The Penguin Complete Sherlock Holmes

Holmes is a mesmerising creation and Conan Doyle a master storyteller

The Times

The immense talent, passion and literary brilliance that Conan Doyle brought to his work gives him a unique place in English letters... Personally, I'd walk a million in tight boots just to read his letters to the milkman.

Stephen Fry

Why do people still read Sherlock Holmes in an age of DNA testing and electron microscopes? It's elementary. Holmes has a timeless intelligence that puts him head, shoulders and deer-stalker above all other detectives

Alexander McCall Smith

I read every Sherlock Holmes story...they have certainly found a permanent place in English literature

Winston Churchill

The world's most famous detective

Ruth Rendell

The brilliance of the stories lies in the relationship between Holmes and Watson, which is both funny and touching

Jonathan Coe

Now, as in his lifetime, cab drivers, statesmen, academics, and raggedy-arsed children sit spellbound at his feet... No wonder, then, if the pairing of Holmes and Watson has triggered more imitators than any other duo in literature

John Le Carre