Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Sherlock Holmes is a fictional private detective, one of the most famous characters in English popular literature, created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Holmes has amazing powers of deduction, which he uses to solve apparently insoluble crimes. His hunting cap, pipe, and magnifying glass have become symbols of the traditional detective. Holmes is such a popular figure that many readers believe he really existed. Some of his enthusiasts have formed a group in London, called the Baker Street Irregulars, to perpetuate the Holmes legend.

Doyle named his character for the American essayist Oliver Wendell Holmes, whom he admired, and modeled him after Dr. Joseph Bell, an Edinburgh surgeon and skillful deductive diagnostician. Holmes was introduced to the public in the novel A Study in Scarlet (1887). By 1927 he and his friend Dr. Watson had appeared in 4 novels and 56 short stories. The Sherlock Holmes stories have been adapted for the stage, screen, radio, television, and even ballet. One of the highlights of the 1951 Festival of Britain was the re-creation of Holmes' apartments at 221B Baker Street, London.