Sherlock Holmes Biography

When an internet user on Google queries, "Sherlock Holmes books", the stories of the (probably) most famous police investigator of all time appear on the screen. He is along with Edgar Allan Poe, Dupin and Agatha Christie's Poirot one of the "founders" of the detective genre. Moreover, the meaning of his name goes far beyond the literary field.

In fact, created by the illustrious Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, this popular culture icon is an inescapable reference in the audiovisual arts. Not surprisingly, it has inspired more than thirty titles between feature films and television series. In this section, the performances of world-famous actors (for example, R. Downey Jr. or Jeremy Brett) have made Holmes a universal figure.

•  Sherlock Holmes Biography

• Character Traits

• Other characters and some curiosities

• An nemesis with extraordinary intellectual abilities

• retreat

According to the guidelines of Doyle's writings, Sherlock Holmes was born in 1854. He was the son of an English landowner and a woman descended from Gallic artists. He also had two brothers: Sherrinford (barely mentioned in the entire Holmesian canon) and Mycroft.

He received higher education in chemistry, medicine, law and musicology at a prestigious British university (Doyle does not specify which). It is precisely at that stage as a university student that Holmes began his detective work along with theatrical activities.

Character Traits

After his university stay, Holmes moved to the British Museum to supplement your scientific studies. Meanwhile, he met Dr. Watson with whom he shared seventeen of his twenty-three-year career in the laboratory of Saint Bartholomew Hospital in 1881. For his part, Sherlock's partner described it as having the following qualities: Tabloid literature fan. Although he occasionally alluded to writers such as Goethe, La Rochefoucaud or Jean-Paul.

Evidence zero knowledge of astronomy and philosophy, little understanding of politics and basics of British law. He was a specialist in chemistry and played the violin in an excellent manner. He was found to have extensive information on botany (especially in matters related to poisons and drugs), although he was ignorant of such matters as agriculture. He manifested basic knowledge about geology and soil composition. He is an expert boxer and fencer.

Other characters and some curiosities

Towards the end of the 20th century, Holmes rejected the distinction of lord (Knight of the Empire), but accepted the Legion of Honor in a reserved manner. As for women, the detective was always very suspicious of them, along with displays of chivalry, respect and admiration. Especially in front of his beloved Irene Adler.

An nemesis with extraordinary intellectual abilities

The brilliant Professor Moriarty was Holmes' nemesis, as well as the cause of his (apparent) demise at Reichenbach waterfall, Switzerland. The distinguished detective, however, reappeared three years later in The Return of Sherlock Holmes (1903), particularly in the case of The Empty House.

Finally, Holmes took part in the planning of an intricate counterintelligence mission in the years leading up to the Great War. After 1914, there is no record (within the Holmesian canon) of the life of the most famous police investigator in literary history.

After retiring from his research work, Holmes moved to Sussex, England, to devote himself to reading philosophy and beekeeping. (He even wrote a very detailed beekeeping manual.) Anyway, he had time to solve another important case almost by accident, The Adventure of the Lion's Mane (1907). Finally, Holmes was involved in planning a complex counter-intelligence program in the years leading up to the Great War.

Sherlock Holmes had a very short literary career compared to other fictional detectives: 4 novels and 56 short stories compared to Commissioner Mikret '88 or 41 by Hercules Poirot. Dr. Watson describes most of his adventures, including the last one in 1927, three years before Conan Doyle's death: the Sherlock Holmes file. Based on Sherlock Holmes, a teacher who taught at Conan Doyle College of Medicine, Joseph Bell impressed students in the class with his exceptional ability. And the source of inspiration for Dr. House, the protagonist of a TV series named after him. The intriguing Conan Doyle's latest work (The Abyss of Maracot. 1929) did not star in Sherlock Holmes.