Sherlock Holmes and Arthur Conan Doyle

By Amal Hewavissenti

The fictional detective Sherlock Holmes shoots to widespread éclat and popularity once England's detectives find themselves lamentably powerless against the growing problem of crime wave. His inherently inquisitive nature compels him to probe carefully on any trivial incident because most organised crimes in England daily go into the list of unresolved mysteries.

Arthur Conan Doyle

Confronted with the growing criminality, Sherlock Holmes equips himself with a sharp wit and an eagle eye which sweeps a scene of crime and instantly gathers clues which an average person is incapable of getting even after months of investigation.

Therefore, in Arthur Conan Doyle's fiction, Sherlock Holmes becomes the most dependable man when a particular crime begins to fade into a mystery as he has already shown his mettle in unravelling criminal mysteries. In the first place Sherlock Holmes and his ‘resolutions of crimes’ are totally fictitious even though readers are constantly obsessed by the question whether the accounts of famous Sherlock Holmes are closer to reality.

Once Conan Doyle assertively expressed that fictional Sherlock Holmes was largely prototypical of Dr. Joseph Bell who actually used to arrive at precise conclusions even from vague clues. (Above all, Dr. Joseph Bell was a living character that inspired Conan Doyle to create the legendary detective hero.)

When Conan Doyle was employed at the Royal Hospital of Edinburgh, he gained the valuable companionship of Joseph Bell who was prominently enthusiastic about solution of crimes and gave his support for the police to solve criminal mysteries.

Sir Arthur Conon Doyle's Sherlock Holmes is a strange detective addicted, to some extent, to morphine and cocaine.

|Sherlock Holmes is a silent actor and has the capacity to capture criminals by means of dramatically set up traps and strategies. In dramatic scenes, Holmes rationally presents clues and his own discoveries to the total astonishment of those associated with the particular case.

Here, in partnership with Watson, Holmes reveals the exciting truth of the crime on the finals stage. He vividly describes his own procedure of detecting a crime with ample illustrations and calculates when and how a particular death has occurred with pinpoint accuracy.

Holmes communicates more with Watson than with police and assumes authority and becomes over bearing with police officers. On successful resolutions of crimes he is gifted with a golden casket by King Barnimia, a valuable stamp from Scandinavian royalty, a sapphire from Queen Victoria, a gold ring from Irine Addler.

Among the women he has encountered, Irine Addler, becomes the centre of attraction for Holmes, according to Watson's accounts - a fact that is evident through many of Holmes’s references to people. Watson's words corroborates the idea that Sherlock Holmes has sharply fallen in love with her even though he has made no direct revelation of his emotions.

In 2006, Copplester made a scientific research about the criminal investigation methods used by Holmes during the nineteenth century. Copplester's conclusion was that Holmes’s intellectual level lay on a higher elevation and his methodology appeared to be far more advanced for the nineteenth century Europe.

Sherlock Holmes is a series of fictitious detective stories written and published rather unsuccessfully in 1886 by the title of “Blood Test” - the first Sherlock Holmes’ story that met with inadequate public response. Previously Conan Doyle had given the story to magazine editors for publication, but he was soon disappointed by the low recognition given by them to the story.

After much effort, Conan Doyle was able to get his first Sherlock Holmes’ story published in the magazine Strand and the Doctor in Arthur Conan Doyle was excelled by the writer in him. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle earned twenty-five pounds from the first Sherlock Holmes’ story “Blood Test” published in the magazine.

Memorable

Most memorable of his Sherlock Holmes’ stories include “Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes”, “The Hound of the Baskervilles”, “Blood Test” and “Sherlock Homes Returns”. When Conan Doyle was fed up with writing Sherlock Holmes’ stories, he tried to make his fans oblivious to Holmes, but they insisted that he writes more detective stories. Therefore Conan Doyle was forced to continue the series of Holmes detective stories with “Sherlock Holmes Returns”.

It is interesting to note that “Sherlock Holmes Club’ was officially launched in 1934 at Bakers Street which was identical with the “Bakers Street” in Arthur Conan Doyle's fiction. The club was established with the support from Sherlock Holmes fans and scholars and was meant for those aspiring to become detectives and for enthusiasts of crime detection. In 1951, Sherlock Holmes Museum was established on Bakers Street in London as the world's first museum for a fictitious character.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World is centred on a different theme. It is a tale of adventure that narratives horrible experience with prehistoric Dinosaurs that reappeared in Amazon Forest. Arthur Conan Doyle was a renowned soccer player, and a cricketer and showed special interest in golf. The mansion rebuilt in London was subsequently transferred into a tourist resort which is currently dedicated for the benefit of his fans.