The Return of Sherlock Holmes is a collection of 13 short stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. They were first published in The Strand Magazine between October 1903 and December 1904 with original illustrations by Sidney Paget. All of these stories take place after Sherlock Holmes' apparent death in "The Adventure of the Final Problem".
The book was first published in February 1905 by McClure, Phillips & Co. (New York) then on 7 March 1905 by Georges Newnes, Ltd. (London)
This was the first Holmes collection since 1893, when Holmes had "died" in The Final Problem. Having published The Hound of the Baskervilles in 1901–1902 (although setting it before Holmes' death) Doyle came under intense pressure to revive his famous character.
The first story is set in 1894 and has Holmes returning in London and explaining the period from 1891–94, a period called "The Great Hiatus" by Sherlockian enthusiasts.