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The Man with the Watches

Arthur Conan Doyle

First published July 1898
Type Short Fiction
Length Short Story
Series Round the Fire #2

"A body of a young man has been found in a train compartment. Having been shot with a pistol, he turns out to have had neither identification papers nor even a ticket. Instead, during the examination of his personal effects the police find six expensive gold watches. All the people who shared the compartment with him have disappeared and cannot be found anywhere..." (publisher's blurb)

  • Non-speculative detective story.
  • Originally printed in the July 1898 issue of the Strand Magazine.
  • According to literary historian Leslie S. Klinger, in his anthology In The Shadow of Sherlock Holmes, the mysterious unnamed detective in this story may be either Sherlock Holmes or his brother Mycroft.

Date Publication Publisher Type Page
July 1898 The Strand Magazine, July 1898 George Newnes MAGAZINE 33
1908 Round the Fire Stories The McClure Company Collection 42
1908 Cover Round the Fire Stories Smith, Elder & Co. Collection 41
1922 Cover Tales of Terror and Mystery John Murray Collection
1925 Cover The Black Doctor and Other Tales of Terror and Mystery George H. Doran Collection |9
June 1929 Cover The Conan Doyle Stories John Murray Collection
October 1939 The Conan Doyle Stories John Murray Collection
December 1940 The Conan Doyle Stories John Murray Collection
December 1945 Cover The Conan Doyle Stories John Murray Collection 590
March 1949 Cover The Conan Doyle Stories John Murray Collection
August 1951 The Conan Doyle Stories John Murray Collection
November 1956 The Conan Doyle Stories John Murray Collection
August 1960 The Conan Doyle Stories John Murray Collection 590
January 1973 Cover I racconti del terrore e del mistero Mondadori Collection 115
1978 Cover Tales of Terror and Mystery Pan Books Collection |0.09
1979 Tales of Terror and Mystery Penguin Books Collection |10
1981 Cover O Enigma do Trem Perdido Francisco Alves Collection
March 1982 Cover Le train perdu 10/18 Collection 36
May 1991 Cover Round the Fire Stories Chronicle Books Collection 26
May 1996 Tales of Terror and Mystery Project Gutenberg Collection |9
2004 Cover Kadunud erirong Fantaasia Collection
December 2011 Cover In the Shadow of Sherlock Holmes: Classic Detective Fiction 1862-1910 IDW Publishing Anthology 179
April 2013 Cover Tales of Terror and Mystery Serenity Publishers Collection |0.09
December 2015 Cover Round the Fire Stories MysteriousPress.com / Open Road Collection
February 2017 Round the Fire Stories Project Gutenberg Collection |41
January 2020 Cover Tales of Terror and Mystery Bibliotech Press Collection |0.09
May 2025 Cover La storia dell'uomo con gli orologi Delos Digital Chapbook |2