The twelve stories in this collection were first published in the Strand Magazine between July 1891 and June 1892, with illustrations by Sidney Paget. These were the first short stories published about Sherlock Holmes, whom Arthur Conan Doyle had introduced in the novel A Study in Scarlet in 1887. These adventures were first published in book form by George Newnes Ltd. in Great Britain on October 14, 1892, and by Harper ＆ Brothers in the U.S. on the following day. All of the text and illustrations in this digital edition are in the public domain.