Stories

The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans

The Adventure of the Dying Detective

The Adventure of the Red Circle

The Adventure of Wisteria Lodge

THE ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES

The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax

The Hound of the Baskervilles

Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes

THE RETURN OF SHERLOCK HOLMES

The Sign of the Four

A STUDY IN SCARLET

The Valley of Fear

Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective of the late 19th and early 20th centuries who made his first published appearance in 1887. He was devised by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Holmes is famous for his prowess at using logic and astute observation to solve cases. He is perhaps the most famous fictional detective, and indeed one of the best known and universally recognisable literary characters.

Conan Doyle wrote four novels and fifty-six short stories featuring his creation. Almost all were narrated by Holmes' friend and biographer, Dr. John H. Watson, with the exception of two narrated by Holmes himself and two more written in the third person. The stories first appeared in magazine serialisation, notably in The Strand, over a period of forty years. This was a common form of publication at the time: Charles Dickens' works were issued in a similar fashion. The stories cover a period from around 1878 up to 1903, with a final case in 1914.

More actors have portrayed Sherlock Holmes than any other character, and by 1964, according to a report in The Times, the worldwide sales of the stories were running second only to The Bible.

Overview

Sherlock Holmes described himself as a "consulting detective", an expert who is brought into cases that have proven too difficult for other (typically official) investigators; we are told that he is on many an occasion able to solve a problem without leaving his home. Naturally, this aspect is minimized in the stories themselves, which tend to focus on the more interesting cases that require him to do actual legwork. He specializes in solving unusual cases using his extraordinary powers of observation and logical reasoning, and frequently demonstrates these abilities to new clients by making on-the-spot deductions about their personalities and recent activities. This simple marketing strategy rarely fails to impress and build confidence in his services (see below).

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle credited the conception of Holmes to his teacher at the medical school of Edinburgh University, the gifted surgeon and forensic detective, Joseph Bell. (Forensic science was a relatively new field at the time.) However, some years later Bell wrote to Conan Doyle, "You are yourself Sherlock Holmes and well you know it" (Baring-Gould, p. 8). Holmes was named after Oliver Wendell Holmes, whom Conan Doyle admired, and an English cricketer named Sherlock — however, some early notes give his name as Sherrinford Holmes.

Profile

Historically, Holmes lived from the year 1881 at 221B Baker Street, London, an upper-story flat (in early notes it was described as being situated at Upper Baker Street), where he spent many of his professional years with his good friend, Dr. Watson, and with whom he shared rooms for some time before Watson's marriage in 1890. The residence was maintained by his landlady, Mrs Hudson.

In many of the stories, Holmes is assisted by the practical Watson, who is not only a friend but also his chronicler (his "Boswell"). Most of Holmes' stories are told as narratives, by Watson, of the detective's solutions to actual crimes. In some later stories, Holmes criticizes Watson for his writings, usually because he relates them as exciting stories rather than as objective and detailed reports focusing on what Holmes regards as the pure "science" of Holmes' craft.

Holmes also has an older brother, Mycroft Holmes, who appears in three stories: "The Greek Interpreter", "The Final Problem", and "The Bruce-Partington Plans". He is also mentioned in a number of others, including "The Empty House".

In three stories, including The Sign of Four he is assisted by a group of street children he calls the Baker Street Irregulars.