The first case
A Study in Scarlet introduces Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson.
HOLMES ARCHIVE
PUBLICATION CHRONOLOGY · 1887—1948
A literary history.
Across decades.
The Sherlock Holmes canon appeared from 1887 through 1927; later Holmes-related writing is listed separately by publication decade.
THE PRINCIPAL MILESTONES
Holmes in print.
Dates below follow first publication, not the fictional chronology of the cases.
The Strand years
The short stories begin their celebrated run in The Strand Magazine.
The Final Problem
Doyle publishes Holmes’s apparent last case in the Reichenbach Falls.
Back on the moor
The Hound of the Baskervilles returns Holmes to readers.
The return
The Empty House begins the second series of short stories.
The final case-book
The Adventure of the Veiled Lodger closes the canonical short-story record.
1880s
Novel
A Study in Scarlet
A new partnership begins when Holmes investigates the unexplained death at Lauriston Gardens.
1890s
Novel
The Sign of the Four
A coded message leads Holmes and Watson into a pursuit of a vanished treasure.
The Adventures
A Scandal in Bohemia
A king asks Holmes to retrieve a photograph from the resourceful Irene Adler.
The Adventures
The Red-Headed League
A curious advertisement and an oddly simple job conceal a criminal scheme.
The Adventures
A Case of Identity
A young woman’s missing fiancé leaves behind a puzzle of disguise and motive.
The Adventures
The Boscombe Valley Mystery
A son is accused of murder beside a lonely pool in the English countryside.
The Adventures
The Man with the Twisted Lip
A disappearance in an opium den reveals a startling transformation.
The Adventures
The Adventure of the Speckled Band
A woman fears the same mysterious fate that befell her twin sister.
The Adventures
The Adventure of the Engineer’s Thumb
A mechanical engineer escapes a midnight job with a terrible injury.
The Adventures
The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor
A bride vanishes from her wedding reception without explanation.
The Adventures
The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet
A priceless coronet is damaged in a locked family home.
The Adventures
The Adventure of the Copper Beeches
A governess accepts strange conditions at an isolated country estate.
The Memoirs
The Greek Interpreter
Holmes’s brother Mycroft introduces a case of abduction and translation.
His Last Bow
The Adventure of the Cardboard Box
A parcel containing two severed ears arrives in the post. First published in 1893; placed in His Last Bow in later editions.
1900s
Novel
The Hound of the Baskervilles
An ancient family curse appears to haunt the desolate moor and its heir.
The Return
The Empty House
Holmes returns to London and faces the surviving reach of Moriarty’s network.
His Last Bow
The Adventure of Wisteria Lodge
A visitor’s strange weekend ends in a baffling disappearance.
His Last Bow
The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans
Naval submarine plans disappear from a government office.
Additional writing
Sherlock Holmes Examination Paper
A playful set of questions published in the spirit of Holmes.
1910s
His Last Bow
The Adventure of the Dying Detective
Watson is summoned to a dangerously ill Holmes’s bedside.
His Last Bow
The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax
Holmes searches Europe for a missing aristocratic traveller.
His Last Bow
The Adventure of the Devil’s Foot
A Cornish family suffers a mysterious and deadly affliction.
1920s
The Case-Book
The Adventure of the Illustrious Client
Holmes tries to prevent a dangerous marriage to a notorious aristocrat.
The Case-Book
The Adventure of the Blanched Soldier
A soldier’s friend vanishes after returning from the war.
The Case-Book
The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone
A royal jewel is recovered through an elaborate decoy.
The Case-Book
The Adventure of the Three Gables
A sinister buyer wants an entire house and its contents.
The Case-Book
The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire
A father fears an impossible explanation for strange marks on his child.
The Case-Book
The Adventure of the Three Garridebs
A peculiar inheritance scheme puts Watson in danger.
The Case-Book
The Adventure of the Problem of Thor Bridge
A governess is accused after a wealthy man’s wife is found dead.
The Case-Book
The Adventure of the Creeping Man
A professor’s unsettling behaviour changes after a laboratory experiment.
The Case-Book
The Adventure of the Veiled Lodger
A reclusive woman reveals a tragic history to Holmes.
The Case-Book
The Adventure of Shoscombe Old Place
A racehorse and a missing body trouble a country estate.
The Case-Book
The Adventure of the Retired Colourman
A businessman disappears after a suspicious late-night visit.
Additional writing
How Watson Learned the Trick
A short comic vignette in which Holmes demonstrates observation.
1940s
Additional writing
The Man Who Was Wanted
A complete Sherlock Holmes pastiche by Arthur Whitaker, wrongly published as a lost Doyle story; not part of the original canon.