A Study in Scarlet: [illustrated Edition]

A Study in Scarlet is a detective mystery novel written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, introducing his new characters, "consulting detective" Sherlock Holmes and his friend and chronicler Dr John Watson, who later became two of the most famous literary characters in detective fiction.

Conan Doyle wrote the story in 1886, and it was published the next year. The book's title derives from a speech given by Holmes to Doctor Watson on the nature of his work, in which he describes the story's murder investigation as his "study in scarlet" "There