It was nine o'clock at night upon the second of August--the most terrible August in the history of the world. One might have thought already that God's curse hung heavy over a degenerate world, for there was an awesome hush and a feeling of vague expectancy in the sultry and stagnant air. The sun had long set, but one blood-red gash like an open wound lay low in the distant west.

His Last Bow, the penultimate collection of Sherlock Holmes stories, features eight mysteries written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, including "The Cardboard Box," the third and final appearance of Sherlock's portly older brother Mycroft, and "The Devil's Foot," one of Conan Doyle's 12 favorite Sherlock Holmes stories. This Top Five Classics illustrated edition of His Last Bow includes all 51 illustrations by Arthur Twidle, Sidney Paget, Walter Paget, Alfred Gilbert, Gilbert Holiday, and H.M. Brock & Joseph Simpson as they appeared in the original Strand serials.

His Last Bow is a 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 (1917), Holmes is long retired from his profession of detective but is still alive and well, albeit suffering from a touch of rheumatism.

The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes includes ‘"The Adventure of the Illustrious Client", "The Adventure of the Blanched Soldier", "The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone", "The Adventure of the Three Gables", "The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire", "The Adventure of the Three Garridebs", "The Problem of Thor Bridge", "The Adventure of the Creeping Man", "The Adventure of the Lion's Mane", "The Adventure of the Veiled Lodger", "The Adventure of Shoscombe Old Place" & "The Adventure of the Retired Colourman". Rip-roaring and spine-chilling, these stories have been intriguing readers for generations.

A facsimile of the partial original manuscript of "His Last Bow" by Arthur Conan Doyle with annotations and commentary.