Scott"
  5. The Musgrave Ritual
  6. The Reigate Squire
  7. The Crooked Man
  8. The Resident Patient
  9. The Greek Interpreter
  10. The Naval Treaty
  11. The Final Problem

"The Cardboard Box" originally ran in The Strand between "Silver Blaze" and "The Yellow Face" and was in the first American edition, but was quickly dropped. It resurfaced in His Last Bow. Modern editions put it in one book or the other, so count it once.

The Return of Sherlock Holmes (1905)

  1. The Adventure of the Empty House
  2. The Adventure of the Norwood Builder
  3. The Adventure of the Dancing Men
  4. The Adventure of the Solitary Cyclist
  5. The Adventure of the Priory School
  6. The Adventure of Black Peter
  7. The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton
  8. The Adventure of the Six Napoleons
  9. The Adventure of the Three Students
  10. The Adventure of the Golden Pince-Nez
  11. The Adventure of the Missing Three-Quarter
  12. The Adventure of the Abbey Grange
  13. The Adventure of the Second Stain

His Last Bow (1917)

  1. The Adventure of Wisteria Lodge
  2. The Adventure of the Cardboard Box
  3. The Adventure of the Red Circle
  4. The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans
  5. The Adventure of the Dying Detective
  6. The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax
  7. The Adventure of the Devil's Foot
  8. His Last Bow

The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes (1927)

  1. The Adventure of the Illustrious Client
  2. The Adventure of the Blanched Soldier
  3. The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone
  4. The Adventure of the Three Gables
  5. The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire
  6. The Adventure of the Three Garridebs
  7. The Problem of Thor Bridge
  8. The Adventure of the Creeping Man
  9. The Adventure of the Lion's Mane
  10. The Adventure of the Veiled Lodger
  11. The Adventure of Shoscombe Old Place
  12. The Adventure of the Retired Colourman

The Great Hiatus: Why Holmes Died and Came Back

Doyle grew tired of Holmes quickly. In "The Final Problem" (December 1893) he sent the detective over the Reichenbach Falls with Professor Moriarty and considered the matter closed. Readers did not.

Eight years later he published The Hound of the Baskervilles, carefully set before Holmes's death. Then in 1903 "The Adventure of the Empty House" brought Holmes back for good, explaining where he'd been for three years. That's why reading in publication order matters: "The Final Problem" and "The Empty House" only land properly in sequence.

Some fans try to read the stories in the order the cases supposedly happened, following timelines worked out by later scholars. We don't recommend it for a first read. Watson's dates contradict each other, the scholars disagree, and you'd end up reading Holmes's return before his death.

Where to Start with Sherlock Holmes

You don't have to begin with A Study in Scarlet. It's an important book, but the second half leaves Holmes entirely for a long flashback in 1840s Utah, and it loses a lot of first-time readers.

  • For most readers: start with The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. The stories are short, they're the most famous, and "The Red-Headed League" and "The Speckled Band" are as good as detective fiction gets. Then go back to the novels.
  • For a family read-aloud: The Hound of the Baskervilles. It's atmospheric and genuinely spooky without anything a parent needs to skip.
  • For a completist: publication order, straight through, using the list above.

Families reading The Hound aloud will find more books that work the same way in our best read-aloud chapter books for families.

The Case-Book is the weakest of the collections and best saved for last, where it belongs anyway. Once you've finished the canon, our guide on where to start with Agatha Christie is the natural next step.

If you want to see where the brilliant amateur detective and his narrator friend began, our Edgar Allan Poe books in order guide covers Poe's three Dupin stories, written decades before Holmes.

Sherlock Holmes Age and Content Notes

Holmes is one of the safest classics to hand a curious 11- or 12-year-old. The mysteries are about reasoning, most violence happens off the page, and there's no bad language. A few things are worth knowing:

  • Drug use. The Sign of the Four opens with Holmes injecting cocaine out of boredom, and Watson disapproving. Later stories say Watson weaned him off it.
  • Period attitudes. A Study in Scarlet portrays early Mormons very harshly. The Sign of the Four and "The Three Gables" contain racial caricatures typical of the era that make for a useful discussion with older students.
  • Frightening moments. "The Speckled Band" and The Hound of the Baskervilles have a few scares for younger children, but nothing gory.

Vocabulary is the real hurdle for younger readers. Many families start with abridged or illustrated editions around ages 8–10, then move to the originals at 12 or so.

Beyond Holmes: Challenger, Gerard and the Historical Novels

Professor Challenger

A loud, bearded, brilliant scientist who is everything Holmes isn't. The Lost World (1912), about an expedition to a South American plateau where dinosaurs survive, is the one to read and is great fun for ages 11 and up. Kids who love it should try Verne next; our Jules Verne books in order guide shows where to start. The Challenger series continues with The Poison Belt (1913), The Land of Mist (1926, a book about spiritualism that surprises readers expecting adventure), and two short stories, "When the World Screamed" (1928) and "The Disintegration Machine" (1929).

Brigadier Gerard

Comic adventures of a vain, brave, not-very-bright French cavalry officer serving Napoleon, told in his own boastful voice. The Exploits of Brigadier Gerard (1896) and The Adventures of Gerard (1903) are often found together in one volume. They're very funny, and a good pick for teens who liked the Holmes stories.

Historical novels

  • Micah Clarke (1889) — the Monmouth Rebellion of 1685
  • The White Company (1891) — English archers in the Hundred Years' War
  • The Great Shadow (1892) — the Napoleonic Wars, ending at Waterloo
  • The Refugees (1893) — Huguenots in the France of Louis XIV and in New France
  • Rodney Stone (1896) — Regency-era boxing
  • Uncle Bernac (1897) — a plot against Napoleon
  • Sir Nigel (1906) — a prequel to The White Company

Doyle thought these would outlast Holmes. They didn't, but The White Company is a rousing medieval adventure that homeschool families studying the Middle Ages should know about. Read The White Company first even though Sir Nigel is set earlier. For more novels to pair with history lessons, see our best historical fiction books for students.

Other books

Doyle also wrote the early novels The Mystery of Cloomber (1889) and The Firm of Girdlestone (1890), the medical stories of Round the Red Lamp (1894), The Stark Munro Letters (1895), and a memoir, Memories and Adventures (1924). In later life he wrote mainly about spiritualism, including The Coming of the Fairies (1922), his defense of the Cottingley fairy photographs.

Sherlock Holmes on Film and Television

Holmes has been filmed more than almost any character in fiction. A few versions worth knowing:

  • Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce in the 1939–1946 films, starting with The Hound of the Baskervilles (1939). Most of the later ones move Holmes into the 1940s.
  • Jeremy Brett in the Granada Television series (1984–1994), widely considered the most faithful adaptation. It's the one we'd suggest to pair with the books.
  • Benedict Cumberbatch in the BBC's Sherlock (2010–2017), a modern-day retelling with plenty of nods to the original titles. More intense than the books; better for older teens and adults.

The Lost World was filmed as a silent movie in 1925 with pioneering stop-motion dinosaurs, and several times since.

Used Holmes and Doyle Books on Our Shelves

Omnibus editions of The Complete Sherlock Holmes are the cheapest way to own all 60 stories, and they turn up regularly. Individual paperbacks of The Sign of the Four or A Study in Scarlet are handy for school. Browse our mystery and classic literature shelves for more, and remember shipping is free on orders over $15.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many Sherlock Holmes stories are there?

Sixty in total: four novels and 56 short stories, with the stories gathered in five collections. Together they're known as the canon.

Do you have to read Sherlock Holmes in order?

Not strictly, since most stories stand alone. But reading in publication order means you meet Holmes and Watson properly, and you read "The Final Problem" before "The Empty House," which matters.

What is the first Sherlock Holmes book?

A Study in Scarlet, published in 1887. Many readers find The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1892) an easier place to start.

What was the last Sherlock Holmes story Doyle wrote?

The last to be published in a magazine was "The Adventure of Shoscombe Old Place" in March 1927. It was collected that year in The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes.

Where does The Hound of the Baskervilles fit in the order?

It was published in 1901–02, after Holmes's apparent death in "The Final Problem," but the story is set earlier. Read it between The Memoirs and The Return.

Why is The Cardboard Box missing from my copy of The Memoirs?

It was dropped from The Memoirs soon after first publication and later included in His Last Bow (1917). Check the other book; you haven't lost a story.

What age are the Sherlock Holmes books for?

Most children can handle the stories from about 11 or 12. Abridged and illustrated editions work for younger readers. There is some period drug use and dated racial attitudes worth discussing.

What else did Arthur Conan Doyle write?

The Professor Challenger books, starting with The Lost World (1912), the Brigadier Gerard stories, historical novels like The White Company, and many books on spiritualism.

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