This work brings together eight Arthur Conan Doyle mystery classics.
When first gathered into one volume in 1908, the book was entitled
Round the Fire Stories, since the author recommended that they be read
ideally 'round the fire upon a winter's night. According to Barzun &
Taylor in A Catalogue of Crime, As one reads 'The Man with the
Watches, ' 'The Lost Special, ' 'The Jew's Breastplate, ' 'The Black
Doctor' and the rest, one marvels again at Doyle's natural gift of
storytelling and one relishes his ingrained habit of giving clues, even
when they serve narrative and are not to be used for ratiocination.
These stories are worth reading even around a radiator.