I’ll be uploading rankings of Sherlock Holmes stories from my new book, Wherever Fact May Lead Me: A Ranking of the Sherlock Holmes Stories, every day till we reach the best story. After that, I’ll share my ranking of the best villains in the Holmes canon. You can find the rankings on my website, and you can buy a copy of the book on Amazon.
Ranking the Sherlock Holmes Stories
1. The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle (January 1892, Adventures)
The Christmas story. A beloved tale whose ranking is all out of proportion with its mystery, but whose ranking, for me, is just right all the same. When I was young, I loved reading about the Holmes’ analysis of the hat, and I always loved the detail of the lime cream. I was fascinated by the bonny blue stone in the crop of the goose, and I was enchanted by the breakfast scene. The Blue Carbuncle is, to me, the most lovable, re-readable, and cozy story in the canon. On a cold winter’s night, when the house is quiet, and snow muffles the street noise, when candles are lit and the pets are asleep and I am interested in treating myself to a Holmesian delicacy, this is the story that I turn to. For me, there is no better measure of a story’s worth than that. Few other stories occupy such a place for me, and all are those that I consider my favorites. They are: Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island and Kidnapped, John le Carré’s Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, Roald Dahl’s The BFG and Danny the Champion of the World, P.G. Wodehouse’s Right Ho, Jeeves! and The Code of the Woosters, Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books, and Richard Connell’s The Most Dangerous Game. Hundreds of other books and stories are close to my heart, such as Stieg Larsson’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Tom Clancy’s The Hunt for Red October; Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Macbeth, and Othello; Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s The Little Prince, Bill Watterson’s Calvin and Hobbes, Chris Van Allsburg’s The Polar Express, Cormac McCarthy’s Blood Meridian, and Ellen Raskin’s The Westing Game. I could nearly go on forever. There are too many well-told, good stories to name. (How could I have left Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities and A Christmas Carol off my list? I really must stop somewhere…) I feel some need of defending The Blue Carbuncle as my favorite, but, on reflection, I really oughtn’t. This is, after all, my list, and I do not intend to push my beliefs on anyone. If you like another story better, then I am happy for you, and I say Live and let live. Blue Carbuncle is my favorite, but it certainly does not have to be yours too. For me, this is an original story (the idea of concealing a stone in a goose is a brilliant one!), and the atmosphere and telling of it are impeccable, as fine as a Christmas dinner. The story manages to engage and elevate all that is Victorian and Christmassy, to wrap it into a neat gift, and to give it without asking anything back. Giving without expectation of receiving is the true Christmas spirit, and for many years I have found a great and merry gift, with nothing expected in return, in The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle.
