His Last Bow: Some Reminiscences of Sherlock Holmes is a 1917 collection of previously published Sherlock Holmes stories by British writer Arthur Conan Doyle, including the titular short story, "His Last Bow. The War Service of Sherlock Holmes" (1917). The collection's first US edition adjusts the anthology's subtitle to Some Later Reminiscences of Sherlock Holmes.
All editions contain a brief preface, by "John H. Watson, M.D.", that assures readers that as of the date of publication, Holmes is long retired from his profession of detective but is still alive and well, albeit suffering from a touch of rheumatism.
Six of the stories were published in The Strand Magazine between September 1908 and December 1913.[2][3]The Strand published "The Adventure of Wisteria Lodge" as "A Reminiscence of Sherlock Holmes" and divided it into two parts, called "The Singular Experience of Mr. John Scott Eccles" and "The Tiger of San Pedro".[4] Later printings of His Last Bow correct Wistaria to Wisteria.
Except for the short story "His Last Bow", the stories in the collection were adapted for television as episodes of the Granada television series (1984–1994).[8]His Last Bow was dramatised for BBC Radio 4 in 1994 as part of the BBC Sherlock Holmes 1989–1998 radio series.[9] All the stories in the collection were adapted as episodes of the radio series The Classic Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (2005–2016).[10] The stories in His Last Bow have also been adapted for various other productions.
