The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes gathers twelve short cases from The Strand Magazine, the 1891 and 1892 run that made the detective famous. A king fears a photograph, a red-haired pawnbroker is paid to copy out an encyclopedia, and a Christmas goose goes astray. Watson is married now and drops in as a visitor, which gives the book an easy, fireside warmth. The formula has been copied endlessly, yet these stories remain remarkably economical.

Each story stands alone, at 450 to 750 sentences. Start with A Scandal in Bohemia, which has the shortest sentences; in one exchange the lines shrink to a few words, Holmes saying Bệ hạ and the king ta. The Beryl Coronet is slower going. Women clients call Holmes ngài and he calls them cô, two old school friends use mình and cậu, and letters and press reports add a stiffer register. Some narration, particularly late on, is ornate and full of literary idiom.