A Study in Scarlet

Inside this edition

Every LitLab edition is illustrated from the text itself — the world of the book mapped, its people drawn, its scenes staged. 24 plates are open to everyone in this book; here are 8 of them.

• The World of A Study in ScarletLondon streets and the western American trail share one transatlantic field.
• LAURISTON GARDENSLauriston Gardens — a vacant house crowded with evidence.
• Connections — People FirstFriendship, rivalry, family, love and coercion connect the novel's principal figures.
• The Characters of A Study in ScarletNine figures define the faces and costumes reused throughout the edition.
• Sherlock Holmes — ProfileLondon's independent investigator tests observation against ordinary explanation.
• Dr. John Watson — ProfileA soldier and surgeon rebuilds his life as Holmes's loyal witness.
• The First MeetingHolmes demonstrates his blood reagent as Watson encounters his remarkable future flatmate.
• A Discovery in the LaboratoryStamford introduces Watson as Holmes celebrates a chemical breakthrough.

This edition

Title

A Study in Scarlet

Author

Arthur Conan Doyle (1859–1930)

First published

1887

Illustrated plates

59 original artworks · 24 open to everyone

Chapters

14 · about 43,387 words

Reading time

2 h 54 min

Language

EN

Formats

Read online · EPUB and PDF download with a subscription

Publisher

LitLab — The Illustrated Classics

On LitLab since

August 2026

Rights

Text in the public domain. Illustrations and edition © LitLab.

Source text

Project Gutenberg #244