Sherlock Holmes and the faithful Dr. Watson are featured •here in a series of twelve of their earliest cases. They include A Scandal in Bohemia where, uniquely, Holmes is outwitted - by a beautiful woman; The Red-Headed League, which begins with a bizarre newspaper advertisement for red-haired men; and The Adventure of the Speckled Band, in which the great detective traces a sinister whistling sound to its lethal source.

First published month by month in The Strand magazine (1891-1892), the stories are illustrated by Sidney Paget, who created the image of Holmes in his signature deerstalker hat and Inverness cape.