The Canon: Sherlock Holmes Stories

The complete Sherlock Holmes Canon, penned by Arthur Conan Doyle, consists of four novels and 56 short stories, all published between 1887 and 1927.

The list below is arranged by the date each story was published. In brackets after each title is the story’s four-letter abbreviation; these were created by Jay Finley Christ in 1947, and Sherlockians often use them to identify stories in the writings about the Writings. We have also included information on the story’s first publication and when it is believed to have taken place.

Clicking on a title will take you to the full text of the story.

If you need to search for occurrences of a word or phrase, this site allows you to search either the full text of the Canon or an individual story or novel.

Cases of the Great Detective, Mr. Sherlock Holmes, as set forth by Dr. John H. Watson

• A Study in Scarlet [SCAR] (Beeton’s Christmas Annual, December 1887; set in March 1881)
• The Sign of the Four [SIGN] (Lippincott’s, February 1890; set in September 1888)
• The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
  • A Scandal in Bohemia [SCAN] (The Strand, July 1891; set in May 1887)
  • The Red-Headed League [REDH] (The Strand, August 1891; set in October 1887)
  • A Case of Identity [IDEN] (The Strand, September 1891; set in October 1887)
  • The Boscombe Valley Mystery [BOSC] (The Strand, October 1891; set in June 1889)
  • The Five Orange Pips [FIVE] (The Strand, November 1891; set in September 1887)
  • The Man with the Twisted Lip [TWIS] (The Strand, December 1891; set in June 1887)
  • The Blue Carbuncle [BLUE] (The Strand, January 1892; set in December 1887)
  • The Speckled Band [SPEC] (The Strand, February 1892; set in April 1883)
  • The Engineer’s Thumb [ENGR] (The Strand, March 1892; set in September 1889)
  • The Noble Bachelor [NOBL] (The Strand, April 1892; set in October 1886)
  • The Beryl Coronet [BERY] (The Strand, May 1892; set in December 1890)
  • The Copper Beeches [COPP] (The Strand, June 1892; set in April 1889)
• The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes
  • Silver Blaze [SILV] (The Strand, December 1892; set in September 1890)
  • The Cardboard Box [CARD] (The Strand, January, 1893; set in August–September 1889)
  • The Yellow Face [YELL] (The Strand, February, 1893; set in April 1888)
  • The Stockbroker’s Clerk [STOC] (The Strand, March 1893; set in June 1889)
  • The Gloria Scott [GLOR] (The Strand, April 1893; set in July–September 1874)
  • The Musgrave Ritual [MUSG] (The Strand, May 1893; set in October 1879)
  • The Reigate Puzzle (or The Reigate Squires) [REIG] (The Strand, June 1893; set in April, 1887)
  • The Crooked Man [CROO] (The Strand, July 1893; set in September 1889)
  • The Resident Patient [RESI] (The Strand, August 1893; set in October 1886)
  • The Greek Interpreter [GREE] (The Strand, September 1893; story set in September 1888)
  • The Naval Treaty [NAVA] (The Strand, October 1893; set in July–August 1889)
  • The Final Problem [FINA] (The Strand, December 1893; set in April–May 1891)
• The Hound of the Baskervilles [HOUN] (The Strand, August 1901–April 1902; set in September–October 1888)
• The Return of Sherlock Holmes
  • The Empty House [EMPT] (Collier’s, September 1903; set in April 1894)
  • The Norwood Builder [NORW] (Collier’s, October 1902; set in August 1895)
  • The Solitary Cyclist [SOLI] (Collier’s, December 1903; set in April 1895)
  • The Dancing Men [DANC] (Collier’s, December 1903; set in July–August 1898)
  • The Priory School [PRIO] (The Strand, January 1904; set in May 1901)
  • Black Peter [BLAC] (The Strand, February 1904; set in July 1895)
  • Charles Augustus Milverton [CHAS] (Collier’s, March 1904; set in January 1899)
  • The Six Napoleons [SIXN] (Collier’s, April 1904; set in June 1900)
  • The Three Students [3STU] (The Strand, June 1904; set in April 1895)
  • The Golden Pince-Nez [GOLD] (The Strand, July 1904; set in November 1894)
  • The Missing Three-Quarter [MISS] (The Strand, August 1904; set in December 1896)
  • The Abbey Grange [ABBE] (The Strand, September 1904; set in January 1887)
  • The Second Stain [SECO] (The Strand, December 1904; set in October 1886)
• His Last Bow
  • Wisteria Lodge [WIST] (Collier’s, August 1908; set in March 1890)
  • The Bruce-Partington Plans [BRUC] (The Strand, December 1908; set in November 1895)
  • The Devil’s Foot [DEVI] (The Strand, December 1910; set in March 1897)
  • The Red Circle [REDC] (The Strand, March–April 1911; set in September, 1902)
  • Lady Frances Carfax [LADY] (The Strand, December 1911; set in July 1902)
  • The Dying Detective [DYIN] (The Strand, November 1913; set in November 1887)
  • His Last Bow [LAST] (The Strand, September 1917; set in August 1914)
• The Valley of Fear [VALL] (The Strand, September 1914–May 1915; set in January 1888)
• The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes
  • The Mazarin Stone [MAZA] (The Strand, October 1921; set in Summer 1903)
  • The Problem of Thor Bridge [THOR] (The Strand, February 1922; set in October 1900)
  • The Creeping Man [CREE] (The Strand, March 1923; set in September 1903)
  • The Sussex Vampire [SUSS] (The Strand, January 1924; set in November 1896)
  • The Three Garridebs [3GAR] (Collier’s, October 1924-story set in June 1902)
  • The Illustrious Client [ILLU] (Collier’s, November 1924; set in September 1902)
  • The Three Gables [3GAB] (Liberty, September 1926; set in May 1903)
  • The Blanched Soldier [BLAN] (Liberty, October 1926; set in January 1903)
  • The Lion’s Mane [LION] (Liberty, November 1926; set in July–August 1909)
  • The Retired Colourman [RETI] (Liberty, December 1926; set in July 1898)
  • The Veiled Lodger [VEIL] (Liberty, January 1927; set in October 1896)
  • Shoscombe Old Place [SHOS] (Liberty, March 1927; set in May,1902)