Why is Sherlock Holmes so popular today
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[edit] Introductory Note
Sherlock Holmes is a fictional character of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries who first appeared in publication in 1887. He is the creation of British author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. A brilliant London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his intellectual prowess, and is renowned for his skillful use of astute observation, deductive reasoning and inference to solve difficult cases.
Conan Doyle wrote four novels and fifty-six short stories that feature Holmes. The first two stories, short novels, appeared in Beeton's Christmas Annual for 1887 and Lippincott's Monthly Magazine in 1890, respectively. The character grew tremendously in popularity with the beginning of the first series of short stories in The Strand Magazine in 1891; further series of short stories and two serialised novels appeared until 1927. The stories cover a period from around 1875 up to 1907, with a final case in 1914.
All but four stories are narrated by Holmes's friend and biographer, Dr John H. Watson; two are narrated by Sherlock Holmes himself, and two others are written in the third person. In two stories (“The Musgrave Ritual” and “The Gloria Scott”) Holmes tells Watson the main story from his memories, whereas Watson becomes the narrator of the frame story.
Conan Doyle said that the character of Holmes was inspired by Dr Joseph Bell, for whom Doyle had worked as a clerk at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary. Like Sherlock Holmes, Bell was noted for drawing large conclusions from the smallest observations. Michael Harrison has argued in a 1971 article in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine that the character was inspired by Wendell Scherer a "consulting detective" in a murder case that allegedly received a great deal of newspaper attention in England in 1882.
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[edit] Reason
Holmes is noted for his deductive reasoning, his quirky personal habits, and his extensive knowledge. Gradually, by reading the series, one learns that Holmes is a master of disguise, a student of chemistry, a casual user of cocaine and morphine, the keeper of a substantive ego, and a loyal friend.
Holmes never married, although he professed affection for Irene Adler and she is mentioned in several stories and appear is "A Scandal in Bohemia."
Any good sleuth needs a nemesis and Holmes' arch-enemy is Professor James Moriarty. It is with Moriarty that Holmes plunges (supposedly) to his death over the Reichenbach Falls. (Conan Doyle wanted to end the series to concentrate on more scholarly work, but revived the detective because of the outpouring of popular demand.) Holmes describes himself as a “consulting detective,” to distinguish himself from the police forces and seedy private detectives. His vast knowledge of poisons, criminology and medicine makes him invaluable to his clients, and to the police, who sometimes bring particularly difficult or sensitive cases to him. Holmes stresses the scientific and logical elements of his cases (the first chapter of The Sign of Four is entitled “The Science of Deduction”) and he combines attention to trivia with vast stores of obscure knowledge; he can tell, for example, where someone has been walking in London by the kind of mud on their coat, or in what part of the world a tattoo was done from the colours. It has been suggested that Conan Doyle based the character of Holmes partially Joseph Bell, the Edinburgh doctor under whom he studied.
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- Sherlock Holmes was created by Arthur Conan Doyle. As well as the author himself, Sherlock was a follower of Spiritualism and firmly believed in fairies and even ghosts.
- He is a fictional detective of the late 19th and early 20th centuries but still keeps being a true character in the numerous people’s imagination. His first published appearance took place in 1887.
- There have been more than 260 movies, two musicals and even a ballet called "The Great Detective" – all featuring Sherlock Holmes.
- In 1964, the stories and books of Sherlock Holmes efforts were the second biggest seller world wide. The bible was in the number one position!
- In "The Sign Of Four" written in 1890, we discovered that our beloved detective was addicted to cocaine and morphine.
- Holmes is modeled after the Scottish physician Joseph Bell, a teacher for Arthur Conan Doyle.
- The most notable story for Holmes is “The Hounds of Baskervilles.”
- Four novels and fifty-six short-stories featuring his creation were written by the author. Almost all were narrated by the detective’s friend and biographer, Dr. John H. Watson. The exceptions are two stories narrated by Holmes himself and two more written in the third person.
- The stories describe a period from 1878 up to 1903. The final case takes place in 1914.
- “The Strand” was one of the first magazines where the stories appeared and they continued to do so for over forty years.
