Elementary, my dear Watson!
I recently acquired a copy of The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes, which is a collection of the final twelve Sherlock Holmes short stories, reminding me of how much I love Arthur Conan Doyle's violin-playing* detective. I already have a copy of The Best of Sherlock Holmes, which I have read and re-read many times (and will continue to do so). Excuse the geeky moment, but this blog post seemed especially apt because I have just re-watched the episode of Star Trek: Next Generation, where Data enacts his own Sherlock Holmes mystery on the holodeck. I think that part of Holmes's allure is his own mystery, and so I've compiled a list of 7 facts about the enigmatic Holmes:
1. While Holmes appears in all 60 of his cases, Watson only appears in 58, and Mrs Hudson in a mere 14. Moriarty, appearing in just 3 of the 60, barely gets a look in.
2. Unsurprisingly the most commonly committed crime is murder or attempted murder (or manslaughter), with 37 cases involving this crime. Interestingly, no crime is committed in 10 of Holmes's cases.
3. Only 60% of Holmes's criminals are British, whereas 98.9% of criminals in Victorian prisons were British.
4. The most common clue that Holmes discovers is newspaper articles and adverts, as happens in 29 cases, but curiously 10 cases involve clues from dogs.
5. Over 80 cases are mentioned by Watson but (unfortunately) never written up, including A Full Account of Ricoletti of the Club-Foot and his Abominable Wife, and The Affair of the Vatican Cameos. Someone should get onto that ASAP.
6. Perhaps surprisingly, 16% of Holmes's villains escape, and 22% are let go. Only 33% are handed over to the police.
7. Many of Holmes's cases are described as "singular", "curious", and "remarkable". Only 18 cases are described as all three, including The Red-Headed League, The Hound of the Baskervilles, and The Devil's Foot.
*Holmes actually only plays the violin in 8 of his 60 cases
Holmes himself has become even more of a mystery than Arthur Conan Doyle intended through embellishments added over the years, which have become associated with him. For example, Holmes never actually said, "Elementary, my dear Watson!" This was first used by PG Wodehouse in an affectionate parody. Holmes's deerstalker was also not one of Conan Doyle's creations, but was added by Strand illustrator Sydney Paget (as was his Inverness cape; Conan Doyle's Holmes preferred an Ulster).
Why do you love Sherlock Holmes so much, and which is your favourite of his cases?
Facts and figures from: http://www.theguardian.com/books/gall...
1. While Holmes appears in all 60 of his cases, Watson only appears in 58, and Mrs Hudson in a mere 14. Moriarty, appearing in just 3 of the 60, barely gets a look in.
2. Unsurprisingly the most commonly committed crime is murder or attempted murder (or manslaughter), with 37 cases involving this crime. Interestingly, no crime is committed in 10 of Holmes's cases.
3. Only 60% of Holmes's criminals are British, whereas 98.9% of criminals in Victorian prisons were British.
4. The most common clue that Holmes discovers is newspaper articles and adverts, as happens in 29 cases, but curiously 10 cases involve clues from dogs.
5. Over 80 cases are mentioned by Watson but (unfortunately) never written up, including A Full Account of Ricoletti of the Club-Foot and his Abominable Wife, and The Affair of the Vatican Cameos. Someone should get onto that ASAP.
6. Perhaps surprisingly, 16% of Holmes's villains escape, and 22% are let go. Only 33% are handed over to the police.
7. Many of Holmes's cases are described as "singular", "curious", and "remarkable". Only 18 cases are described as all three, including The Red-Headed League, The Hound of the Baskervilles, and The Devil's Foot.
*Holmes actually only plays the violin in 8 of his 60 cases
Holmes himself has become even more of a mystery than Arthur Conan Doyle intended through embellishments added over the years, which have become associated with him. For example, Holmes never actually said, "Elementary, my dear Watson!" This was first used by PG Wodehouse in an affectionate parody. Holmes's deerstalker was also not one of Conan Doyle's creations, but was added by Strand illustrator Sydney Paget (as was his Inverness cape; Conan Doyle's Holmes preferred an Ulster).
Why do you love Sherlock Holmes so much, and which is your favourite of his cases?
Facts and figures from: http://www.theguardian.com/books/gall...
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