Sherlock Holmes and Philosophy According to Dr. Watson, Holmes also had no knowledge in the field of philosophy. Again, the doctor was wrong. Perhaps Holmes was not particularly fond of philosophical theories, but given his deep knowledge of linguistics, history, religion and music

Sherlock Holmes and religion Of course, Holmes, like Conan Doyle, was a man of his time, so he combined rational thinking with faith in God. Without fanaticism, of course, but without the slightest sign of atheism. Conan Doyle was an ardent opponent of scientific materialism

Sherlock Holmes and politics It is difficult to say how much Holmes was interested in politics, but one thing is certain - with a brother like Mycroft, he was aware of various nuances of the management of the British Empire, which most of the inhabitants had not heard of. Rather, we can say that

Sherlock Holmes and music In the tenth item of his list, Dr. Watson was not mistaken, Holmes played the violin really well. Moreover, he could play both for others - to perform something known, and for himself - to improvise, being immersed in his thoughts about

Sherlock Holmes and children More precisely, Sherlock Holmes and homeless children, because he hardly communicates with other children in the books of Conan Doyle. london waifs

Sherlock Holmes and Women Most often, Holmes for some reason is considered a misogynist. This opinion is probably based primarily on his statement that "women can never be trusted completely, even the best of them" and on two famous phrases of Watson: "All feelings, and

Sherlock Holmes and the police For some reason, there is a widespread opinion among Holmes fans that he hid the evidence he found from the police in order to always be ahead of them. Perhaps the film adaptations are to blame for this, in some of which he does just that. But in the works of Conan Doyle

What did Sherlock Holmes smoke? Holmes was a heavy smoker, there is no doubt about that. At the first meeting, negotiating with Watson about living together, he asks: “I hope you don’t mind the smell of strong tobacco?” And in the future, he smokes in almost every

Sherlock Holmes and the press As you know, Holmes did not want to be written about in the newspapers. However, he was very interested in the newspapers themselves. In those days, the print media were the only media, it was they who disseminated information and formed public opinion. Newspapers

Sherlock Holmes and emotions It is generally accepted that Holmes was a man of little emotion. This reputation was created for him, of course, by Watson, who wrote in "A Scandal in Bohemia": "In my opinion, he was the most perfect thinking and observing machine that the world has ever seen." To break

"Puzzled Sherlock Holmes" That was the name of the first known film about Holmes. It was filmed in 1900 in the USA, directed by Arthur Marvin, and, among other things, is also the first detective film in history. At the same time, it lasts ... thirty seconds. The plot of the picture

Let me ask a rather strange question: “Did a brilliant detective named Sherlock Holmes really live in the world?”

Not? Then why did half the world beg Conan Doyle for Mr. Holmes' real address? (It’s elementary, after all, that Baker Street is named for conspiracy purposes.) And why did the writer bring messages (from quite mature respectable ladies and gentlemen) to pass on to the person mentioned? .. Yes, I completely forgot about autographs: Conan Doyle was simply tortured with requests to get an autograph famous detective!

The consulting detective received very serious offers to investigate family secrets. The Clipping Bureau asked if the celebrity would like to become a regular subscriber. The image of Holmes (alone and with Dr. Watson) was repeatedly captured on postage stamps.

Holmes - V. Livanov

Someone meticulously calculated that Holmes's 52 statements became aphorisms and entered the everyday life of the British. The most famous of them: “This is a case for three pipes, Watson!” And how many jokes about the famous detective are walking around the world! Chapaev and Stirlitz are resting...

When Mr. Holmes retired and settled on a small farm in Sussex to indulge in his favorite pastime - breeding bees, several elderly ladies were ready to manage his household, becoming a kind of successor to Mrs. Hudson. One particularly persistent lady assured that she loved to breed bees and was able to unmistakably "select the queen."

And, finally, a message that flashed in one of the English newspapers in 1957: on January 6, on his birthday, Sherlock Holmes died at the age of 103.

So did the great detective really exist?

Dossier

Sherlock Holmes had a huge file cabinet for all the criminals he knew. Not surprisingly, information about the consulting detective himself was carefully collected and stored not only in the annals of Scotland Yard, but also in the private archives of the criminal world. We invite you to familiarize yourself with one of the documents that have come down to us. The compiler and owner of the text, unfortunately, is unknown.

Dossier

Last name, first name: Holmes, Sherlock.

Year of birth: 1887 (see Encyclopædia Britannica). However, a certain Nathan Benjis, one of the admirers of Mr. Holmes, called a completely different year - 1854. And even specified the day - January 6th.

Parents: father - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle; mother - name unknown. Granddaughter of the sister of the French painter Horace Vernet (1789-1863).

Family status: single

Close relatives: brother - Mycroft Holmes, seven years older than Sherlock. Political figure.

Appearance: thin build, more than six feet tall (more than 180 cm), a thin aquiline nose, a square, slightly protruding chin, a sharp, piercing gaze, a "somewhat raspy" voice.

Education: possibly studied at Oxford. Cambridge is excluded.

Address: UK, London, Baker Street, 221-b. Occupation: Private investigator or consulting detective.

Baker Street in the early 20th century

First thing: an investigation into the causes of the sudden death of Mr. Trevor, justice of the peace (story "Gloria Scott").

Friends: a doctor named Watson (or Watson). The acquaintance took place in 1881.

Main Enemies: Professor Moriarty, Colonel Sebastian Moran.

Bad habits: smoking, addiction to morphine and cocaine.

Hobby: chemistry, playing the violin. Has a weakness for Turkish baths.

Favorite newspapers: Daily Telegraph, The Times.

Sports hobbies: boxing, fencing, golf, swimming, martial arts. Shoots great with a pistol.

Published works: brochures "Determination of varieties of tobacco by ashes", "Guide to breeding bees", works on footprints, on the influence of professions on the shape of the hand, the monograph "Polyphonic motets of Lassus". Peru Sherlock Holmes also owns two stories about his own investigations. The best of them is "Lion's Mane".

Special Notes: Nothing is known of Sherlock Holmes' life after 1914.

Predecessors

Among the ancestors of Sherlock Holmes were the detectives Dupin and Legrand from the stories of E. Poe and Lecoq from the novels of the Frenchman E. Gaborio. “Gaborio attracted me with the way he knew how to twist the plot, and the insightful detective Monsieur Dupin Edgar Allan Poe was my favorite hero since childhood,” A. Conan Doyle once admitted. The third "ancestor" of the detective-consultant can be considered the detective Cuff from the novel by W. Collins "Moonstone".

Name

In the 19th century, the American poet, writer and scientist Oliver Wendell Holmes was very popular in England. A. Conan Doyle always had his books on the shelf: "The Autocrat", "The Poet", "The Professor at the Dinner Table". Sir Arthur once said: “Never have I understood and loved a man that I have never seen. To meet him became the goal of my life, but ironically, I arrived in his hometown just in time to have time to lay a wreath on his fresh grave. Now it is clear where the name Holmes came from? But with the name, everything was not so simple. A. Conan Doyle hesitated for a long time how to call the great detective: Sheringford or Sherlock.

Sherlock Holmes and Sir Arthur

Modern biographers of Sir Arthur unanimously assert that for many years he was financially dependent on the detective-consultant. And, as often happens in such cases, he did not like this person too much. Having finally overcome the depressing lack of money, Conan Doyle with pleasure drowned Sherlock Holmes in a Swiss waterfall. Is this true or a legend?

As you know, Conan Doyle was inseparable from Sherlock Holmes for almost his entire adult life. And the attitude towards the detective-consultant during this time, like any normal person, has changed many times.

Well, if you're being serious...

Start:
Do you know what the young doctor meant ... no, of course, not Watson, but Conan Doyle, when he said that he was able to write "something ... fresh, bright and tasty"? So, these are stories about Sherlock Holmes.

After few years:
“Writing about Holmes was difficult because, in fact, each story required the same original, precisely built plot as for a more voluminous book. I decided that... I would not write Holmes stories unless I had a real plot and a problem that really occupied my mind, because that is the first condition to interest anyone else. If I managed to nurture this character for a long time and if the public believes and will continue to believe that the last story is no worse than the first, then I owe this entirely to the fact that I never or almost never wrote stories through force ”(A. Conan Doyle).

A little bit later:
The desire to part with Sherlock Holmes with dignity arose when Conan Doyle felt that he was tired and would soon begin to compose base stories. So from a trip to the Swiss mountains, the author took out not only the delight of the beauty of the earth, but also the idea of ​​drowning the poor detective in a waterfall. "I heard that many even sobbed, but I myself, I'm afraid, remained absolutely cold and only rejoiced at the opportunity to express myself in other areas of fantasy."

And suddenly Conan Doyle, just like Watson, received a dying message from the great detective. But the intonation here was not at all lyrical. "You are a fool, you are a fool! Sherlock Holmes wrote. - So many years you lived thanks to me in luxury. With my help, you've taken many cab rides where no writer has ever ridden before. From now on, you will only ride in omnibuses!” Sir Arthur simply could not stand such treatment. And offended, for ten years he tried not to think about Sherlock Holmes. (To be honest, these words belonged to James Barry, and I took them from his parody of writings about the great detective.)

Ten years later:
What made Conan Doyle return to the stories about the famous detective, hardly anyone knows for sure. Three main reasons can be assumed: the requests of readers, financial difficulties and the desire to meet again with the hero of his youth.

At the end of life:
Once one of the actors asked Conan Doyle if it was possible to marry Sherlock Holmes. "Marry him, kill him, do whatever you want with him," was the author's reply. Not the last role here was played by the fact that Sir Arthur was increasingly confused with Holmes. Conan Doyle was particularly infuriated by the bill sent to Sir Sherlock. Jokes with titles Conan Doyle did not tolerate.

Outcome:
“I don't want to be ungrateful to Holmes, who was a good friend of mine in many ways. And if I got tired of him, then this was due to the fact that his image did not allow any contrasts ”(A. Conan Doyle).

Declaration of love:

I completed my simple task,
If you gave at least an hour of joy
To a boy who is already half a man
Or a man - still half a boy.

(Epitaph on Sir Arthur's grave,
written by himself.)

Counseling Investigator Habits

If there was no urgent work, Mr. Holmes woke up late. When the blues came over him (oh, that notorious English spleen!), he, dressed in a mouse-colored dressing gown, could be silent for days on end. In the same "cheerful" attire, he conducted his endless chemical experiments. The rest of the robes - red and bluish - expressed other states of mind and were used in a variety of situations.

At times, Sherlock Holmes was overwhelmed by the desire to argue, then, instead of the traditional clay, he lit a pipe made of cherry wood. Being in deep thought, the famous detective allowed himself to bite his nails (on his hands, of course). Food and his own health interested him unreasonably little.

By the way, for some reason the consulting detective kept pipes and cigars in a coal bucket, and tobacco in the toe of a Persian shoe. However, this was only the most innocuous detail of the mess he made in the house. Justifying himself, Holmes said that in such a mess he thinks better.

A friend of Sherlock Holmes: breaking the stereotype

You can familiarize yourself with the beginning of Dr. Watson's life by opening A Study in Scarlet and reading the first few pages. For those who do not have a book at hand, I briefly tell ...

John Hamish Watson was born in the early 1950s. He spent his childhood in Australia. He graduated from the Medical College of the University of London and entered the courses of Military Surgeons at Netley. In Afghanistan, in the battle of Maiwand, he was seriously wounded and retired.

(Further information about Watson should be closely followed through all the numerous texts.)

Watson's father died, the older brother, having squandered the inheritance, drank himself. The meeting with Holmes was a salvation for the doctor from loneliness. Watson helped the great detective for 17 years (not excluding the years when he was married). He also visited Holmes at the apiary in Sussex, after he had ceased his investigations.

Watson was a good doctor and was popular with patients, first in Paddington and Kensington, then on Queen Ann Street, where he acquired a private practice.

These are all facts, and now let's turn to emotions. For some reason, many consider Watson a narrow-minded person and completely devoid of individuality. In fact, he was a charming gentleman, whose virtues include fearlessness, tolerance, an impeccable attitude towards women, literary talent, the ability to treat himself ironically and not to become discouraged under any circumstances. And Watson was definitely not stupid. Don't believe? Then remember the saying: "Tell me who your friend is, and I will tell you who you are."

Take another look at Watson. Honestly, often the doctor is much prettier than Holmes. And life, by the way, did not spoil him at all (see biography).

Is Watson right?

Once Watson wrote a playful "Certificate" of Sherlock Holmes.

Sherlock Holmes - his possibilities

1. Knowledge in the field of literature - none.

2. Knowledge in the field of philosophy - none.

3. Knowledge in the field of astronomy - none.

4. Knowledge in the field of politics is weak.

5. Knowledge in the field of botany is uneven. Knows the properties of belladonna, opium and poisons in general. Has no idea about gardening.

6. Knowledge in the field of geology - practical, but limited. Identifies samples of different soils at a glance. After walking, she shows me the splashes of mud on her trousers and, by their color and consistency, she determines which part of London she is from.

7. Knowledge in the field of chemistry - deep.

8. Knowledge in the field of anatomy - accurate.

9. Knowledge in the field of criminal chronicles is huge. Knows, it seems, all the details of every crime committed in the nineteenth century.

10. Plays the violin well.

11. Excellent fencing with swords and espadrons, an excellent boxer.

12. Solid practical knowledge of English laws.

It is unlikely that Dr. Watson heard the statement of Kozma Prutkov: "A specialist is like a flux." However, the biographer of Mr. Holmes followed this aphorism almost exactly. And of course, I was wrong in many ways.

Let's start with the fact that Holmes did not just play the violin, but was a true music lover. He improvised, composed music himself, adored the work of German composers and constantly dragged poor Watson with him to concerts. In addition, Holmes was well versed in the merits and demerits of Cremona violins, easily talked about "the difference between the masterpieces of Stradivari and Amati."

Was not alien to the detective-consultant and fiction. He could choose the work of the English writer George Meredith as a topic for conversation. From time to time he quoted Goethe, G. Flaubert, and in the original, and once, by the way, in front of Watson, he pulled out a pocket volume of Petrarch to enjoy poetry on the road.

“Holmes had no knowledge of horticulture,” said Dr. Watson. The fact itself is doubtful, because no Englishman has yet been born who would not understand anything about growing plants. What can you do, national tradition! In addition, feeling London as his element, the great detective, as it turned out later, secretly dreamed of "immersing himself in the peace and silence of nature."

"Let's go for a walk in these wonderful groves, Watson, let's admire the birds and flowers."

So is Watson right?

Mistake came out

“I never really worried about the details - sometimes you need to feel like a sovereign master. Once, when a worried editor wrote to me: "There is no second line of rails in this place," I replied: "I will lay it." (A.Conan Doyle)

As you know, Dr. Watson voluntarily became the biographer of Sherlock Holmes. Having taken on such a serious responsibility, he always tried to be extremely punctual. Except that in the "Colorful Ribbon" the snake descended along a freely hanging cord, which, according to herpetologists, in principle, could not do, and the announcement of the "Redhead Union" was printed in the Morning Chronicle, a newspaper that had long since gone bankrupt . But talking about himself, Watson makes rather strange mistakes. Then he cannot remember whether a bullet fired by a “merciless gasi” has lodged in his shoulder or in his leg. Or even forget his own name. In "A Study in Scarlet" he calls himself John H. Watson (John G. Watson - in another translation), and in the story "The Man with the Split Lip" he suddenly turns into James. Apparently, the war in Afghanistan did not end so harmlessly for the doctor. However, Watson preferred not to dwell on this topic.

deduction method

This way of thinking was taught to Sherlock Holmes by Joseph Bell, a surgeon at the Edinburgh Hospital. By the way, the famous detective partially inherited his extraordinary appearance from Bell. Don't believe? Ask A. Conan Doyle.

“Bell was a very remarkable person, both in appearance and mind. He was tall, wiry, dark-haired, with a long-nosed, penetrating face, attentive gray eyes, thin shoulders, and a twitchy gait. He had a harsh voice. He was very strong in diagnosing, not only diseases, but also profession and character. For reasons that remain a mystery to me, he singled me out from the crowd of students who often visited his chambers, and made me his outpatient secretary ... But I had ample opportunity to study his methods and make sure that he often learned about him by glancing at the patient more than I, who asked him questions ”(A. Conan Doyle).

By the way, Joseph Bell was sympathetic to Sherlock Holmes and carefully followed the progress of his investigations.

famous phrase

What is Sherlock Holmes' most famous line? "Elementary Watson". However, Russian translators sometimes forced the detective to pronounce tasteless “excellent” or “primitive”, “quite simply” or “trifles”. Only occasionally on the pages of domestic publications is there a proud “elementary, Watson!”. But in 1991, a newspaper of the Holmesian society was published in Sverdlovsk, which was called ... Well, of course, “Elementary, Watson!”.

Sayings of Sherlock Holmes

Holmes, as a rule, spoke little, but his speech was filled with aphorisms. Let me remind you of just a few of them.

“My whole life is a continuous effort to escape the dreary monotony of our everyday life. Little riddles that I sometimes solve help me achieve this goal.

"Crime investigation is an exact science, at least it should be."

“It seems to me that the human brain is like a small empty attic that you can furnish as you wish.”

“If you discard everything completely impossible, then exactly what remains - no matter how incredible it may seem - is the truth!”

“I never guess. A very bad habit: it has a detrimental effect on the ability to think logically.

“You see everything, but do not give yourself the trouble to think about what you see!”

Cold Cases

Among the unsolved cases of Sherlock Holmes was the disappearance of a certain James Phillimore, who returned home for an umbrella and disappeared forever. The great detective failed to find the traces of the boat "Alicia", once forever dissolved in the fog. The murder of Mr. Persano, a journalist by profession and a duelist by vocation, remained shrouded in darkness, whose corpse was found stiff next to ... with a caterpillar unknown to science (or maybe a worm or even a worm; something long and narrow hidden in a matchbox.

Of course, not all of Holmes's failures are named here, but who likes to remember his defeats?!

portrait painters

The first portrait of Sherlock Holmes was created by Conan Doyle's father, Charles Doyle. However, the work was not liked by the publishers and, apparently, even by his son. In any case, Sir Arthur tried not to mention these drawings.

What the famous detective and his constant friend Dr. Watson looked like, readers first saw on the pages of the Strand Magazine. The author of the published portraits of Holmes and Watson was the artist Sidney Paget. The model in this case was Walter Paget, the younger brother of the illustrator and fellow worker. From the point of view of A. Conan Doyle, Sherlock turned out to be too handsome, having largely lost the expressiveness of his appearance. “However, from the point of view of ... readers, it was for the best,” Sir Arthur later remarked condescendingly. When Sidney died in 1904, Walter took over his business.

The Americans, however, liked the other image of the detective-consultant more. It was drawn by Frederick Dorr Steele. The stage actor William Gillette, who is generally recognized as the best Sherlock Holmes of the 19th century, posed for him.

However, it seems that the Moscow artist Leonid Kozlov outdid everyone, who created 10,000 (!) Drawings on the theme of “the adventures of Sherlock Holmes”. For such a great feat, he was blessed in writing by the daughter of Conan Doyle Jane, in the marriage of Lady Broument. Unfortunately, only one album by Leonid Kozlov has been published so far. (And it was supposed to be seven.) Gentlemen, publishers, when will we see the rest?

Theatre

The young doctor Conan Doyle, who wrote his first story about Holmes and Watson, could not even dream that he would make his heroes appear on the stage. Moreover, in order to save the rented theater from collapse.

However, a few years later, Conan Doyle had to compose a play about Sherlock Holmes in a week. It was called, like the story of the same name, "Motley Ribbon". The play firmly entered the theatrical repertoire and began to triumph throughout the country. "For the performance title role(pay attention!) we had a great rocky boa, which was my pride, - recalled Conan Doyle. - So you can imagine my outrage when I learned that one literary critic ended his disparaging review with the words: "The critical moment in this production is caused by the appearance of a clearly artificial snake." I was ready to pay him decent money if he decided to take her to bed with him ... In the end, we began to use artificial snakes ... "

The Banded Ribbon was the second play about Sherlock Holmes. The first, Conan Doyle said, “was written and best directed by William Gillett, the famous American actor. I really liked the play, the performance, and the financial result.”

There was also the play "Sherlock Holmes", which combined the plots of several stories by Conan Doyle. She lasted on stage for 30 years, withstood 230 performances. Among the performers of the roles was the young Charles Chaplin. (The play was shown on American television in 1975.)

However, deep down, Conan Doyle was dissatisfied with all productions without exception. “Before I leave the subject of various theatrical incarnations of Holmes, I can say that all of them, like his portraits, differed from my original idea.”

I wonder if Sir Arthur saw how famously Holmes dances in musicals or soars above the stage in a ballet? ..

Movie

Did you know that Holmes and Watson got into the Guinness Book of Records by the number of film adaptations (more than 200). And that the role of the great detective was played by 80 actors (and one of them, Sam Robinson, is black).

The first film, Sherlock Holmes Perplexed, was made by Thomas Edison in 1900 and ran for 30 seconds. A film based on the play by William Gillette was later made, but the film has not survived. Doctor Watson first appeared in 1906 in the American film Sherlock Holmes and the Great Murder Mystery. In 1912, The Motley Ribbon (England-France) was staged, and in 1914 - The Hound of the Baskervilles. In 1927, the sound film "Sir Arthur Conan Doyle" appeared on the screens, where the writer himself talks about his books about Sherlock Holmes. Here to see!..

Obviously, it is impossible and unnecessary to analyze all films about Holmes and Watson. Therefore, N. Chernetskaya acted very wisely, dividing the history of foreign Holmesian cinematography into five periods and naming the most famous Holmes-Watson couples.

1. The era of silent films and early sound films (1900-1939).

2. Rathbone-Bruce era (1939-1946).

3. The period of disparate film and television versions.

4. Brett-Burke-Hardwick era (1984-1993).

5. Modern era.

Famous acting duets:

The first successful duet in the history of cinema was actors Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce, with whom 14 films were shot. For Rathbone, the main features of Holmes were energy and quickness of thought. Bruce's Watson possessed outstanding ingenuity and sluggishness, which set off the famous detective.

Films (40 episodes!) with Jeremy Brett (Jeremy Brett) as Sherlock Holmes and David Burke (David Burke), and then Edward Hardwick (Edward Hardwick) as Dr. Watson became a grand era in Holmesian cinema. Brett managed to embody in his hero the unity of opposites: consistency and spontaneity, energy and inertia, rationality and richness of feelings. Watson Burke and Hardwick were good each in their own way. Burke personified youth, energy, simplicity, spontaneity, Hardwick portrayed a balanced, intelligent English doctor of the Victorian era.

Curious option with reincarnations. So, the actor Patrick Macnee (Patrick Macnee) first played Watson in a pair with Roger Moore (Roger Moore), then in the television film "The Phantom of London" (1993) turned into Holmes.

Patrick McNee played the role of Watson in another film - The Incident at Victoria Falls (1997). Sherlock Holmes is Christopher Lee. Interestingly, in another movie, Christopher Lee was Mycroft Holmes.

You can read more about foreign film adaptations on the Russian-language site "Sherlock Holmes at Nadezhda Chernetskaya".

However, we know that the best Holmes in the world is, of course, Vasily Livanov, and the most charming Watson is Vitaly Solomin. But it is not entirely clear whether foreign admirers of A. Conan Doyle share our opinion. In some sources, you will read that foreigners recognized Livanov and Solomin as the most famous Holmes and Watson, in others, that foreign moviegoers are not even aware of the existence of brilliant Russian actors. I wonder where is the truth?.. In any case, the "Russian" Holmes and Watson are familiar to the British. Having opened one of the British sites dedicated to the great detective, I was surprised to find Solomin and Livanov smiling on the screen.

memorial places

At the end of XIX - beginning of XX centuries. in London, on Baker Street there was no house 221-b (the letter "b" means only the second floor).

Now such a house exists, and it houses the permanent museum of Sherlock Holmes. And it all started with an exhibition that was opened in the 1950s in a house on Baker Street by the widow of the writer Jean Conan Doyle. Then some of the things were transferred to the Sherlock Holmes tavern on Northumberland Street. Here they are to this day, as well as portraits of film actors who played the role of a detective-consultant. It is said that there is a tradition in England that all who enter the service of Scotland Yard consider it their duty to look into the tavern on Northumberland Street and have a glass or two there.

But back to the main museum. Those wishing to visit it reach the Baker Street metro station. And let them not be surprised if a tall gentleman approaches them and holds out his business card with the name Holmes. You are simply invited to visit the legendary house at number 221.

And here is a staircase of seventeen steps, which, as expected from the text, leads to the second floor. The famous living room on Baker Street. A fireplace, armchairs, retorts for chemical experiments, a pipe in a bucket for coal, master keys, a magnifying glass... However, Sherlock Holmes fans will list all this without me, without even crossing the threshold of the museum.

(You can watch a video clip showing the furnishings of the famous living room on the English-language site.)

Downstairs, on the basement floor of building 221, is Mrs. Hudson's restaurant, and next to it is a gift shop that sells pipes, key chains, postcards, handcuffs (real or not?), a cab model, a bust of the great detective and ... porcelain figurines of heroes, upon closer inspection, they turn out to be a set of Holmes and Watson pepper shakers and salt shakers. Oh, this English humor! Or maybe a business? However, it is curious which of the friends is a pepper shaker and which is a salt shaker.

The memory of Holmes is carefully preserved not only by the staff of the two museums.

A memorial plaque hangs on St. Bartholomew's Hospital, stating that it was here, in 1881, that Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson first met. The second plaque was installed in Switzerland at the infamous waterfall.

Sculptures of Sherlock Holmes have been erected in several cities in England.

Awards

For reasons unclear to the end, Sherlock Holmes refused to be knighted. It was in June 1902. However, he considered it an honor to accept the Order of the Legion of Honor. We modestly keep silent about several memorable gifts received by the detective from crowned persons and other powerful people of this world.

And most recently, on October 16, 2002, Mr. Holmes was admitted to the British Royal Society of Chemistry. Usually, this honor is awarded mainly to Nobel Prize winners, outstanding scientists and industrialists. The general secretary of the society, Dr. David Giachardi, commenting on the decision to admit the great detective to the society, said: "He was a great man who used his clear mind, courage and achievements of science in the fight against evil."

Hymn

This is not an unfortunate joke, but a real anthem of one of the Holmesian societies. Singing, by the way, is supposed to be standing up.

Doubles of Sherlock Holmes

Doubles at Sherlock Holmes began to appear with unthinkable speed. I don’t know how it is with them in England and America, but here in Russia they have always been rather careless about ... um ... borrowing. Steal? Why not? The author is far away, but the reading public will like it. Therefore, I dare to suggest that the freshly baked Holmes especially flourished in Russia. At the beginning of the 20th century, Levinson's publishing house released a series of books about the "adventures of Sherlock Holmes." Who wrote these fake crafts, history is silent, most likely, a group of eternally hungry beginners or tragically mediocre writers. The "epopee" "The Secret of the Red Mask" was especially popular. This endless (in 96 issues!) work consisted of 1536 pages. (Let Tolstoy and Tolkien envy!) And a certain Mr. Orlovets offered readers "reports on the adventures of Holmes in Russia." In separate publications, Holmes had a young assistant named Harry (and where did they put Watson?). So the noble private detective of Victorian England became the brother of Nat Pinkerton and Nick Carter. However, this is not entirely true. Contemporaries argued that more literate people wrote about Sherlock Holmes, "and Pinkerton - who is not lazy." No wonder Pinkerton cost five kopecks, and Holmes - seven.

Fortunately, Conan Doyle did not know Russian (it is known for certain that he immediately put letters from Russia in a box, considering them read), and it never occurred to anyone to translate all this nonsense into the author’s native language. Sir Arthur had had enough of his acquaintance with the folly that flickers in the English and American press with the regularity of meteorites. One “unfading masterpiece” was dedicated to a woman who came to Holmes for advice: “I don’t know what to think at all, sir. In one week, I lost my car horn, broom, box of golf balls, dictionary and shoehorn…” “There is nothing easier, madam,” Sherlock replied. “It’s clearer that your neighbor keeps a goat.” Another story "talks about how Sherlock got to heaven, and thanks to his extraordinary powers of observation, he immediately recognized and greeted Adam" ("gentlemen hussars, be silent!").

Then they began to write well and seriously. Among the authors (it is not possible to list all) were Adrian Conan Doyle (son of Sir Arthur), the master of the detective genre John Dickson Carr, the creator of numerous "horror films" Stephen King. (Their stories about Holmes have been translated into Russian.) Did not remain indifferent to the image of Holmes and ... US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. He wrote The Baker Street Folio: Five Notes on Sherlock Holmes from Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1945).

It is recognized that one of the best serious works is A Study of Fear by Ellery Queen (pseudonym of Frederick Dannay and Manfred Lee). Here Holmes solves the case of Jack the Ripper, whose sinister figure has long kept all of London at bay. (Queen E. A Study of Fear // Doyle A.K. Valley of Terror; Queen E. A Study of Fear. - St. Petersburg: Terra Incognita, . - P. 93-198.)

From more or less modern works, we can offer a collection of stories by Mikhail Trushin and Vladimir Petrin "Illuminations of Sherlock Holmes" (1997). The cover is made by L. Kozlov. The book is written in the classic Doyle style and received brilliant reviews, including from Georgy Vainer. Unfortunately, it was printed in Penza, and therefore is not available to many readers. But fans of Sherlock Holmes can be consoled by books (“The Secret Archive of Sherlock Holmes”, “Sherlock Holmes in Orbit”, etc.) from the “Secrets of Baker Street” series published by Terra Publishing House. Of course, the level of compositions, as happens in such cases, is not always the same.

The works of Adrian Conan Doyle and John Dickson Carr were published in the 1960s and 1970s in the journal Science and Life. Now the texts of these authors are easiest to find on the Internet. Look for, for example, such books by A.C. Doyle, D. Carr: "Wax Players", "Two Women", "The Avas Ruby", "The Mystery of the Closed Room", "Horror in Deptford", "Crime in Fowlkes Race", "The case with the golden watch".

These texts may disappoint you a little. And the point here is not in the authors of the stories, but in the translators. Not that they were completely bad, just few people are able to compete with Korn Ivanovich Chukovsky.

But with the story "The Investigation of Dr. Watson" by Stephen King, there are no problems. It was published in the author's collection of the "king of horrors" "Nightmares and fantastic visions" (M.: Mir, 1994).

Parodies

The image of Sherlock Holmes also attracted recognized classics. True, they preferred to write mostly parodies. So, for example, Bret Garth created "The Adventure with a Stolen Cigarette Case", Mark Twain - "The Adventure with a Double Sight", O. Henry - the stories "The Adventures of Shamrock Jolnes" and "Snoops", James Barry - "The Adventures of Two Co-authors". I give a bibliographic description of the last mentioned work, otherwise you will never find this text. (Barry J. Adventures of two co-authors // Doyle A.K. A life full of adventures. - M .: Vagrius, 2001. - S. 115-118.)

Literary hooliganism

This story is rather scandalous. One day, the world-famous master detective (Nero Wolfe's father) Rex Stout gave a speech at a dinner for fans of the inhabitants of the house on Baker Street. In it, using the method of deduction, he argued that under the pseudonym "Doctor Watson" was hiding a lady, the legal wife of Sherlock Holmes. And even called (with evidence) her name - Irene Watson. How the writer came out of dinner alive is not known for certain. But all fans of Conan Doyle are still shuddering at the mention of Rex Stout's work Watson Was a Woman.

Almost a joke

Once, a certain S. Borisov created the story "The Death of a Russian Landowner" for a literary quiz. The plot here is extremely simple: Holmes, sitting on Baker Street, discusses with Watson Dostoevsky's novel The Brothers Karamazov. By what fate this wretched story by S. Borisov ended up in one of the collections of authentic works by A. Conan Doyle, one can only guess ...

Holmes

Research works about Sherlock Holmes appeared already at the beginning of the 20th century. The books of R. Knox “A Study of the Literature Dedicated to Sherlock Holmes” (1911), H. W. Bell “Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, a chronicle of their adventures” (1931), H. Brenkenley “Sherlock Holmes: fact and fiction” are still considered classics » (1932).

The pinnacle of "Holmesscience" was Jack Tracy's Sherlockian Encyclopedia: A Universal Dictionary of Information Established About Sherlock Holmes and His Biographer, Dr. John G. Watson. This work is considered the best reference publication, a reference book for all Holmes fans. I.N. Bogdanov translated "Sherlockian" into Russian. For this work, the Ural Holmsian Society awarded him the Watson Literary Prize. I don't want to offend anyone, but what does that mean?

Sherlock Holmes and everyday life

Sherlock Holmes has become so firmly entrenched in our lives that sometimes you don’t know where you will meet your favorite hero. For example, you accidentally go into the "Children's World", and there are comics on the theme of the adventures of a detective consultant (not necessarily stupid) or a board game called "Sherlock Holmes". Are you saying this is for kids? Nothing like this. Absolutely adult uncles and aunts play interactive games on the Web, one of which is called, for example, "Sherlock Holmes: The Return of Moriarty." And on your way home from work, you may inadvertently hear the phrase “elementary, Watson!” or the call of a mobile phone that plays ... Vladimir Dashkevich's melody from the TV movie "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson" (director I. Maslennikov). My neighbor in the country has a huge dog named the Hound of the Baskervilles, who is desperately afraid of the whole district. And one inhabitant of the neighboring village built himself a house on the edge of the swamp, which the locals do not call otherwise than “Baskerville Hall”.

And God forbid that in your life you need a private detective agency. It is called ... guess for yourself.

"Sherlock Holmitos"

Just do not think that this is some kind of snake or caterpillar. So modern Latin Americans call brief skilful conclusions that are not relevant. In a word, what Sherlock Holmes considered erroneous alternative moves. The term "Sherlock Holmitos" arose after the acquaintance of the local population with the work of Arthur Conan Doyle.

jokes

"Mr. Sherlock Holmes has always been a fertile target for pranksters ..." - said Conan Doyle. Indeed, there are many anecdotes about Holmes and Watson roaming the world (and the Internet). Unfortunately, almost all of them are either rather stupid or completely indecent (and sometimes both at once). In any case, I managed to choose only six.

Holmes and Watson spend the night in a tent in the forest.
- Watson, does this constellation mean anything to you?
- Good weather, Holmes!
- Watson, our tent was stolen.

* * *

What do you think, Holmes?
- Elementary Watson!

Barrymore, what's that squelching in my boot?
- Oatmeal, sir!
But what is she doing there?
- Slurp, sir.

What kind of howl is heard over the swamps?
- Elementary Watson! Sir Henry was again served oatmeal for breakfast.

Holmes and Watson are going on a trip. Holmes sends a friend to look at the thermometer. Returning, Watson reports: "Hanging."

Holmes, we seem to have got to the bottom of the truth!
- Yes, Watson, now let's try to get out of the hole.

Listen, Watson ... What is your strange name - Doctor? ..

Quite seriously

“Don't you know that I'm not the creator of Sherlock Holmes? It was the readers who created it in their imagination." Conan Doyle said these words at a gala dinner in honor of his seventieth birthday. There is something to think about, right?

In his memoirs, Sir Arthur called the prototype of Holmes the surgeon Joseph Bell, and the prototype of Watson - Major Wood. Readers stubbornly thought otherwise. Some put an equal sign between Doyle and Sherlock Holmes, others - between Doyle and Watson. It seems that both of them were not far from the truth: if you make a portrait of one person from two famous heroes, then most likely it will turn out - the alter ego of their creator, Arthur Conan Doyle.

Why are we so attracted to stories and novels about Holmes and Watson? A twisted plot? The color of the Victorian era? Perhaps all this is not important. How many detectives were created before and after Holmes and Watson, but it was Conan Doyle who managed to write something special, so to speak, at number one. Moreover, this order is not subject to revision.

The secret of the success of Holmes and Watson is in a harmonious duet and in the glorification of male friendship. Almost like A. Dumas in The Three Musketeers. Indeed, what is Holmes without Watson and Watson without Holmes?.. No wonder the stories where the great detective for some reason finds himself alone are much weaker than all the others.

I don’t know how other nations perceive the inhabitants of Foggy Albion, but for us, Mr. Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson have long become the symbol of an English gentleman. We just never thought about it.

Nadezhda Voronova

Baker Street at the start XX century

In total, Sherlock Holmes appears in 56 stories and 4 stories by Arthur Conan Doyle. In most cases, the story is told on behalf of Holmes' best friend and companion - Dr. Watson.

The first work about the famous detective, the story A Study in Scarlet, was written by Arthur Conan Doyle in 1887. The last collection, The Sherlock Holmes Archive, was published in 1927.

Conan Doyle himself considered the stories about Holmes "light reading" and did not share the delight of readers. Moreover, he was annoyed by the fact that readers prefer works about Holmes to all other works of the writer, while Conan Doyle considered himself primarily the author of a historical novel. In the end, Sir Arthur decided to stop the story of the detective by eliminating the most popular literary character in a fight with Professor Moriarty (the “godfather” of the English mafia, as they would say now) at the Reichenbach Falls.

However, the flow of letters from indignant readers, among whom were members of the royal family (according to legend, Queen Victoria herself), forced the writer to "revive" the famous detective and continue the description of his adventures.

Biography

Arthur Conan Doyle himself in his works never reported the date of birth of Sherlock Holmes. Presumably the year of his birth is -th (according to the story "His farewell bow"). A version also appeared in print that Holmes was born in 1850. The version was allegedly based on the biography of the doctor Joseph Bell, whom Arthur Conan Doyle himself mentioned more than once as the prototype of Sherlock Holmes, and, according to the writer, Joseph Bell was nine years older than him, that is, his year of birth was 1850 (himself Arthur Conan Doyle was born in 1859). However, in reality, Joseph Bell was born in 1837, which deprives this version of grounds.

Admirers of Conan Doyle's work have attempted to establish a more accurate date of birth for Sherlock Holmes. In particular, the date of January 6 has been suggested. The date was calculated by a certain Nathan L. Bengis based on a comparison of fragmentary information from the works of Conan Doyle and astrological research (!). Part of the hypothesis is based on the fact that in the story "Valley of Terror" there is an indirect reference to Shakespeare's play " Twelfth Night" with a relative time reference to Holmes's birthday. The date is quite common among fans of the great detective, although in general it is not objectively confirmed.

Self-portrait of Horace Vernet (1835)

Little is known about the family and ancestors of Sherlock Holmes. In the story "The Case of the Translator" Holmes says:

In the same place, Holmes mentions that his grandmother was the sister of the French battle painter Horace Vernet (-). A number of works feature Sherlock Holmes' brother, Mycroft Holmes, who is seven years his senior and works in the Foreign Office. Also mentioned in The Norwood Contractor is a young doctor, Werner, a distant relative of Holmes, who bought Watson's doctoral practice in Kensington. There is no mention of other relatives of Holmes. The grandmother is French, which speaks of the partial French origin of Holmes, although it is difficult to judge how much it prevails.

Key dates in the life of Sherlock Holmes are as follows:

• In 1881, Holmes met Dr. John Watson (if we take Holmes's date of birth as 1854, then at that moment he is about 27 years old). He, apparently, is not rich, as he is looking for a companion to rent an apartment together. At the same time, she and Watson move to 221b Baker Street, Baker Street, where they jointly rent an apartment from Mrs. Hudson. In the story "Gloria Scott"We learn something about Holmes' past, about what inspired him to become a detective: the father of a fellow student of Holmes was delighted with his deductive abilities.
• In 1888, Watson marries and moves out of his apartment on Baker Street. Holmes continues to rent an apartment from Mrs. Hudson already alone.
• In 1891, the action of the story "The Last Case of Holmes" unfolds. After a fight with Professor Moriarty, Holmes goes missing. Watson (and with him almost the entire English public) is confident in the death of Holmes.
• Between 1894 and 1894 Holmes was on the run. Having survived in single combat on the edge of a waterfall, on foot and without money, he overcame the Alpine mountains and reached Florence, from where he contacted his brother and received funds from him. After that, Holmes went to Tibet, where he traveled for two years, visited Lhasa and spent several days with the Dalai Lama - apparently, Holmes published his notes about this trip under the name of the Norwegian Sigerson. Then he traveled all over Persia, looked into Mecca (obviously, using acting skills, since, according to the laws of Islam, visiting Mecca and Medina by non-believers is excluded) and paid a visit to the Caliph in Khartoum (which he presented a report to the British Foreign Secretary). Returning to Europe, Holmes spent several months in the south of France, in Montpellier, where he studied substances obtained from coal tar.
• In 1894, Holmes unexpectedly appears in London. After the elimination of the remnants of the criminal group Moriarty Holmes again settles on Baker Street. Dr. Watson, widowed by that time, also moves there.
• In 1904, Holmes retires and leaves London for Sussex, where he breeds bees.
• By 1914, the last described case of Holmes (the story "His farewell bow") dates back. Holmes is about 60 years old here (“He could have been given sixty years old”). Arthur Conan Doyle mentions the fate of Sherlock Holmes several times. From the story "The Devil's Leg" it follows that Dr. Watson received a telegram from Holmes with a proposal to write about the "Cornish Horror" in 1917, therefore, both friends endured the First World War safely, although they live separately. Further, in the story "The Man on All Fours", Watson again indirectly hints at the date of publication of this case for the general public and about the fate of Holmes:

Watson says "we got", meaning, of course, himself and Holmes; if the actions of the hero of the story, Professor Presbury, worried the scientific community in 1903, and this was "twenty years ago", then it is not difficult to conclude that both Holmes and Watson were alive and well in 1923.

Holmes personality

At the first meeting with Sherlock Holmes ("Study in Scarlet"), Dr. Watson describes the great detective as a tall, thin young man:

Sherlock Holmes is apparently a biochemist by training. At the time of his acquaintance with Watson, he worked as a laboratory assistant in one of the London hospitals - this is mentioned at the beginning of A Study in Scarlet. “One guy who works in the chemical laboratory at our hospital ... I think he knows anatomy very well, and he is a first-class chemist, but it seems that he never studied medicine systematically.” None of the subsequent writings mentions Holmes's work as a laboratory assistant. Just as the author no longer talks about any work other than private investigation, the work of his protagonist.

Holmes is a multifaceted personality. With versatile talents, he devoted his life to a career as a private detective. Investigating the cases supplied by his clients, he relies not so much on the letter of the law, but on his life principles, the rules of honor, which in a number of cases replace paragraphs of bureaucratic norms for him. Repeatedly, Holmes allowed people who, in his opinion, justifiably committed a crime, to escape punishment. Holmes, in principle, is not mercantile, he is primarily occupied with work. For his work in solving crimes, Sherlock Holmes takes a fair reward, but if his next client is poor, he can take a symbolic payment or refuse it altogether.

The connection between the image of Sherlock Holmes and the pipe is only partly true. Pipe tobacco he, first of all, appreciated for its strength, despite their cheapness and rudeness. The fact that he smoked strongly curved pipes is a later myth generated by illustrators. In a number of works (for example, "The End of Charles Augustus Milverton", "The Last Case of Holmes", "The Empty House", "Pins-nez in a Gold Rim") Holmes willingly smokes cigars and cigarettes.

In A Study in Scarlet, Dr. Watson states that Holmes does not use drugs, but in The Sign of the Four we see him intravenously using cocaine. Sherlock Holmes used drugs only in the complete absence of interesting crimes:

“My brain rebels against idleness. Give me a job! Give me the most difficult problem, the most insoluble problem, the most complicated case - and I will forget about artificial stimulants.

Moreover, by 1898 (this is just the estimated time of the “Horror over London” - the manuscript from the “Will of Sherlock Holmes”) Sherlock had already got rid of this bad habit, which the tireless Dr. Watson told us about in the story “The Lost Rugby Player”.

It is difficult to say something definite about Holmes' relationship with alcohol, although he is clearly not a strict teetotaler.

Holmes, in principle, is not conceited, and in most cases gratitude for the solved crime is of little interest to him:

How unfairly the prize was distributed! […] Everything in this business is done by you. But I got a wife. And the glory will go to Jones. What is left for you?
- To me? Holmes said. - And me - an ampoule with cocaine.

Although on a number of occasions Holmes expresses his annoyance at this state of affairs:

But, perhaps, there is not a second to lose, - I was alarmed. - Go call a cab?
- I'm not sure if I'm going or not. I'm a lazy person, which the world has not seen, that is, of course, when laziness attacks me, but in general I can be nimble.
- You dreamed of such a case!
- My dear, what's the point of me? Suppose I unravel this case - after all, Gregson, Lestrade and company will pocket all the glory. Such is the fate of the unofficial person.

However, he is quite jealous of comparing his talent as a detective with other European detectives.

Considering you the second largest European expert…
- That's it, sir! Let me ask you, who has the honor of being the first? Holmes asked in a rather sharp tone.
- The works of Mr. Bertillon inspire great respect for people with a scientific mindset.

Holmes prefers to receive clients at his home. In a number of stories, you can see that even very wealthy clients, persons of royal blood and the Prime Minister of England himself come to see him personally. Holmes is a theatergoer, loves to dine at the Simpsons restaurant (the most prestigious place in London). He is well versed in opera and, apparently, knows Italian:

It is also likely that Holmes is familiar with other European languages ​​on a practical level:

The big "G" with the small "t" is short for "Gesellschaft", which means "company" in German. It's a common abbreviation, like our K°. "P", of course, means "Papier", paper.<...>And the person who wrote the note is German. Do you notice the strange construction of the phrase: "We received such a review about you from all sides"? A Frenchman or a Russian could not write like that. Only the Germans treat their verbs so unceremoniously.

Holmes shrugged his shoulders: - Perhaps, I really bring some good. "L" homme c "est rien - I" oeuvre c "est tout", as Gustave Flaubert put it in a letter to George Sand.

Weapons and martial arts

• Revolver. Both Holmes and Watson have personal revolvers; Watson always had a service revolver in his drawer, but only 8 stories mention this. Holmes is clearly a good shooter, as evidenced, in particular, by the famous episode from the story "The Rite of the House of Musgraves", where Holmes shot the monogram of Queen Victoria on the wall.
• Cane. Holmes, being a respectable gentleman, almost always walks with a cane. Described by Watson as a swordsman, he uses her as a weapon twice. In the story "Colored Ribbon", he uses a cane to drive away a poisonous snake.
• Sword. In A Study in Scarlet, Watson describes Holmes as an excellent swordsman, despite the fact that he never used it in the stories. However, the sword is mentioned in the story "Gloria Scott", where Holmes practices fencing.
• Whip. In some stories, Holmes appears armed with a whip. In the story The Six Napoleons, the whip is even named Holmes's favorite weapon and it is mentioned that the whip was additionally weighted with lead poured into the handle. A little later in the same story, Holmes breaks the last bust of Napoleon with a whip. Also, with the help of a whip, he snatches a gun from the hands of John Clay in "Red Union" - a technique that requires virtuoso possession of a whip. In addition, in the story "Identification", Holmes intended to give a thrashing to a swindler with a whip hanging on the wall of the living room.
• hand-to-hand combat. Watson describes Holmes as a good boxer. The Sign of Four indicates that Holmes was a boxer and competed:

  No, McMurdo, you know! Sherlock Holmes suddenly said good-naturedly. - I don't think you've forgotten me. Remember the amateur boxer you fought three rounds in the Alison ring on your benefit day four years ago?
  <…>
  - Do I see Mr. Sherlock Holmes?! - exclaimed the boxer. - But he is the very one! How did I not recognize you right away? You would not have stood here so quietly, but would have delivered your famous counter blow to my jaw - then I would have immediately recognized you. Er, what can I say! You are one of those who bury talents in the ground. And they would go far if they wanted to!

Holmes often uses hand-to-hand combat skills in the fight against opponents and always comes out victorious.

In the story "The Brilliant Client", Holmes alone and unarmed confronts two criminals armed with truncheons and escapes with minor injuries. In the story Holmes's Last Case, the detective also describes a case of self-defense against "some scoundrel with a club."

In the story "Naval Treaty", an unarmed Holmes successfully confronts a criminal armed with a knife:

I did not imagine that Mr. Joseph could be so vicious. He lunged at me with a knife and I had to knock him down twice and cut myself on his knife before I got the upper hand. Although he looked at me with the “murderous” look of his only eye, which he could still open after the brawl was over, he nevertheless heeded my persuasion and handed over the document.

Examines evidence both scientifically and objectively. To determine the course of the crime, he often examines prints, traces, tire tracks (“Study in Scarlet”, “Silver”, “A Case in a Boarding School”, “The Hound of the Baskervilles”, “Mystery of the Boscombe Valley”), cigarette butts, ash residues (“ The Constant Patient", "The Hound of the Baskervilles", "Study in Scarlet"), letter comparison ("Identification", "Reiget Squires"), remnants of gunpowder ("Reiget Squires"), bullet recognition ("Empty House") and even fingerprints left many days ago ("Norwood Contractor"). Holmes also demonstrates knowledge of psychology ("A Scandal in Bohemia"), luring Irene Adler into a trap and rightly assuming that in the event of a fire, an unmarried childless woman will rush to save the most precious thing (in the story - a photograph), and a married woman, the mother of the family, will rush to save first all of your child.

Due to troubles in life (or the desire to leave everything behind), Holmes retires to Sussexto do beekeeping (" Second Spot"), where he also writes the book "A Practical Guide to Breeding Bees." His love of music can also be considered as one of the ways of relaxation: for example, in the story “Redhead Union”, he takes an evening free from participation in business to listen to Pablo de Sarasate play the violin.

He also loves vocal music ("Scarlet Ring").

Sherlock Holmes method

Sherlock Holmes. Illustration by artist Steele for a 1903 edition

The deductive method of Sherlock Holmes

1. Based on all the facts and evidence, a complete picture of the crime is built.
2. Based on the received picture of the crime, the only defendant corresponding to it is searched for.

When compiling an idea about the picture of the crime, Holmes uses strict logic, which allows one to restore a single picture from disparate and insignificant details individually as if he had seen the incident with his own eyes.

From one drop of water, a logical thinker can conclude that the Atlantic Ocean or Niagara Falls are possible, even if he has never seen or heard of either. Every life is a huge chain of causes and effects, and we can know its nature by one link.

An observer who has thoroughly studied one link in a series of events should be able to accurately establish all the other links - both previous and subsequent ones. But in order to bring the art of thinking to its highest point, it is necessary that the thinker be able to use all the established facts, and for this he needs the most extensive knowledge ...

The key points of the method are observation and expert knowledge in many practical and applied fields of science, often related to forensic science. Here, Holmes's specific approach to understanding the world is manifested - purely professional and pragmatic, which seems more than strange to people who are unfamiliar with Holmes's personality. Possessing the deepest knowledge in such areas specific to forensic science as soil science or typography, Holmes does not know elementary things. For example - Holmes is not aware of the fact that the Earth revolves around the Sun, because this information is completely useless in his work.

It seems to me that the human brain is like a small empty attic that you can furnish as you wish. A fool will drag in there any junk that comes to hand, and there will be nowhere to stick useful, necessary things, or at best you won’t get to the bottom of them among all this rubble. And an intelligent person carefully selects what he puts in his brain attic.

“Abandon everything impossible; what remains will be the answer, no matter how incredible it may seem.

For example, when investigating the case of the loss of Agra's treasures, Holmes is faced with a situation where the offender, according to signs and evidence left, turns out to be a man of short stature with a leg like a child's. Having discarded all options, Holmes stops at the only one: this is a short savage from the Andaman Islands - no matter how paradoxical this option may look.

The term in the method name deduction was not strictly used by Conan Doyle. It can be understood as:

However, at least part of the method is based on induction - the conclusion from the particular to the general. Some researchers see abduction as the basis of Holmes' method.

Holmes's unusual ability to make astounding guesses from the smallest clues causes constant amazement of Watson and readers of stories. The detective uses and trains this ability not only during the investigation, but also in everyday life. As a rule - subsequently Holmes thoroughly explains the course of his thoughts, which after the fact seems obvious and elementary.

Consequence

In most cases, Holmes is faced with carefully planned and complexly executed crimes. At the same time, the set of crimes is quite wide - Holmes investigates murders, thefts, extortion, and sometimes he comes across situations that at first glance (or ultimately) have no corpus delicti at all (the incident with the King of Bohemia, the case of Mary Sutherland, the story of a man with split lip, the case of Lord St. Simon, the riddle of the man with the yellow face).

Sherlock Holmes prefers to act alone, in one person performing all the functions of the investigation. He is assisted by John Hamish Watson and the staff of Scotland Yard, but this is not a matter of principle. Holmes finds evidence and, as an expert, assesses the involvement of the defendants in the crime. Interrogates witnesses. In addition, Holmes often acts directly as an agent of the detective, searching for evidence and defendants, and also participates in the arrest. Holmes is no stranger to various tricks - he uses makeup, wigs, changes his voice. In some cases, he has to resort to full reincarnation, which requires the skill of an actor.

In some cases, a group of London street boys work for Holmes. Basically, Holmes uses them as spies to assist him in investigating cases.

In general, the cultural influence of the image is very large. Interestingly, according to a survey conducted by the British sociological association Ask Jeeves in 2011, on average one in five Britons believes that Sherlock Holmes really existed.

Data

• The ancestor of such a deductive-detective genre is, contrary to popular belief, not Conan Doyle, but Edgar Poe with his story "Murder in the Rue Morgue". At the same time, Holmes himself spoke very contemptuously about the deductive abilities of Auguste Dupin, the protagonist of "Murder on the Rue Morgue" (the story "A Study in Scarlet").
• At the time of writing stories about Sherlock Holmes, the house with the address 221b Baker Street didn't exist. In fact, it does not exist even now - the house numbers from 215 to 229 refer to the building Abbey National. Archived from the original on August 23, 2011.). However, this address was constantly receiving a stream of letters. The firm located at this address even had a position for processing letters to Sherlock Holmes. Subsequently, the address "Baker Street, 221b" was officially assigned to the house in which the Sherlock Holmes Museum is located in the form of his apartment (despite the fact that for this it was necessary to violate the numbering order of the houses on the street, since in fact it is house 239).
• Conan Doyle considered his stories about Sherlock Holmes to be frivolous, so he decided to "kill" him - a common technique of writers. After the publication of the story "The Last Case of Holmes", a pile of angry letters rained down on the writer. There is an unconfirmed legend about a letter from Queen Victoria to Conan Doyle, in which the Queen suggested that the death of Sherlock Holmes was just a cunning move by a detective. And the writer had to "revive" the character.

Sherlock Holmes hat

Holmes is dressed in fashion. 1904 illustration

Holmes is dressed in fashion. 1892 illustration

Sherlock Holmes wears a special deer hunter's hat. Nothing is written about her in the text, she was invented by the first illustrator of stories about Holmes Sidney Paget. At that time, such a hat was worn only in rural areas. In town, Holmes wears a regular brimmed hat.

Holmes versions

Images, representations, vision by other personalities

It is very difficult to list all the works with the participation of Holmes, written by other Russian and foreign authors - there are several hundred of them (see Sherlockian). Here are just a few of them:

The best works

When Conan Doyle was once asked to list the best stories about Holmes, the author selected 12 works:

Screen adaptations

According to the number of adaptations, the story of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson got into the Guinness Book of Records. At the moment, there are about 210 films with the participation of the detective.

USA (1939-1946)

USSR-Russia

• "Blue carbuncle" (1979) (Algimantas Masiulis)
• "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson" (Vasily Livanov)
  • "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson: The Hound of the Baskervilles" (1981)
  • "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson: The Treasures of Agra" (1983)
  • "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson: The Twentieth Century Begins" (1986)
• My Dearly Beloved Detective (1986) - Detectives Miss Shirley Holmes and Miss Watson act in the parody film.
• Sherlock Holmes (2012) is a 2012 TV series featuring new original stories inspired by Conan Doyle stories. According to the director, in some episodes the motifs of previously unscreened stories are used, and each dilogy is a separate direction of the "detective" genre (gothic, politics, romance, etc.). In the role of Holmes - Igor Petrenko.

Great Britain

• “Without a single clue" - (sometimes - "Without a single clue", "Without any evidence", Eng. Without A Clue) - A crime comedy about Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson.
• "Murder by Order" - A joint British-Canadian thriller about the confrontation between Sherlock Holmes and Jack the Ripper. Holmes was played by Christopher Plummer.
• "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" (1985-1994) - series. Starring Jeremy Brett.
• Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Silk Stocking is a 2004 TV movie starring Rupert Everett as Holmes.
• " Sherlock"- a series about Holmes and Watson, transferring the action to 2010-2012. Sherlock is played by Benedict Cumberbatch.

USA (2009-2012)

• Sherlock Holmes (A Menace from the Past) is a steampunk film by Rachel Goldenberg.
• Sherlock Holmes and Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows - 2009 and 2012 films by Guy Ritchie, in the role of the great detective - Robert Downey Jr.
• Elementary - released in the fall of 2012, a series about Holmes and Watson, which takes place today in the United States. Sherlock is played by Jonny Lee Miller.

Computer games about Sherlock Holmes

• Sherlock(1984) (Philip Mitchell) (PC text adventure)
• Sherlock Holmes(1984) (Bantam Software) (PC, Commodore 64)
• Sherlock Holmes: The Vatican Cameos(1986) (Ellicott Creek) (PC, Apple II)
• Young Sherlock: The Legacy of Doyle(1987) (Pack-In-Video) (MSX)
• Sherlock Holmes: A Matter of Evil(1988) (Creative Juices) (ZX81/Spectrum)
• Sherlock Holmes: The Lamberley Mystery(1990) (Zenobi Software) (ZX81/Spectrum)
• 221B Baker Street(1987) (Datasoft) (PC and Mac)
• Sherlock: The Riddle of the Crown Jewels(1988) (Infocom)
• Trilogy by Towa Chiki:
  • Sherlock Holmes: Hakushaku Reijou Yuukai Jiken/Sherlock Holmes: The Case of the Count's Abducted Daughter(NES) (1986) (Towa Chiki)
  • Meitantei Holmes: Kiri no London Satsujin Jiken/Great Detective Holmes: A Case of Murder in London Fog(1988) (NES) (Towa Chiki)
  • Meitantei Holmes: M-Kara no Chousenjou/Great Detective Holmes: A Challenge from M(1989) (NES) (Towa Chiki)
• Sherlock Holmes: Loretta no Shouzou(1987) (Sega) (Sega Master System)
• Trilogy from ICOM Simulations:
  • Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective Vol. I
  • Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective Vol. II(1992) (ICOM Simulations) (PC, Sega CD, TurboGrafx-CD)
  • Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective Vol. III(1993) (ICOM Simulations) (PC, Sega CD, TurboGrafx-CD)
• Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective (1999) (Infinite Ventures) (DVD Player, interactive movie game)
• Dilogy from Mythos Software:
  • The Lost Files of Sherlock Holmes: The Case of the Serrated Scalpel(1992) (Mythos Software) (PC, 3DO -1994)
  • The Lost Files of Sherlock Holmes: The Case of the Rose Tattoo(1996) (Mythos Software) (PC)
• Sherlock Holmes: The Return of Moriarty(2000) (Buka Entertainment) (PC)
• Games from Frogwares:
  • Sherlock Holmes: Mystery of the Mummy(2002) (Frogwares) (PC, Nintendo DS)
  • Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: The Mystery of the Persian Carpet(Frogware) (PC)
  • Sherlock Holmes: The Hound of the Baskervilles(Frogware) (PC)
  • Sherlock Holmes vs. Jack the Ripper(2009) (Frogwares) (PC) (X360)
  • Sherlock Holmes and the Mystery of Osbourne House(2011) (Frogwares) (Nintendo DS)
  • The Testament of Sherlock Holmes(2012) (Frogwares) (PC, X360, PS3)
  • Sherlock Holmes and the Mystery of the Frozen City(2012) (Frogwares) (Nintendo 3DS)
• Games based on Guy Ritchie films:
  • Sherlock Holmes: The Official Movie Game(2009) (Gameloft) (cell phone game)
  • Sherlock Holmes Mysteries(2009) (Warner Bros.) (iPhone/iPod/iPad-2010)
  • Sherlock Holmes 2: Checkmate(2011) (Sticky Game Studios) (PC, Mac online game)
• Sherlock Holmes Trivia(2009) (Phoenix Venture, LLC) (iPhone/iPod)
• Sherlock Holmes: The Game is Afoot(2009) (Mobile Deluxe) (iPhone/iPod)
• Detective Holmes(2010) (Warelex) (iPhone/iPod)
• Holmes(2011) (lukassen) (iPhone/iPod)
• Dilogy from Legacy Interactive:
  • The Lost Cases of Sherlock Holmes(2008) (Legacy Interactive) (Mac, PC)
  • The Lost Cases of Sherlock Holmes, Vol. 2(2010) (Legacy Interactive) (Mac, PC)
• Dilogy from gameX/Greenstreet Games:
  • Sherlock Holmes(2004) (gameX/Greenstreet Games) (PC)
  • Sherlock Holmes: The Case Of The Time Machine(2006) (gameX/Greenstreet Games) (PC)

Notes

1. Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Joseph Bell
2. Miscellaneous
3. Arthur Conan Doyle."The Father of Sherlock Holmes" // The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. - Moscow: OLMA-Press. - S. 9. - 512 p. - 5000 copies. - ISBN 5 224 03361 6