THE COMPLETE SHERLOCK HOLMES contains the entire published account of the work of the world's most illustrious detective, recounted (with one notable exception) by his colleague John H. Watson, M.D. The four major novels and all fifty-six stories from five volumes cover the whole span, from Dr Watson 's first introduction to the eccentric experimenter, to the desperate encounter at the Reichenbach Falls, the startling apparition in Kensington that caused Dr Watson to faint for the first and last time in his life, and the last case from the archive in which, with Characteristic grace, Holmes allows the credit to be taken by one Inspector MacKinnon.

Julian Symons' Introduction places the great detective in the context of his age, and outlines some reasons for his enduring appeal : the full solution is to be found in the works themselves.
--front flap