Long pipe, Deerstalker cap, 221B Baker street who has not heard of Sherlock Holmes?
He is probably one of the most famous fictional character that has haver been talked of or read of.
Sherlock Holmes was created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. William Sherlock Scott Holmes, London Based only Consulting Detective in the world is famous for his logical reasoning.
Sherlock Holmes first appeared in “A Study in Scarlet”, where he meets Dr John Watson. All The stories (except one or two) are narrated by John Watson. The Blanched Soldier and the Lion’s Mane are narrated by Sherlock Holmes and His Last Bow and The Mazarin Stone are written in Third Person.
The Study in Scarlet and The Valley of Fear has a long storyline from The States that are unknown to both Holmes and Watson. (Pretty boring too. You can skip those).
Not Much of the Personal Life of Holmes is exposed to the reader. Early Cases of Sherlock Holmes were “The Gloria Scott” and ” The Musgrave Ritual”. There are many more mentioned cases. He is first thought to be an Orphan with no relative but later on, we get to know of the Existence of Mycroft Holmes the brother (7 years older) who is a spy of the British Government confined to the Diogenes Club. He is described by Sherlock as, “He does not work for the Government. He is the Government”. Sherlock Holmes is said to have retired from 221B in His Last Bow , Stops taking Cases and is said to have died in the country side.
Holmes lived in 221B Baker street along with Dr Watson and their landlady is Mrs Hudson. He takes drugs and smokes cigarettes when he has no work to do.
In The Final Problem, Doyle “Killed” Holmes at the Reichenbach Falls in Switzerland. He is said to have been pushed down the gorge by the criminal Mastermind Jim Moriarty.
There was a public demand that Sherlock Should Be Resurrected and Doyle brought Him back in The Return of Sherlock Holmes.
Holmes is said to have been beaten Thrice by men and Once by a woman. Irene Adler Beats Holmes in A Scandal in Bohemia. Though she appears only once in person, she has a big impact on Holmes and is mentioned in many other stories. Holmes fails to solve the following cases :
“A Scandal in Bohemia”
“Five Orange Pips”
“The Engineer’s Thumb”
“The problem of Thor Bridge”
Holmes is excellent in disguising himself and even his close acquaintances like Mrs Hudson, Dr Watson or Lestrade fail to notice him.
The Strengths of Sherlock Holmes as described by Dr Watson in A Study in Scarlet are
- Knowledge of Literature – nil.
- Knowledge of Philosophy – nil.
- Knowledge of Astronomy – nil.
- Knowledge of Politics – Feeble.
- Knowledge of Botany – Variable. Well up in belladonna, opium and poisons generally. Knows nothing of practical gardening.
- Knowledge of Geology – Practical, but limited. Tells at a glance different soils from each other. After walks, has shown me splashes upon his trousers, and told me by their colour and consistence in what part of London he had received them.
- Knowledge of Chemistry – Profound.
- Knowledge of Anatomy – Accurate, but unsystematic.
- Knowledge of Sensational Literature – Immense. He appears to know every detail of every horror perpetrated in the century.
- Plays the violin well.
- Is an expert singlestick player, boxer and swordsman.
- Has a good practical knowledge of British law.
Over
all there are 56 short stories and 4 novels. In My Opinion, The Hound
Of Baskerville is the best Sherlock Holmes story. It has a very gripping
effect on the readers and The thrill and suspense is maintained Through
out the end.
There have been many movies and TV Serials on Sherlock Holmes.
Out of them, The Most Popular ones are :
1. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes acted by Jeremy Brett and Produced By Granada Television.
2. The Sherlock Holmes Movie Trilogy acted by Robert Downy Jr and Produced by Warner Brothers.
3. Sherlock (Modern Adaptation) acted by Benedict Cumberbatch and Produced by BBC one.
4. Elementary (Modern Adaptation) acted by Johnny Lee Miller and Produced by CBS Television
studios.
