This Combo Collection (Set of 4 Books) includes All-time Bestseller Books. This anthology contains : Rodney Stone Beyond the City Through the Magic Door A Study In Scarlet

A Study in Scarlet, originally titled A Tangled Skein and published in 1887, was the first story to ever feature Detective Sherlock Homes and his trusty sidekick Watson. Written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in less than three weeks when he was 27, it would eventually become one of the most famous Holmes stories written, and was one of only four full-length novels starring the detective. A Study in Scarlet was also the first novel to feature a magnifying glass as a detective's tool. Scottish surgeon and political activist SIR ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE (1859-1930) turned his passions into stories and novels, producing fiction and nonfiction works sometimes controversial (The Great Boer War, 1900), sometimes fanciful (The Coming of the Fairies, 1922), and sometimes legendary (The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, 1892).

"There's the scarlet thread of murder running through the colourless skein of life." In Arthur Conan Doyle's A Study in Scarlet a popular cultural phenomenon is born. We meet two of the most famous characters in modern literary history: the consulting detective Sherlock Holmes and John Watson, an army doctor home on sick leave, for the first time. Through Watson we learn a little about the eccentric figure who is his new room-mate at 221B Baker Street, before they encounter their first case: an American visitor to the city has been killed in an empty house off the Brixton Road, and the only clue the police have is the mysterious word 'Rache', scrawled in blood-red letters on the wall. As Holmes sets to work with his unique forensic methods, behind the murder a tangled skein of love, religion, and revenge gradually unwinds, taking us from the streets of London to the Utah Territory, and back again. As Nicholas Daly's Introduction describes, out of this gripping tale grew the Holmes and Watson stories that would make Conan Doyle the best-paid author of his time. His creations have become household words, inspiring not only countless adaptations and imitations, but a Sherlock Holmes museum, Sherlock Holmes-themed pubs, and a whole array of Holmesian merchandise, from cushions to jigsaw puzzles. Here, though, we meet Holmes and Watson before they became famous, and we can see how their extraordinary impact on our popular culture derives from the late-Victorian world from which they emerge.

Through the Magic Door (1907) is an essay by Arthur Conan Doyle: his subject is the charisma and charm of books. Doyle invites readers to enjoy the greatest minds of all times through what they have left behind and argues that, when we read, the selfishness and hopelessness of the world can be left behind.

Through the Magic Door (1907) is an essay by Arthur Conan Doyle: his subject is the charisma and charm of books. Doyle invites readers to enjoy the greatest minds of all times through what they have left behind and argues that, when we read, the selfishness and hopelessness of the world can be left behind.

Dr. Watson, having returned to London after serving in the Second Anglo-Afghan War, visits the Criterion Restaurant and runs into an old friend named Stamford. Watson confides in Stamford that, due to a shoulder...

A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle introduces the characters Sherlock Holmes and Dr John Watson, and is the first of four novels and 56 short stories in the original Holmes canon. It was first published in 1887 in Beeton's Christmas Annual, and released as a separate book the following July (1888). The novel is divided into two segments of seven chapters each. In the original book Part I is unnamed, but claims to be reprinted from the "reminisces of John H Watson, M.D." and is often referred to as such. Watson narrates the first section of the novel, detailing his brief service in the second Afghan War, his injury and subsequent return to England. Having little to do with his time and few friends to spend it with, Watson soon falls into dire financial straits and decides he must either find cheaper accommodation or leave London entirely.

A Study in Scarlet is a detective mystery novel written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, introducing his new characters, "consulting detective" Sherlock Holmes and his friend and chronicler, Dr. John Watson, who later became two of the most famous characters in literature.

A Study in Scarlet (1887) marks the debut of the very gifted and eccentric detective Sherlock Holmes, and his close friend and chronicler, Dr. Watson – two of the most well-known characters in crime fiction. It was the first of four novels featuring the duo and was followed by The Sign of the Four (1890) The book itself was amazing and the style of writing also commendable. The story itself sees an ‘unlucky’ Dr. John Watson trying to find a place for himself after returning to England following injury and sickness that has invalided him out of the army medical core. Finding accommodation in the capital to be a little more than he can afford he is introduced by a mutual friend to another in the same situation, the slightly unusual Sherlock Holmes. Although Watson recognizes there is a strangeness to Holmes he is attracted to the man’s observations and eccentricities and the two end up sharing rooms at 221B Baker Street. A STUDY IN SCARLET: Holmes, it would seem is a consulting detective, spending all his time learning bits and pieces from countless disciplines in order to make himself not just good, but one of the best in the field, something that combined with his mind make him excellent. He is aware of his genius but does not feel the need to boast about it, more than happy to let others take credit for his work. It would seem as long as a few people like Watson know and accept the truth then he is happy. Even so, it seems as though he is getting bored of what he is doing, very rarely seeing the need to leave the house to investigate, but when he is presented with a more than the interesting case and with a little cajoling from Watson he begins to investigate what becomes their first case together. The mystery is that of a dead body in an empty house, with no sign of violence, but a message written in blood on the wall in another room brings opens a mystery that seems almost impossible to solve… It goes without saying that Holmes manages to solve it and in an entertaining style. Conan-Doyle is a great storyteller, keeping the reader enthralled and bringing them back again and again so that the pages seem to fly by! The world of which he is writing is modern to him, so there are some lovely touches that help open the world to another time for us. A STUDY IN SCARLET