Meet Sherlock Holmes

Oct 14, 2024

11:43

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Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, published on 14th October, 1892, was the collection of 12 stories that took his much-loved titular detective from the pages of magazine serials and on to the world’s bookshelves.

The inspiration for Holmes, who solves crimes through science rather than chance, came from Dr. Joseph Bell, a professor at the University of Edinburgh, who impressed Conan Doyle with his keen powers of deduction. The progressive edge to the stories also set them apart, as Holmes often fought for the powerless, helping stepdaughters, servants, and others who were mistreated.

Yet, despite the public’s adoration, Conan Doyle grew tired of writing about Holmes. By 1893, he’d had enough and wrote Holmes off, literally, by pushing him down a waterfall in a confrontation with Moriarty.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how the public backlash to Holmes’s death lead to his reluctant resurrection; consider how Holmes came to be pictured with his distinctive pipe; and reveal Conan Doyle’s frustrations that this highly successful side hustle completely overtook his medical career…