Arthur Conan Doyle was a British writer best known for his detective fiction featuring the character Sherlock Holmes. His works also include fantasy and science fiction, as well as plays, romances, non-fiction and historical novels. The Return of Sherlock Holmes was the first Holmes collection since 1893, when Holmes had «died» in «The Final Problem». The first story is set in 1894 and has Holmes returning in London and explaining the period from 1891–1894, a period called «The Great Hiatus» by Sherlockian enthusiasts.