His Last Bow

His Last Bow: Some Reminiscences of Sherlock Holmes is a 1917 collection of previously published Sherlock Holmes stories by Arthur Conan Doyle, including the titular short story, "His Last Bow. The War Service of Sherlock Holmes" (1917). The collection's first US edition adjusts the anthology's subtitle to Some Later Reminiscences of Sherlock Holmes. All editions contain a brief preface, by "John H. Watson, M.D.", that assures readers that as of the date of publication Holmes is long retired from his profession of detective but is still alive and well, albeit suffering from a touch of rheumatism.

For the short story, see His Last Bow (short story).
Not to be confused with His Last Vow.
His Last Bow
First edition cover
AuthorArthur Conan Doyle
IllustratorRichard Gutschmidt
Cover artistJoseph van Abbé
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
SeriesSherlock Holmes
GenreDetective fiction
PublisherJohn Murray
Publication date
22 October 1917
Media typePrint (hardcover)
Pages305
Preceded byThe Valley of Fear 
Followed byThe Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes 
TextHis Last Bow at Wikisource

Description

The book was published in the UK by John Murray in October 1917, and in the US by George H. Doran Co. that same month.[1]

The collection contains "The Adventure of the Cardboard Box", which was also included in the first edition of The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes (1894) but was dropped from later editions of that book.

Six of the stories were published in The Strand Magazine between September 1908 and December 1913.[2][3] The Strand published "The Adventure of Wistaria Lodge" as "A Reminiscence of Sherlock Holmes" and divided it into two parts, called "The Singular Experience of Mr. John Scott Eccles" and "The Tiger of San Pedro".[4] Later printings of His Last Bow correct Wistaria to Wisteria.

The final story, "His Last Bow. The War Service of Sherlock Holmes" (1917), an epilogue about Holmes' war service, was first published in Collier's on 22 September 1917—one month before the book's premiere on 22 October.[2][3]

Contents
  1. Preface by John H. Watson (1917)
  2. "The Adventure of Wisteria Lodge" (1908)
  3. "The Adventure of the Cardboard Box" (1892)
  4. "The Adventure of the Red Circle" (1911)
  5. "The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans" (1908)
  6. "The Adventure of the Dying Detective" (1913)
  7. "The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax" (1911)
  8. "The Adventure of the Devil's Foot" (1910)
  9. "His Last Bow. The War Service of Sherlock Holmes" (1917)

Adaptations

Series for which all the stories in His Last Bow were adapted include the Sherlock Holmes Stoll film series (1921–1923)[5] and the radio series The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1930–1936).[6] All the stories in the collection except "His Last Bow" were adapted as episodes of the 1939–1950 radio series The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes,[7] and all were dramatised for the BBC Sherlock Holmes 1952–1969 radio series.

Except for the short story "His Last Bow", the stories in the collection were adapted for television as episodes of the Granada television series (1984–1994).[8] His Last Bow was dramatised for BBC Radio 4 in 1994 as part of the BBC Sherlock Holmes 1989–1998 radio series.[9] All the stories in the collection were adapted as episodes of the radio series The Classic Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (2005–2016).[10] The stories in His Last Bow have also been adapted for various other productions.

References
  1. Cawthorne, Nigel (2011). A Brief History of Sherlock Holmes. Running Press. p. 138. ISBN 978-0762444083.
  2. "His Last Bow". De Encyclopédie de Conan Doyle & Sherlock Holmes. Société Sherlock Holmes de France. Retrieved 21 January 2014.
  3. "His Last Bow: Some Reminiscences of Sherlock Holmes". De Encyclopédie de Conan Doyle & Sherlock Holmes. Société Sherlock Holmes de France. Retrieved 21 January 2014.
  4. Doyle, Arthur Conan (October 1979). The Sherlock Holmes Omnibus (2nd illustrated ed.). John Murray. ISBN 071953691X.
  5. Barnes, Alan (2011). Sherlock Holmes on Screen. Titan Books. pp. 13–14, 64–66, 104–105. ISBN 9780857687760.
  6. Dickerson, Ian (2020). Sherlock Holmes and His Adventures on American Radio. BearManor Media. p. 49. ISBN 978-1629335087.
  7. Dickerson, Ian (2020). Sherlock Holmes and His Adventures on American Radio. BearManor Media. pp. 88–89, 103, 129. ISBN 978-1629335087.
  8. Barnes, Alan (2011). Sherlock Holmes on Screen. Titan Books. pp. 21–23, 41, 114–115, 152–153. ISBN 9780857687760.
  9. Bert Coules. "His Last Bow". The BBC complete audio Sherlock Holmes. Retrieved 12 December 2016.
  10. Wright, Stewart (30 April 2019). "The Classic Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: Broadcast Log" (PDF). Old-Time Radio. Retrieved 5 December 2020.

First edition dustjacket image courtesy of Lucius Books Ltd.

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