The Penguin Complete Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle are the complete adventures of the original and best detective, containing four novels and fifty-six short stories about the most engaging detective of all time, with a foreword by crime writer Ruth Rendell. The detective Sherlock Holmes - who continues to enthral millions in film and TV adaptations starring actors like Robert Downey Jr and Benedict Cumberbatch - was the creation of Arthur Conan Doyle, whose crime stories have thrilled readers for well over a century. Sherlock Holmes is not only the most famous character in crime fiction, but arguably the most famous character in all fiction.