Sherlock Holmes (books)
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| " | Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth. — Sherlock Holmes |
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Sherlock Holmes is the titular main character of Sherlock Holmes book series by doctor and author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The character made his first appearance in the novel A Study in Scarlet published in 1887, and he went on to feature in three more novels: The Sign of the Four (1890), The Hound of the Baskervilles (1902), and The Valley of Fear (1915). He was also featured in fifty-six short stories.
He was the first and only consultant detective in the world, serving as a last resort for the official police or for private individuals in a case where they are unable to cope, and the younger brother of britannic government official Mycroft Holmes. With a penchant for observation and science and a consequent lack of real friends, Sherlock Holmes initially acted as an advisor to his friends, but it was not until an incident involving one of his first and only friends, Victor Trevor, that he first considered making it his profession, eventually becoming the world's first consulting detective. He also let his friend and biographer John Watson take part in a huge number of investigations during his career and recount them in his column, from their first meeting at St Bartholomew's Hospital. Over the years, his reputation for helping the official police and numerous private individuals led him to become world-famous, working for the King of Bohemia, the French Sûreté and the German police, among others; at the height of his long battle with mathematician and criminal mastermind James Moriarty however, he was forced to suspend his activities, travelling the world and only coming out of retirement after the capture of Moriarty's former right-hand man and enforcer, Sebastian Moran. Years later, he retired to Sussex, barely keeping in touch with his friend Watson and with only a old housekeeper, working on beekeeping projects. He only came out of retirement on the eve of the First World War to help capture Von Bork, a German spy, eventually returning to his beekeeping work immediately afterwards.
Biography[edit]
Early life[edit]
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Work as consultant detective[edit]
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Retirment[edit]
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Personnality[edit]
| " | I cannot live without brain-work. What else is there to live for? — Sherlock Holmes |
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Habits[edit]
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Abilities[edit]
Intelligence[edit]
| " | I am quite sure that a man of your intelligence will see that there can be but one outcome to this affair. — James Moriarty to Sherlock Holmes |
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Investigation[edit]
| " | I don’t know how you manage this, Mr. Holmes, but it seems to me that all the detectives of fact and of fancy would be children in your hands. That’s your line of life, sir, and you may take the word of a man who has seen something of the world. — Old Trevor to Sherlock Holmes |
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Observation and deduction[edit]
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Investigative methods[edit]
In addition to his observation and deduction techniques, Sherlock Holmes follows several investigative methods. One of these is reasoning backward, which consists in starting from the end of an event and deducing what led to that result. This technique has been mentioned in particular in A Study in Scarlet and "The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax".
Strategy and deception[edit]
Sherlock Holmes was known for frequently using deception for reaching his goals or capture a criminal. In A Study in Scarlet, he attempted to trick Jefferson Hope using the ring he lost in Lauriston Gardens as bait, thwarted only by the double foresight of the murderer, who had previously sent a disguised accomplice in his place who managed to lose him shortly afterwards. He also set a second trap by making him come to his apartment, having deduced beforehand that he was none other than the cab driver, enabling the police to arrest him. In "A Scandal in Bohemia", he set an elaborate trap for the blackmailer Irene Adler, using a few accomplices to simulate a fire and his knowledge of human pyschology, finally succeeding in making her unwittingly reveal the hiding place of the compromising photo in her possession. In "The Adventure of the Dying Detective", he tricked the planter and murderer Culverton Smith by feigning illness and extracting a confession from Smith on his apparent deathbed, having also taken care to have Watson hide in the room as a witness. In The Valley of Fear, he tricks Cecil Barker by urging him to go and retrieve the dumbbell he'd sent into a nearby stream, pretending it was about to be dredged.
He was also a master strategist, having been able to conduct a phenomenal months-long long distance duel with the mathematician and similarly extremely skilled tactician James Moriarty, eventually managing to destroy his organization thanks to a grouped trap, although Moriarty managed to escape.
Forensics sciences[edit]
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Deciphering[edit]
Holmes was shown to be a talented cryptograph and decipherer. While before he began his career in "The Adventure of the Gloria-Scott", he only used simple means, such as reading a message backwards or alternating words, his expertise improved steadily in the years that followed. In "The Adventure of the Dancing Men", he managed to crack the secret code behind the dancing men, using the specificities and probabilities of the English language, albeit with difficulty. In "The Adventure of the Red Circle", he easily deciphered the signal code used by Gennaro and Emilia Lucca to communicate. In The Valley of Fear, he deciphers the coded message Fred Porlock has sent him using an almanac.
Graphology expertise[edit]
Sherlock Holmes was an adept graphologue. In "A Scandal in Bohemia", he determines the German nationality of the author of a letter by the wording of one of the sentences. In "The Adventure of the Reigate Squire", he delivers a detailed analysis of a handwritten message.
Criminology knowledge[edit]
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Other[edit]
He had some understanding of German, as shown in A Study in Scarlet when he understand the german word "rache" as "revenge". It has also been shown that he knows Italian, first by speaking it as an Italian priest in "The Adventure of the Final Problem", and then in "The Adventure of the Red Circle" by understanding and sending a message to Italian Emilia Lucca.
Boxing and stick fighting[edit]
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Disguises and spying[edit]
Sherlock Holmes was known his extensive usage of disguise. Although he only wore a scarf over his mouth when tailing a Jefferson Hope accomplice in A Study in Scarlet, he quickly switches to elaborate disguises, to the point of provoking the desolation of Watson, who claims that the stage lost a great actor the day Holmes decided to devote his life to criminal cases. In "The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton", he disguise as a plumber to explore and locate Charles Augustus Milverton's house freely and seduce his maid. In "The Adventure of the Final Problem", he disguise as a venerable italien priest for escaping the Professor Moriarty. In "The Adventure of the Empty House", he disguises himself as an old book collector to escape the vigilance of Colonel Sebastian Moran, who has sworn to kill him. In "The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax", he disguise in French ouvrier to overtake Watson in Montpelier.
He was also a talented spy. In "His Last Bow", he says he spent two years infiltrating Von Bork's German spy organization based in England.
Illustrations of disguises[edit]
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“A drunken-looking groom.”
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“An amiable and simple-minded Nonconformist clergyman.”
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“A tall, thin old man, with his jaw resting upon his two fists, and his elbows upon his knees, staring into the fire.”
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“A common loafer.”
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“A venerable Italian priest.”
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“A strange old book-collector.”
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“An unshaven French ouvrier.”
Relationship[edit]
John Watson[edit]
| " | I am lost without my Boswell. — Sherlock Holmes to Watson |
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James Moriarty[edit]
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