Any fan of detective fiction knows that there is no substitute in all of literature for a few hours of reading pleasure at 221 B Baker Street. The tobacco in the persian slipper, the piles of monographs and newspaper clippings covering the floor and table, the unanswered correspondence affixed to the mantle with a dagger. What will the next visitor or urgent message bring? Perhaps a request from a mysterious stranger to help prevent "A Scandal in Bohemia." Perhaps Watson will tell us the story, discretely leaving out certain names, of how he and Holmes had to step outside the law to protect a certain royal personage from a blackmailer in "The Case of Charles Augustus Milverton." Or, for a very unusual treat, perhaps Holmes himself, in quiet retirement in Sussex, will tell a tale in his own words as in "The Lion's Mane." In the more than a century since the publication of the first tale featuring Sherlock Holmes, A Study in Scarlet, Arthur Conan Doyle's characters and stories have inspired countless films, plays, pastiches, literary tributes, and tens of thousands of imitations. Now, Oxford is proud to announce The Oxford Sherlock Holmes, the complete works gathered together in nine handsomely bound, meticulously edited volumes. The books themselves are beautiful, and the entire set comes in an attractive display box, perfect for gift-giving. Beautifully designed, boasting an introduction by a Doyle authority, a chronology, a selected bibliography, and notes, all carefully researched and assembled, this magnificent set will enhance the reading pleasure of readers new to Doyle's work and veterans of Holmsian arcana. A goldmine of reading pleasure, The Oxford Sherlock Holmes is an essential addition to the library of anyone interested in crime fiction.
