The Final Problem

"The Final Problem"
Short story by Arthur Conan Doyle
Sherlock Holmes and Moriarty fighting at the Reichenbach Falls, 1893 illustration by Sidney Paget in The Strand Magazine
Text available at Wikisource
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Genre(s)	Detective fiction short stories
Publication
Published in	Strand Magazine
Publication date	December 1893
Chronology
Series	The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes
The Adventure of the Naval Treaty   The Hound of the Baskervilles

"The Final Problem" is a short story by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle featuring his detective character Sherlock Holmes. It was first published in The Strand Magazine in the United Kingdom, and McClure's in the United States, under the title "The Adventure of the Final Problem" in December 1893. It appears in book form as part of the collection The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes.

The story, set in 1891, introduces the criminal mastermind Professor Moriarty. It was intended to be the final Holmes story, ending with the character's death, but Conan Doyle was later persuaded to revive Holmes for additional stories and novels.

Conan Doyle later ranked "The Final Problem" fourth on his personal list of the twelve best Holmes stories.^[1]