The Final Problem

The Final Problem is a short story by Arthur Conan Doyle. This was originally published in The Strand Magazine (December 1893), and was subsequently inserted as the twelfth short story in the collection The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes (December 1894). Although its author considered this literary work as one of the best stories of the popular detective, at that time, this one was extremely disappointing for the readers, who considered unfair that Sherlock Holmes had lost his life in that way. In that sense, for various reasons, Arthur Conan Doyle rectified and brought Sherlock Holmes back, three years after his fake death, in the story The Adventure of the Empty House, indicating that finally the famous detective (boxer and expert in Japanese martial arts) managed to avoid James Moriarty, on the edge of the precipice at the Reichenbach Falls, while his enemy supposedly slipped, and could not prevent his tragic end. This new reality allowed the masterful return of Sherlock Holmes and his participation in other stories. The Final Problem is presented in this document, which introduces the detective's worst enemy, James Moriarty, and develops the events of Sherlock Holmes’ fake death.