序言
我擔心福爾摩斯先生也會變得象那些時髦的男高音歌手一樣，在人老藝衰之後，還要頻頻地嚮寬厚的觀衆舉行告別演出。是該收場了，不管是真人還是虛構的，福爾摩斯不可不退場。有人認為最好是能夠有那麽一個專門為虛構的人物而設的奇異的陰間——一個奇妙的、不可能存在的地方，在那裏，菲爾丁的仍然可以嚮理查遜的美貌女郎求愛，司各特的英雄們仍然可以耀武揚威，狄更斯的歡樂的倫敦佬仍然在插科打諢，薩剋雷的市儈們則照舊鬍作非為。說不定就在這樣一個神殿的某一偏僻的角落裏，福爾摩斯和他的華生醫生也許暫時可以找到一席之地，而把他們原先占據的舞臺出讓給某一個更精明的偵探和某一個更缺心眼兒的夥伴。
福爾摩斯的事業已經有不少個年頭兒了，這樣說可能是誇張了一些。要是一些老先生們跑來對我說，他們兒童時代的讀物就是福爾摩斯偵探案的話，那是不會得到我的恭維的。誰也不樂意把關乎個人年紀的事情這樣地叫人任意編排。冷酷的事實是，福爾摩斯是在《血字的研究》和《四簽名》裏初露頭角的，那是一八八七年和一八年之間出版的兩本小書。此後問世的一係列短篇故事，頭一篇叫做《波希米亞醜聞》，一一年發表在《海濱雜志》上。書出之後，似乎頗受歡迎，索求日增。於是自那以後，三十九年來斷斷續續所寫的故事，迄今已不下於五十六七，編集為《冒險史》、《回憶錄》、《歸來記》和《最後致意》。其中近幾年出版的最後這十二篇，現在收編為《新探案》。福爾摩斯開始他的探案生涯是在維多利亞朝晚期的中葉，中經短促的愛德華時期。即使在那個狂風暴雨的多事之秋，他也不曾中斷他自己的事業。因此之故，要是我們說，當初閱讀這些小說的青年現在又看到他們的成年子女在同一雜志上閱讀同一偵探的故事，也不為過。於此也就可見不列顛公衆的耐心與忠實之一斑了。
在寫完《回憶錄》之後我下定决心結束福爾摩斯的生命，因為我感到不能使我的文學生涯完全納入一條單軌。這位面頰蒼白嚴峻、四肢懶散的人物，把我的想象力占去了不應有的比例。於是我就這麽結果了他。幸虧沒有驗屍官來檢驗他的屍體，所以，在事隔頗久以後，我還能不太費力地響應讀者的要求，把我當初的魯莽行為一推了事。對於重修舊業我倒並不後悔，因為在實際上我並沒有發現寫這些輕鬆故事妨礙了我鑽研歷史、詩歌、歷史小說、心理學以及戲劇等等多樣的文學形式，並在這些鑽研之中認識到我的才力之有限。要是福爾摩斯壓根兒就沒存在過的話，我也未必能有更大的成就，衹不過他的存在可能有點妨礙人傢看到我其它嚴肅的文學著作而已。
所以，讀者們，還是讓福爾摩斯與諸位告別吧！我對諸君以往給我的信任無限感激，在此謹希望我贈給的消遣良法可以報答諸君，因為小說幻境乃是避世消愁的唯一途徑。
阿瑟·柯南·道爾謹啓
The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes
The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes is the final collection of Sherlock Holmes stories by Arthur Conan Doyle. Originally published in 1927, it contains stories published between 1921 and 1927.
Title of collection
The first British edition and the first American edition of the collection were both published in June 1927. However, they had slightly different titles. The title of the British collection was The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes (hyphenated "Case-Book"), whereas the title of the American collection was The Case Book of Sherlock Holmes ("Case Book" as two words).
Further confusing the issue of the title, some later publishers would publish the collection under the title The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes ("Casebook" as a single word).
Contents
The original chronological order in which the twelve stories in The Case-Book were published is as follows:
* "The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone" (told in third-person)
* "The Problem of Thor Bridge"
* "The Adventure of the Creeping Man"
* "The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire"
* "The Adventure of the Three Garridebs"
* "The Adventure of the Illustrious Client"
* "The Adventure of the Three Gables"
* "The Adventure of the Blanched Soldier" (narrated by Holmes)
* "The Adventure of the Lion's Mane" (narrated by Holmes)
* "The Adventure of the Retired Colourman"
* "The Adventure of the Veiled Lodger"
* "The Adventure of Shoscombe Old Place"
However, many newer editions of the The Case-Book favour the following ordering:
* "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"
Because of the two orderings, "The Adventure of the Retired Colourman" has often been incorrectly identified as the last Sherlock Holmes story written by Arthur Conan Doyle to be published, when the last such story to be published is in fact "The Adventure of Shoscombe Old Place".
Commentary
The Case-Book is notable for containing three stories not narrated by Dr. Watson, as most Sherlock Holmes stories are. "The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone" is narrated in the third person, since it was adapted from a stage play in which Watson hardly appeared. "The Adventure of the Blanched Soldier" and "The Adventure of the Lion's Mane" are both narrated by Holmes himself, the latter being set after his retirement.
Although some of the stories are comparable with Doyle's earlier work, this collection is often considered a lesser entry in the Sherlock Holmes canon. David Stuart Davies has commented that "The Adventure of the Creeping Man" "veers towards risible science fiction"; in the 1974 novel The Seven-Per-Cent Solution, author Nicholas Meyer's Watson claims that this entry, as well as three others from the Case-Book ("The Mazarin Stone", "The Three Gables" and "The Lion's Mane"), are forged "drivel".
Accordingly, many Holmesian aficionados and scholars consider the stories contained in The Case-Book to be among the least impressive in the Holmes canon, claiming that they were written at a time when Doyle was preoccupied with Spiritualism and séances, and less interested in continuing to produce Sherlock Holmes stories, which he regarded as a distraction. (By the time The Case-Book was published, 40 years had passed since publication of the first Holmes adventure, although sales remained very strong.)
However, this view is challenged by the experimental nature of the collection, which suggests that Doyle, rather than cranking out stories by formula, was keeping his interest in Holmes alive by exploring unconventional storytelling methods, such as having Holmes narrate the stories. Additionally, The Case-Book features some of the most unusual villains in the Holmesian canon, including children and animals. The collection is also notable for its recurring depictions of mutilation and disfigurement (as in "The Adventure of the Illustrious Client," "The Adventure of the Blanched Soldier," "The Adventure of the Lion's Mane," and "The Adventure of the Veiled Lodger") and mental derangement ("The Problem of Thor Bridge," "The Adventure of the Creeping Man," "The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire"), indicating the effect that the first World War had upon Doyle. As a result, The Case-Book stands as one of the darkest Holmesian collections.
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