According to the Guinness Book of World Records, Sherlock Holmes is the “most portrayed literary human character in film & TV.”   He fascinated the world when Conan Doyle’s stories first appeared, and today he’s still calling “the game is afoot” to Dr. Watson as they hail a hansom cab on the foggy streets of London, ready to right a wrong and catch a criminal.

Conan Doyle wrote fifty-six Sherlock Holmes short stories and four novels, and everyone seems to have a favorite tale. Even Conan Doyle himself made a list of his personal twelve favorite short stories:

1. “The Adventure of the Speckled Band” 1892
2. “The Red-headed League” 1891
3. “The Adventure of the Dancing Men” 1903
4. “The Final Problem” 1893
5. “A Scandal in Bohemia” 1891
6. “The Adventure of the Empty House” 1903
7. “The Five Orange Pips” 1891
8. “The Adventure of the Second Stain” 1904
9. “The Adventure of the Devil’s Foot” 1910
10. “The Adventure of the Priory School” 1904
11. “The Musgrave Ritual” 1893
12. “The Reigate Squires” 1893

Read the full article published in The Strand Magazine by Diane Gilbert Madsen here.