Sherlock Holmes had a real prototype - Joseph Bell. Conan Doyle met Dr. Bell in 1877 at the Medical University of Edinburgh. Conan Doyle was studying to be a doctor, and Bell was one of his professors. Bell was thirty-nine years old when Conan Doyle first attended one of his lectures. In addition to being a brilliant physician, Bell was also an amateur poet, sportsman, and bird watcher. By the end of his sophomore year, Conan Doyle Bell had chosen him as an assistant in his ward. This gave Conan Doyle an opportunity to see Dr. Bell's remarkable ability to quickly draw conclusions about a patient.

Watson describes Holmes as "bohemian" in habits and lifestyle (bohemianism is a lifestyle typical of people involved in music, art and literature).

According to Watson, Holmes is eccentric, oblivious to modern standards of cleanliness and good order.

Holmes is tall and thin, himself claims to be 6 feet tall, but his friend Watson claims to be over 6 feet. He has black hair and gray eyes, thin lips and a hawk-like nose. Holmes has a sharp voice. Although Holmes has never trained for fun, he is always fit and ready for the action that takes place in the stories and is ready to see off his attackers with boxing or baritsu, a form of martial art. He is also proficient in swordsmanship and fencing.

Holmes goes to bed late and gets up just as late. He is a smoker and when severely depressed, he is unfortunately notorious for indulging in a cocaine injection of a 7% solution. Watson tried many times to stop Holmes from continuing this dangerous habit - and once suspected (erroneously) that Holmes had switched to Opium. Holmes is scrupulously clean and always neatly dressed, rarely wearing a deerstalker cap. Holmes is known for his energetic approach to solving cases that are brought before him by many people, from many walks of life - from the lowest to the highest on earth, but when he is not involved in a case - he can become lethargic - and fell into the depression mentioned earlier . Holmes is a music lover who attends various concerts and operas, and of course he is a violinist himself, preferring German music (according to the Dictionary of the Chamber's Literary Characters, Holmes even had a Stradivarius violin). Holmes at first glance seems to be an unloving person, but he is not. He cares deeply for his friends and worries about Watson, especially when Watson's wife dies. As for women - Holmes could never overcome, in particular, Irene Adler. She will always be "a woman" to him.

In Musgrave's Ritual, Watson describes Holmes as follows:

Although in his methods of thought he was the most sophisticated and methodical of all mankind... [he] keeps his cigars in a coal mine, his tobacco in the toe of a Persian slipper, and his unanswered correspondence turned upside down with a jack. knife to the very center of his wooden mantel... He had a horror of destroying documents... Thus, month after month, his papers piled up until every corner of the room was stacked with stacks of manuscript that were by no means burned, and which could not be removed except by their owner.

Sherlock Holmes was a very educated man. He was even a member of the Royal Society of Chemistry (and also in real life!). But look how Dr. Watson describes Sherlock Holmes' abilities in A Study in Scarlet:

Knowledge of literature - zero.

Zero knowledge of philosophy.

Zero knowledge of astronomy.

Knowledge of politics is weak.

Botany knowledge is a variable. Good in belladonna, opium and poisons in general. Knows nothing about practical gardening.

Knowledge of geology is practical but limited. Speaks at a glance different soils from each other. After walking around, he showed me the splashes on his pants and told me by color and consistency in which part of London he got them.

Knowledge of chemistry is deep knowledge.

Knowledge of anatomy - accurate, but unsystematic.

Knowledge of sensational literature is enormous. He seems to know every detail of every horror committed in the century.

He plays the violin well.

He is an accomplished solo player, boxer and fencer.

Has good practical knowledge of British law.

Updated: 2019-04-09

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REGIONAL TRAINING AND RESEARCH CONFERENCE

"Youth of Pomorye"

Direction literary criticism

Interpretations of the image of Sherlock Holmes in the modern world

Research

Completed by a student of the 9th "B" class of the municipal budgetary educational institution "Secondary School No. 1 in Onega"

Frolova Uliana Alexandrovna

Scientific adviser - teacher of the Russian language and literature of the municipal budgetary educational institution "Secondary school No. 1 in Onega"

Frolova Tatyana Ivanovna

Table of contents

Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………….1

Chapter 1. Arthur Conan Doyle - Author of Sherlock Holmes……………………..……………...2

1.1. Arthur Conan Doyle about his character……………………………………………………….2

1.2. The prototype of Sherlock Holmes……………………………………………………………………3

Chapter 2

2.1. The concept of interpretation……………………………………………………………………….4

2.2. History of Sherlockiana………………………………………………………………………….4

Chapter 3 Sherlock HolmesXIXAndXXIcenturies (Practical part)…………………………….5

3.1. Sherlock Holmes by A. K. Doyle and E. Lane……………………………………………………5

3.2. Images of movie characters – Livanov and Cumberbatch………………………………………………..7

3.3. Comparison of the details of the "old" and "new" images…………………………………..9

3.4. Results of the sociological survey……………………………………………………..9

Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………... 10

Bibliographic list…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Annex 1. Sociological survey data……………………………………………...12

Appendix 2. Photos for the Soviet and British TV series about Sherlock Holmes…………13

Introduction

Who doesn't know Sherlock Holmes? Nowadays, there are a lot of books about the adventures of a detective, and most of them, oddly enough, are not written by Arthur Conan Doyle at all. There are even more films - every year in some country another film adaptation is released, and each of them has its own zest. However, the image of Sherlock Holmes can often be found in places where you don’t expect it at all: in TV shows, in anime and manga (Japanese comics read from right to left), in cartoons, in architecture, in painting. I think there is no country that would not present its version of the development of the most famous detective events.

So why is this particular character so attractive all over the world? I decided to find the answer to this question. Thus, the idea for this research paper was born.

Target: explore the most popular interpretations of the image of the legendary detective Sherlock Holmes and identify its main features.

Tasks: 1) analyze literary works and film adaptations about Sherlock Holmes;

2) compare interpretations of this image;

3) compare the same details of the character of the 19th century and the hero of the 21st century;

Methods: analysis of theoretical literature on this issue, observation, comparison, opinion poll.

Hypothesis: various interpretations use the same features of Sherlock Holmes, which remained unchanged from the creator of the great detective - Arthur Conan Doyle.

Subject of study: literary works and film adaptations about Sherlock Holmes.

Object of study: image of the legendary detective.

Relevance of this work is determined by the need for an in-depth study of the works of classical and modern foreign literature.

By the way, unfortunately, there are no scientific studies related to the study of interpretations of the image of Sherlock Holmes available to the modern general reader.

Chapter 1. Arthur Conan Doyle - author of Sherlock Holmes

Arthur Igneyshus Conan Doyle - English writer, author of detective works about a detective, adventure and science fiction - about a professor, humorous - about.

Doyle also wrote historical novels (“”, etc.), plays (“”, “Angels of Darkness”, “Fires of Fate”, “Motley Ribbon”), poems (collections of ballads “Songs of Action” (1898) and “Songs of the Road ”), autobiographical essays (“Notes of Stark Monroe” or “”) and “everyday” novels (“Duet accompanied by an occasional choir”), libretto of the operetta “Jane Annie” (1893, co-authored).

1. Conan Doyle about his character

The author himself considered the stories about Holmes "light reading" and did not share the delight of the readers. Moreover, he was annoyed by the fact that readers prefer works about Holmes to all his other creations, while Conan Doyle considered himself primarily a historical author. In the end, Sir Arthur decided to stop the story of the detective by eliminating the most popular literary character in a fight with the (“godfather” of the English mafia, as they would say now) at. However, the flow of letters from indignant readers, among whom were members (according to legend, herself), forced the writer to "revive" the famous detective and continue describing his adventures. The Holmes epic culminated in the novel "" (1900), which is classified as a classic of the detective genre.

The idea to make the detective a hero did not come to Doyle right away. There was a time when a doctor possessed amazing analytical abilities. When Doyle introduced Holmes, his first name was not Sherlock, but Sheringford. Doyle borrowed the surname Holmes from his beloved American physician and writer Oliver Wendell Holmes, since, according to Doyle, he "loved this complete stranger very much." However, even when the “consultant detective” became the main character, his doctor friend also remained an important person in Sherlockian: it is he who tells the reader about the exploits of Holmes and his amazing art of investigating crimes.

In his autobiographical book Memoirs and Adventures (1924), Doyle testified: “When I first began to think about the detective - about 1886 - I read several detective stories and was struck by their, to put it mildly, absurdity, because in the solution of a mysterious riddle the author clearly relied on coincidence or coincidence. This seemed to me a departure from the rules of fair play, since the success of a detective should depend on something more characteristic of his own mind, and not just on unusual adventurous circumstances, which, whatever you say, are very rare in real life.

Conan Doyle's role model was Edgar Allan Poe. This is understandable: it was Poe who invented the deductive method, made it the main pivot in the stories of Dupin's series, equipped the detective story with certain investigative techniques, introduced the figures of the detective and the narrator, and set the main condition for the reader's "participation" in revealing the secret. So he created the canonical form of the story with an exposition, a climax and a subsequent "lecture" of the detective. And Conan Doyle follows this pattern more or less punctually.

1. The prototype of Sherlock Holmes

Joseph Bell, the Edinburgh professor of medicine, was a very interesting man. He was distinguished by rare insight, unerring intuition and great powers of observation. It is with his help that his student, the young doctor Arthur Conan Doyle, will become famous as the author of a detective story, and the professor himself will reincarnate as the Great Sherlock Holmes.

“On the basis of careful observation and deduction, gentlemen, one can in any case make a diagnosis,the professor's vibrating voice sounded again in Doyle's ears. “However, one should not be careless: deductive conclusions must be tested by practice.” It was then that the writer decided that the eccentric Joseph Bell, with his amazing ability to draw deductive conclusions based on observation, tall, thin, with sharp, hawk-like features, was worth capturing in a literary image, but not a doctor. , but a detective who, by occupation, needs both phenomenal observation and the ability to analyze.

Later, among the admirers of Holmes, there was also his prototype - the rarest case in world literature. Joseph Bell was very flattered that Holmes was "derived from him", and he captured his appreciation for the author in the essay "Sherlock Holmes". Conan Doyle, too, was pleased that his beloved professor gave the detective the highest score as "a shrewd, affable, inquisitive man ... who ... possesses, perhaps, the most significant of all gifts - the ability to free his brain from unnecessary details that usually burden the human memory."

Chapter 2

1. The concept of interpretation

Interpretation– creative image, theme or piece of music, based on the performer's own feeling; new. How many interpretations of the great Detective are there in the whole world?

1. History of Sherlockiana

Of course, as a celebrity is supposed to, Sherlock Holmes and all Sherlockiana have become the object of numerous parodies, anecdotes and jokes. Francis Bret Hart, Mark Twain, O. Henry, Stephen Leacock, Alan Alexander Milne, Agatha Christie made a literary contribution to parody. A real Holmes "industry" arose, a lot of books appeared devoted not only to the literary and artistic merits of stories, but to the very personality of Sherlock Holmes, this fictional, but such a real hero for us. There are biographies of Sherlock Holmes, studies dedicated to "Holmes" London, with maps that accurately reproduce his city routes and trips throughout England. There are fakes, that is, stories about Sherlock that allegedly belong to Watson, there are poems "written" by Holmes in honor of his kind mistress, Mrs. Martha Hudson. There are books exploring the Holmes family tree. Even the mysterious Mrs. Holmes, Sherlock's wife, was "discovered", although according to Watson it is known that Holmes was not going to marry and in general "did not like women and did not trust them".

Also staged a lot of plays with the participation of the Detective, most of which were shown in England, Spain and France. There are more than 150 films about Holmes, and the first, Sherlock Holmes Perplexed, was filmed back in 1900 by Edison himself. In 1939, Basil Rathbone (one of the best Sherlock Holmes) and Nigel Bruce (the best Western Watson) began work on a fourteen-episode Sherlockian, with Rathbone saying that playing a hero like Holmes was more important to him than "a dozen Hamlets".

Holmes and Watson "took" part in the Second World War - the film "Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror" ... the film ended with Holmes' words from the story "His farewell bow" that "when the storm subsides, the country under the sunny sky will become cleaner, better, stronger."

The popularity of Holmes in our country is also invariable, this is evidenced, in particular, by our own Sherlockholmes film epic with Vasily Livanov and Vitaly Solomin in the lead roles, and, according to one of the English critics, Solomin was “the best Watson” of all that exist in the world, our artist Watson's "divine innocence" played so brilliantly. Holmes also attracts Livanova very much - with his humanity and bewitching low voice ...

It is not surprising that there is a movement of Holmes admirers in the world and many Holmes societies and clubs. Admirers of the detective even composed a hymn, where there are such words:

Oh Sherlock, we give you praise,

Be glorious forever and ever

Beloved and wise, fearless hero

From British gray shores!

Chapter 3 Sherlock Holmes XIX And XXI centuries (Practical part)

3. Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle and Andrew Lane

In order to understand the difference between the modern and original vision of the development of events about the detective, let's compare the image of Holmes found in a series of stories by two writers - Arthur Conan Doyle and Andrew Lane.

In the firstDoyle's work Sherlock Holmes is not more than twenty-seven years old. Height - more than six feet (6 feet \u003d 182.88 cm). He is very thin, with a sharp, piercing gaze, a thin aquiline nose and a square, slightly protruding chin. Hands forever in ink and stains from various chemicals. He is very gentle with objects. He smokes strong tobacco, and, contrary to the established myth, not only "heavily curved" pipes.

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 most likely knows Italian (The Scarlet Ring).

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. Holmes is a multifaceted personality. Possessing versatile talents, he devoted his life to a private career. 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 some cases replace paragraphs of bureaucratic norms for him. 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. Holmes solves many cases without leaving Mrs. Hudson's living room, calling them "cases for one pipe".

In everyday life, Holmes has stable habits. He is unpretentious and practically indifferent to amenities, completely indifferent to luxury. He cannot be called absent-minded, but he is somewhat indifferent to the order in the room and the accuracy in handling things. For example, he conducts risky chemical experiments in his apartment, often filling it with suffocating or fetid fumes, or trains in shooting, knocking out a monogram on the wall of the room with shots.

But what aboutLane's Sherlock Holmes ? The action of the work, as in the original, takes place inXIXcentury. The Holmes family was quite wealthy. They have their own estate, their youngest son is studying at a prestigious school for boys. Sherlock's father is in the military. Relations with Mycroft are cordial. Lane also added another child to the Holmes family - a girl, whom, however, he hardly mentions.

Here the detective is shown as a fourteen-year-old boy. Already at such a young age, he is very smart, unusual and inquisitive. However, he does not have that energy, and he experiences less of that pleasure from revealing the secrets and crimes that are so clearly visible in the adult Holmes. He loves to read, loves to wander alone through the fields. He is attracted to certain types of science, but he clearly does not like school.

But in the very first work, Sherlock has friends. One of them was a boy about his own age. His name was Matthew Arnett. It was he who helped Sherlock in his first case. Then a certain teacher appeared, Amius Crow. This man was, perhaps, very similar to the adult Sherlock Holmes, but was older and less emotional. Amius Crow taught Sherlock all the minutiae of the detective business, which he absorbed with greed. The boy liked to work with him, and soon it bore fruit. And the third friend for young Holmes was the daughter of Amius Crow, Virginia. She was a year older than Sherlock, had a clear mind and, when she recognized him, was ready to help him at any moment.

Like the adult Holmes, the guy seems to attract unusual cases. However, he also retained the ability to extricate himself from the troubles that he regularly gets into. In dangerous moments, he becomes decisive and always finds a way out of even the most difficult situations.

Thus, Andrew Lane, creating "Young Sherlock Holmes", tried to supplement the classic work with a description of the childhood and youth of the future detective, without claiming to "occupied territory".

1. Images of movie characters - Livanov and Cumberbatch

Consider the two most famous film adaptations of Sherlock Holmes - the "classic" Soviet (the series "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson"– director I. Maslennikov) and modern British (series "Sherlock"– dir. S. Moffat).

INSoviet version (See Appendix No. 2) events develop almost exactly according to the book: the action takes place inXIXcentury. Sherlock Holmes himself looks a little older than he should - he can be given about 30 years. However, as soon as in the first series his head first appears from behind the instrument table, it is immediately clear: here he is, Sherlock Holmes. Even when he is not wearing a deer cap and even when he is without a pipe (which, however, did not happen often). Although you can’t call him thin, he doesn’t have that square protruding chin, he’s not very tall, but for some reason, once looking at Vasily Livanov in the form of a detective, you understand - here he is, the very Sherlock Holmes about whom he wrote Conan Doyle. Surprising but true.

The look also plays a significant role - it would seem, indifferent and bored, but at the same time deep and noticing every little thing. Holmes is quite calm, balanced, generous and has a good sense of humor. Excellently conveyed character traits, taken entirely from Doyle's book, perhaps compensate for the discrepancy in appearance.

And heremodern British "Sherlock" (See Appendix No. 2) is almost the complete opposite of the Soviet version. The action of the series takes place in ourXXIcentury. The detective uses the latest technology and modern technology. The basis of the plot of each episode is taken from Doyle's book, but most of the details have been changed, if not the exact opposite of the original. However, all this is combined into one whole so succinctly and correctly that in the end the picture does not deteriorate at all, but rather undergoes a “restoration”, takes on a new look, lives a second life - lifeXXIcentury.

The version of Sherlock presented by Benedict Cumberbatch is also very different from Holmes shown by Vasily Livanov. Outwardly, he even more fits the description of Conan Doyle: he is really tall (183 cm) and thin, only without an aquiline nose and a protruding chin. He also wears a deer-hunting hat, though only to maintain the image. Its main features are dark short curly hair, a black coat or cloak and a blue scarf tied with a man's knot. But the look remained the same. He seems to just look around the room, but in fact he just found out what was happening here, or he glanced at the person, but already knows his character, habits and everything that is possible about his personal life and pets.

By nature, Sherlock is rather restless, selfish, quick-tempered and even sarcastic, but surprisingly reasonable. He often behaves like a very difficult teenager, however, despite this, he still has some charm, because in some miraculous way, in addition to troubles and enemies, he also attracts wonderful people who, after a certain amount of time, become his friends. And it could even be considered, on the one hand, a negative character, if, again, it were not for his warm attitude towards people close to him. The rest of the people he considers idiots, and therefore with them he is always rude and quite often indecent, which, it seems, he does not even suspect and therefore calls himself a "highly active sociopath". He completely despises clients and in most cases does not allow them to say more than seven words, breaking off with his signature “Boring!”. If he likes the case, then nothing can stop him or tear him away from the investigation. He is ready to do literally anything to find the solution to the next puzzle. Donnovan (police sergeant) and Anderson (medical examiner), Sherlock's main detractors from Scotland Yard, say of him that he is "addicted" to deduction, that for him it is a drug and the only joy in life. And, apparently, in this they were not mistaken.

Sherlock doesn't smoke. In his own words, “you can’t smoke in modern London.” So he uses a nicotine patch. And only in the series "A Scandal in Belgravia" and "His Last Vow" in separate episodes do we see him smoking cigarettes.

1. Comparison of the details of the "old" and "new" Sherlock Holmes

So, from the foregoing, we can conclude that in any interpretation, certain features of Sherlock Holmes remain unchanged, and in most cases those are the character and appearance.

In the works we have examined, the main common feature is the character: calm, reasonable and at the same time resolute. Each of the four Holmes considered has several true friends. Each of the Holmes is more or less witty, cunning and resourceful. And each of them is always ready to help, unless, of course, the case is really interesting.

We can also notice that in any interpretation, the author retains at least some of the main features of Holmes' appearance, and most often this is a figure and a look, habits are in second place, and separate parts of his wardrobe are in third place.

1. Sociological survey results

In the course of the study, we decided to conduct a sociological survey to clarify public views on this issue. The survey was conducted in person, through various means of communication, with the help of third parties, on February 7, 2014. The region of the survey is the Northwestern Federal District. The survey involved 77 people aged 15 to 74 years. Respondents were asked to answer three questions:

Have you read the Sherlock Holmes stories?

Are you aware of the different adaptations of Sherlock Holmes?

Which Sherlock Holmes is yours: "old" or "new"?

This survey led to the following results:

Answering the first question, 23 people said they had read, 54 people did not. 64 people were known to have any film adaptations (question No. 2), 13 were not known. of them (See Appendix No. 1).

Analyzing the results obtained, we can say that, despite the fact that several new interpretations come out every year in the world, people still give preference to the classical version.

Conclusion

We believe that in the course of our research, the goal of the work was achieved, the tasks were completed, and the hypothesis put forward was fully confirmed.

It is impossible not to take into account the fact that the interpretation of almost any image from a work of classical literature implies a change in the author's text. The main thing is that the new version conveys the main idea of ​​the writer, preserves the plot and the main characters of the work.

It should be noted that no matter how close the director or writer is to the plot of the original work, no matter how subtly the actors are chosen, no matter how brilliant they are, no matter how many times the script of the film compares with the original source, the new version will never be able to fully correspond work. Each author will have his own view, at least to a small extent, but different from the classic.

The only problem is how conscientiously the interpreter will read the work, penetrate it and study the corresponding era, and in the case of foreign works, the culture of another people.

This work can be used in the lessons of literature and cultural studies, elective courses and in preparing students for lessons.

Bibliographic list:

Doyle A.K. "Notes on Sherlock Holmes". Moscow: Eksmo, 2008.

Lane E. “Young Sherlock Holmes. Cloud of death. M.: RIPOL classic, 2012.

Rakov Yu. “In the footsteps of literary heroes”, M .: Education, 1974.

Tugusheva M.P. "Under the sign of four." M.: Book, 1991.

Explanatory dictionary of the Russian language: In 4 volumes / Ed. D. N. Ushakova, M.: Uchpedgiz, 1937.

Sherlock Holmes. Wikipedia.

Diagram B

Diagram B

Annex 2. Photos for the Soviet and British TV series about Sherlock Holmes

In our perception, the most brilliant detective of all time, Mr. William Thomas Sherlock Scott Holmes, appears to be a purposeful, serious, undoubtedly educated and intelligent person. However, its character is ambiguous and in many respects contradictory. It can be seen that he loves his work, is completely absorbed in it, but bouts of apathy come and at this time no force is able to overcome inner laziness. He does not leave the house for days on end, indulging in reclining on the sofa and performing musical overtures.

Holmes is extremely intelligent and educated.

• Well versed in chemistry and geology, he graduated from Oxford College with a degree in biochemistry.
• Knowledgeable in the field of medicine, well aware of human anatomy.
• Knows history and geography, just as much as it is useful for investigating crimes.
• He is interested in modern, for his time, achievements in the field of technology.
• And, of course, impeccable knowledge of English jurisprudence.

And in contrast, the complete absence of any awareness in politics, astronomy, botany, philosophy, literature and other general educational sciences. The detective's brain, like an intellectual filter, absorbed and memorized the knowledge necessary for work and did not react at all to the rest of the information, and the analytical mindset built the facts and knowledge obtained into the chain of deductive investigation.

Doomed to loneliness

Sherlock Holmes was a sociable, friendly person, able to win over those around him with his phlegmatic calmness. Undoubtedly, he had friends: the closest associate Dr. Watson, Detective Barker, Sherlock's second assistant Porter and, of course, the caring Mrs. Hudson. But Holmes could not be completely open and frank, such people are fanatics of their profession and are more closed in the circle of their interests. Well, the thought of a companion of the heart could not even arise. Love for a woman of an intelligent person necessarily leads to marriage, and this action can put an end to the dangerous and selfless career of a London detective. Unfortunately, geniuses often remain lonely.

Sherlock Holmes is a famous character in literature, authored by Arthur Conan Doyle. All works about a detective who lives in London belong to the detective genre. It is believed that the writer's colleague became the prototype of this literary character. It is known that Joseph Bell worked in a hospital and could easily guess and predict the character of a person from the details.

Biography of Sherlock Holmes

If we analyze all the works of Arthur Conan Doyle, then we can calculate what is Sherlock Holmes' date of birth. It is believed that this character was born around 1854. Readers of works about the great detective constantly tried to establish the date of birth. But soon, after analyzing several stories, they came to the conclusion that after all, Holmes was born on the sixth of January. It is this date that is now indicated in museums that are dedicated to this interesting and exciting literary character.

Little is known about his life. So, Sherlock has never been married and he has no children either. But he still had relatives. In some works, his older brother Mycroft appears.

Pedigree of the famous detective

There is little information about the ancestors of the detective in the works. In one of the stories, Sherlock Holmes himself, whose years of life are still of interest to readers, talks about his family tree. He says that his ancestors were landowners who lived in some kind of outback. The life of these landowners proceeded quietly and calmly, as befits people of this class.

Sherlock also talks about his grandmother, whom he still remembered a little. She was the sister of a famous painter from France. By the way, the artist Vernet himself is also mentioned several times in the works of Arthur Conan Doyle.

Sherlock Holmes, whose years of life are still a mystery and only approximately determined, tells about his brother Mycroft, who is seven years older than the detective. Sherlock mentions several times that he holds a high and important position in the government, but still he never calls him that.

In addition to close family members, his distant relatives are also mentioned in the works about Sherlock Holmes. For example, Werner, who is just starting to work as a doctor. It is he who buys the doctoral practice from Watson.

Character Description

Holmes' main profession is a private detective-consultant. But the father of a classmate, who was delighted with the young man's unusual abilities, helped him to follow this difficult path.

Sherlock Holmes, who devoted many years of his life to investigating and searching for criminals, is described by Arthur Conan Doyle as a tall and thin man.

Especially in the appearance of the detective, the following details stood out: a piercing look of gray eyes, an aquiline nose and a square chin, which resolutely protruded a little forward. The detective himself said about his height that he was no more than six pounds, which is equal to 183 centimeters.

Holmes was a biochemist by training. He even worked for some time as a laboratory assistant in one of the hospitals in London. But he devoted his whole life to research. Even knowing the law, he did not always follow it when it came to the life of an innocent person. The detective never refused to help a poor man. He almost did not take payment for his work, and if he had to do this, then most of the time it was symbolic.

Detective Habits

Sherlock prefers to stay at home and tries not to go anywhere for no particular reason. He even investigates all his cases at home. But at the same time, he is completely indifferent to any comforts and luxuries.

Holmes has never married and, as he himself claims, has never even been in love in his life. Although with women he is always polite and always ready to help them.

Sherlock also has bad habits. For example, he often smokes a lot. Especially his strong tobacco fills the whole room when he tries to solve one of the new crimes. Sometimes he uses intravenous drugs, as it is unbearable for him to live without a job.

Holmes methods

Sherlock conducts each investigation of the next crime in his various ways. Among them, the deductive method stands out. Having studied all the evidence and facts that are in the case, the detective draws up his picture of the crime, and then begins to look for someone who was profitable to commit it.

Most often, the crimes that Holmes investigates are complex and intricate, so it is impossible to figure them out without an investigation. He himself is trying to find evidence and question witnesses in order to understand everything about the crime committed.

Sometimes, to catch a criminal, a detective uses not only makeup, but also his excellent acting skills.

Sherlock Holmes: years of events and facts

The famous detective is happy to talk about his first solved case in the work “Gloria Scott”. At the time, he was still in college.

Sherlock Holmes, whose date of birth and death is inaccurate, was not rich at the age of 27. Therefore, he alone could not rent an apartment, but was looking for a companion, who became John Watson. Together they moved into an apartment on Baker Street at 222 B. Their owner was the calm and balanced Mrs. Hudson.

Watson and Holmes move into the apartment in 1881, and seven years later the doctor marries and leaves his friend. Sherlock is left to live alone.

In 1891, Sherlock disappears for everyone. He goes on a journey, although many readers believed he died in a fight with Professor Moriarty. In the future, the detective even published his travel notes, but under a pseudonym.

Only in 1894 Sherlock Holmes, whose years of life are not given exactly and specifically, returns to London and again settles in his apartment. Watson soon also moves in with him after the death of his wife.

But even here Holmes was tired of everything, and soon he left London again to go to the countryside and start breeding bees. It is known that in the last story, Sherlock was about 60 years old.

Literary works with Sherlock Holmes

It is estimated that 60 works were written about the famous detective by Arthur Conan Doyle. Of these, only four stories, and the rest of the works are stories. In many of them, the story is told from the perspective of his friend Dr. Watson.

The first work about the great detective was the detective Study in Scarlet, which was written in 1887. The last story about Sherlock Holmes, whose actions are always interesting to readers, was published in 1927. His story "The Sherlock Holmes Archive" became a farewell work.

It is worth noting that Arthur Conan Doyle was always dissatisfied with the fact that his detective works resonate more with readers than his historical novels, which were the main ones in his literary activity.

According to the writer himself, the best stories about Sherlock Holmes, whose years of life cannot be accurately named, are the following works: “The Motley Ribbon”, “The Union of the Redheads”, “The Empty House” and others.

To date, more than 210 films have already been released, where the main character is the private detective Sherlock Holmes. That is why the number of adaptations and hit the Guinness Book of Records. It is known that about 14 films were shot in America. A large number of films were also released in Russia. Many viewers fell in love with the film, where Vasily Livanov played the role of a private detective.

Recently, in connection with the development of technological progress, computer games have also been created based on the plot of detective Arthur Conan Doyle, which are very successful.

At the first meeting with Sherlock Holmes ("Study in Scarlet"), Dr. Watson describes the great detective as a tall, thin young man: “He was over six feet tall, but with his unusual thinness he seemed even taller. His eyes were sharp, piercing, except for those periods of stupor mentioned above; a thin aquiline nose gave his face an expression of lively energy and determination. Square , a slightly protruding chin also spoke of a decisive character.

Sherlock Holmes as Benedict Cumberbatch (2010)

Sherlock Holmes is a biochemist by training. Works as a laboratory assistant in one of the London hospitals. But this is only 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." However, in none of the works does the paramedic-laboratory assistant appear at work. As well as the author no longer talks about the main 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 some 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.

Holmes is a resident of Victorian England, a Londoner with excellent knowledge of his city. He can be considered a homebody, and he travels outside the city (country) only in case of emergency. Holmes solves many cases from the comfort of Mrs. Hudson's living room, calling them "cases for one pipe".

Sherlock Holmes by Robert Downey Jr. (2009)

In everyday life, Holmes has stable habits. He is unpretentious and practically indifferent to amenities, completely indifferent to luxury. He cannot be called absent-minded, but he is somewhat indifferent to the order in the room and the accuracy in handling things. For example, he conducts risky chemical experiments in his apartment, often filling it with suffocating or fetid fumes, or trains in shooting, knocks out the monogram of Queen Victoria on the wall of the room with shots.

Holmes is a confirmed bachelor, who, according to him, has never experienced romantic feelings for anyone. He repeatedly declares that he does not like women at all, although he is invariably polite with them and ready to help. Only once in his life, Holmes, one might say, was not exactly in love, but imbued with great respect for a certain Irene Adler, the heroine of the story "A Scandal in Bohemia."

Holmes smokes strong tobacco. In A Study in Scarlet, Dr. Watson states that Holmes does not use drugs, but in The Sign of the Four we see him injecting cocaine. This is due to the fact that until the beginning of the twentieth century, cocaine was considered a medical drug.

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

Sherlock Holmes in Vasily Livanov (1980)

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

- "Sign of Four"

Although in a number of cases Holmes expresses his annoyance at this state of affairs:
"But there's probably not a second to lose," I said, 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.

- "A study in Scarlet"

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

Holmes prefers to receive clients at his home. 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).