A Study in Scarlet was first published in 1887. Arthur Conan Doyle’s first Sherlock Holmes novel appeared in the 1887 edition of Beeton’s Christmas Annual, introducing both Holmes and Dr. John Watson to readers.
The publication history explains a frequent source of confusion. Ward, Lock & Co. issued the story in the annual in December 1887, but the first standalone book edition followed in July 1888. Therefore, 1887 is the correct year for its initial publication, while 1888 refers specifically to its first book-form appearance.
Doyle originally titled the work A Tangled Skein and reportedly wrote it in less than three weeks. The novel was not an immediate sensation, despite establishing the partnership that became central to detective fiction. Its title comes from Holmes’s description of a murder investigation as a “study in scarlet,” a vivid thread of violence running through an otherwise ordinary life. The novel was followed by The Sign of the Four in 1890.