A BRIEF HISTORY OF SHERLOCK HOLMES

Created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in 1887, the most famous detective in the world appeared originally in four novels and 56 short stories. Sherlock Holmes was not the first literary detective, yet he continues to have a perennial allure as the ultimate sleuth, continually rejuvenated through film and television adaptations and literary tributes spun as "new" Holmes stories. Nigel Cawthorne introduces the general reader to Holmes and his creator Conan Doyle with biographies of both—including Holmes's resurrection following his unlikely death at the hands of arch enemy Professor Moriarty—and also surveys the real world of Victorian crime, the inspirations for Dr. Watson and Inspector Lestrade, and the London of 221B Baker Street.