Sherlock Holmes is one of the greatest fictional inspectors of all time; he was created by the author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Sherlock Holmes is recognised all over the world as a tall thin man with a cape carrying a magnifying glass. He is a detective who is behind the solving of the most mysterious crimes. Conan Doyle set his Sherlock Holmes stories during the 1840’s, this period being the Victorian times. It was an era where there were social differences, and a person was usually judged by the way society perceived them.
Holmes himself is a rich and well off man who comes from a prosperous back round and is highly educated, as you can tell by his use of language. Sir Arthur has given Holmes the characteristics of a gentleman who is kind hearted and decent. His passion for solving mysteries ensures that his characteristics will include him being very observant, strong and intelligent, patient and someone who is not narrow minded. He has his own views on law and order. An excellent example of how observant Holmes can be is demonstrated in The Speckle Band.
Here he is approached by a young lady Ms Helen Stoner. Ms Stoner has a mysterious murder which she needs solved, however at first she underestimated Holmes, until he amazes her when he tells her that he knows exactly where she came from and how long it took her just by her appearance. Sherlock Holmes is very quick witted and open minded, which shows when he is in the story of the Silver Blaze. Everybody assumes that John Striker was murdered but in actual fact the horse kicked him in the chest and he was instantly killed.
Holmes is also both courageous and very patient. In the story of the Speckled Band he endangers himself in order to solve the crime, by waiting patiently in the dark for the snake to come out of the shaft. In all of his stories Holmes is completely calm, cool, confident and fearless. He solves all his crimes in ease without stressing or being in to much danger at any one time. The story, The Final Problem, is the only story where you see a completely different side to Holmes. He is running for a villain who has the same intellectual ability as Holmes.
Now he fears for his life and is just escaping his own death as his rival is close to catching him. Holmes is forced to run from him and is covering his tracks and is reduced to wearing disguises where ever he goes. His fearless, confidence and calmness is overtaken by worry, anxiety and fear. The end of the story is very dramatic as Holmes is killed off. For the original readers Sherlock Holmes was new and different. It was the first of its kind. People showed great interest as the books and stories became more popular. It attracted many different kinds of people.
Conan Doyle wanted to attract the younger generation as well as the older. He portrayed Sherlock Holmes as a detective with the ability to solve crimes supernaturally. It challenged people mentally this is one of the reasons it became it became a success. People today have grown up with seeing Sherlock Holmes in television and films and also in literature. Holmes today attracts more of the older generation than the younger. The modern audience prefers new and different things. The story lines are interesting but the Victorian setting does not attract younger people as much.
