John Watson. Recently discharged from the military, Watson takes a room with an amazing young man — the arrogant crime expert, Sherlock Holmes. Their investigation of a bizarre crime proves to be an auspicious beginning for one of the most illustrious crime-solving partnerships of all time.The second tale, The Sign of Four, is an incredible story of greed and revenge in which Holmes and Watson accompany a beautiful young woman on a mission that leads to a terrifying, one-legged man in the dark heart of London.A thrilling experience for legions of Holmes fans, these exciting tales will also serve as an excellent introduction to readers who have never made the acquaintance of this incomparable detective and his colleague.

    Much of Margaret Oliphant's fiction examines the position of women and the injustice and sterility of denying women outlets of fulfillment, most notably in Kirsteen, one of her last and greatest novels.

    But will life change when they return to their own hearthsides?Reminiscent of George Eliot's Middlemarch, The Emancipated tells us as much about Victorian society -- with all its prejudices and rigid conventions -- as it does about one's woman's growth to human understanding. Published in 1890, it was Gissing's last novel before the more embittered view of New Grub Street -- a proclamation of hope, of freedom in the midst of Victorian darkness.