One hundred years ago, for Christmas 1920, Chicago bookman Vincent Starrett gave the world "The Unique Hamlet: A Hitherto Unchronicled Adventure of Mr. Sherlock Holmes". Forty-eight years later, for Christmas 1968, August Derleth's Mycroft & Moran publishing house printed Derleth's "The Adventure of the Unique Dickensians" featuring Solar Pons (who is almost but not quite Sherlock Holmes), and a plot line that unmistakably plays off the story of "The Unique Hamlet". Now, on the centennial celebration of "The Unique Hamlet"'s publication, comes this special volume in the great tradition of Sherlockian Christmas books. Here we bring together for the first time "The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle," which is the only Canonical Christmas story, and the Starrett and Derleth pastiches first issued as Christmas presents. When considered together, the complex interrelations among these works - and their authors - make for a fascinating Sherlockian triptych. Five delightful illustrations and three perceptive commentaries accompany each story, all specially produced for this book. SHERLOCK HOLMES: A THREE-PIPE CHRISTMAS is a wonderful present that will bring you a bit of Christmas whenever you pick it up.