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Sherlock Holmes

Sherlock Holmes (1854-1957, according to William S. Baring-Gould) is a fictional detective of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, created by British author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Holmes is famous for his prowess at using logic and astute observation to solve cases.

Sherlock Holmes describes himself as a "consulting detective", an expert who is brought into cases that have proven too difficult for other investigators; we are told that he is often able to solve a problem without leaving his home. Naturally, this aspect is minimized in the stories themselves, which tend to focus on the more interesting cases which require him to do actual legwork. He specializes in solving unusual cases using his extraordinary powers of observation and logical reasoning, and frequently demonstrates these powers to new clients by making on the spot observations about their personalities and their recent activities. This rarely fails to impress (see below).

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle credits the inception of Holmes on his teacher at the medical school of Edinburgh University, the gifted surgeon and forensic detective Joseph Bell, forensic science being a new field at the time. However, some years later Bell wrote to Conan Doyle: "you are yourself Sherlock Holmes and well you know it" (Baring-Gould, p. 8). The 'Sherlock Holmes' name was derived from a pair of cricketers – however some early notes give his name as Sherrinford Holmes. "Holmes" was named after Oliver Wendell Holmes, whom Conan Doyle admired, and an English cricketer named Sherlock.

Detective story
It is a popular myth that Sherlock Holmes gave rise to the entire genre of murder mystery fiction. This now famous character and the detective story itself however were inspired by Auguste Dupin and his technique for solving crime. Dupin was a fictional investigator created by Edgar Allan Poe to whose existence even Holmes himself alluded. For more details, of Holmes predessors, as described by Dr Watson, see below.

Many fictional detectives have imitated Holmes' logical methods and followed in his footsteps, in many different ways. Some of the more popular fictional detectives to continue Holmes' legacy include Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot, Ellery Queen, Perry Mason, Columbo, Dick Tracy, and even the comic book hero Batman. Modern variants might be the NBC TV series Law and Order: Criminal Intent and the USA Network's show Monk. Monk even replicates the Holmesian style of "quiet analysis", during which no one speaks to the character while he works. Also, Monk has an older brother, who, like Holmes's, is a bit more able but less interested in crime. Another analogue is the Fox series House M.D. in which Dr. House (like Joseph Bell, on whom Doyle based Holmes) is the Holmes figure (an infectious disease specialist) and Dr. James Wilson (an oncologist) is his Watson with the exception that where Holmes solved crimes, House solves medical mysteries.