The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes

Contents

The sequence of stories matches that of the magazine series, December 1892 to December 1893, when "The Adventure of the Naval Treaty" was published in two parts, October and November.

  1. "The Adventure of Silver Blaze"
  2. "The Adventure of the Cardboard Box" – not in the first British edition, nor many other eds.
  3. "The Adventure of the Yellow Face"
  4. "The Adventure of the Stockbroker's Clerk"
  5. "The Adventure of the Gloria Scott"
  6. "The Adventure of the Musgrave Ritual"
  7. "The Adventure of the Reigate Squire"
  8. "The Adventure of the Crooked Man"
  9. "The Adventure of the Resident Patient"
  10. "The Adventure of the Greek Interpreter"
  11. "The Adventure of the Naval Treaty"
  12. "The Final Problem"

Omissions of "The Adventure of the Cardboard Box"

The first London edition of the Memoirs in 1894 did not include "The Adventure of the Cardboard Box", although all twelve stories had appeared in the Strand Magazine. The first U.S. edition included the story, but it was very quickly replaced with a revised edition that omitted it.

The reasoning behind the suppression is unclear. In Britain the story was apparently removed at Doyle's request as it included adultery and so was unsuitable for younger readers. This may have also been the cause for the rapid removal of the story from the U.S. edition, and some sources state that the publishers believed the story was too scandalous for the American public.

As a result, this story was not republished until many years later, when it was added to His Last Bow. Today, most American editions of the canon include it with His Last Bow, while most British editions keep the story in its original place in The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes.

Additionally, when the story was removed from the Memoirs, its opening pages, where Holmes emulates Dupin, were transferred to the beginning of "The Adventure of the Resident Patient". In some later U.S. editions of the Memoirs, which still omit "The Adventure of the Cardboard Box", this transfer still appears.


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