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- Column - The History of Mystery - |
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June 4/2000 The Game is Afoot!By Mystery Editor Nancy Mehl Joking with Doyle during a rehearsal for one of his plays, a young three-pound-a-week actor called Charlie suggested that he and Sir Arthur should pool their incomes and take half each for the rest of their lives. Though amused by the proposal, Doyle declined for obvious reasons. "I don't think so, Mr. Chaplin," he replied. For all of us who love a good mystery, there is one detective who will always stand out as the ruler that will measure all others – Sherlock Holmes. The adventures of Sherlock Holmes are as enjoyable and intriguing today, as they were when they were written. The writer who gave birth to "the Baker Street Detective" was Arthur Conan Doyle. Doyle was born in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1859. His mother struggled to raise ten children on the meager wages brought home by his father, Charles, a civil servant who was an alcoholic. Doyle’s aversion to alcohol is seen as a thread throughout his later writings. Doyle received a medical degree in 1885 from the University of Edinburgh. His subsequent practice was less than successful. The time he spent unoccupied not only gave him many occasions for writing, but also set in motion the character of Dr. John Watson, a physician who seemed to have plenty of time to spirit around the countryside, hot on the coat-tails of the world’s most famous detective, Sherlock Holmes. Watson was primarily based, however, on Doyle’s faithful secretary, Major Wood. Holmes seems to have been created through the examples of two different characters, one real and one fictional. Edgar Allan Poe’s C. Auguste Dupin paved the way for the literary detective – and Dr. John Bell, one of Doyle’s professors at the university, provided the final inspiration. Dr. Bell exhibited an uncanny ability to assess a patient’s occupation, as well as other facts pertaining to them, by simply looking at the individual in question. For example, the worn places on a person’s clothing and the calluses on his hands told Bell that the patient worked as a cobbler. And Doyle described Holmes as tall, dark and thin – an exact description of Dr. John Bell. Sherlock Holmes and his trusted sidekick and biographer Dr. Watson first appeared in A Study in Scarlet, published in the Beeton’s Christmas Annual in 1887. The second story The Sign of the Four was published in Lippincotts Magazine. From there, the Holmes stories began to appear in Strand Magazine. The stories were so popular, and Doyle’s writing so imprisoned by his success, that he finally tired of his famous detective and tried to kill him off in a story entitled The Final Problem written in 1893. Doyle wanted the time to pursue more serious writing, and hoped that with Holmes’ demise, he would be free to put his pen to something else. Although he admitted that Holmes had been "a good friend to me in many ways," in a letter to his mother Doyle wrote, "I think of slaying Holmes….and winding him up for good and all. He takes my mind from better things." When Holmes and his arch nemesis Professor Moriarty plunged over the cliffs of Reichenbach Falls, the public reacted with fury. And all of it directed at Conan Doyle. Doyle was forced to bring Holmes back in 1902 in the classic Holmes’ story - The Hounds of the Baskervilles. This story, however, was written as if it had happened before the deadly plunge. This was not good enough for the fans of the world’s most famous detective and a year later, a new series of stories were published that began with Holmes’ reappearance to his partner, Dr. Watson. He explained to his old friend that he had actually escaped death and was alive - and ready to resume his life of detection. Holmes finally made his last appearance as part of His Last Bow in 1917. The famous detective eased out of retirement to aid His Majesty in the war effort. The characters that Doyle created have remained with us: Holmes; Watson; the bumbling Scotland Yard inspector, Lestrade; the housekeeper at 221B Baker Street, Mrs. Hudson; policemen Hopkins and Gregson; the Baker Street Irregulars, a pack of street urchins used by Holmes to bring him important information from the streets of London; and of course, the evil Dr. Moriarty - the one man whose talents rivaled the brilliant detective's. The character of Holmes was written with foibles and idiosyncrasies intact. Holmes was a user of cocaine. He felt the need for the stimulant whenever he had bouts of mental inactivity. He seemed to have no need for ordinary friendship or romance. In fact, Watson compared him to a machine , arrogantly cold and detached, especially towards his clients. The only woman who ever impressed Holmes was Irene Adler in A Scandal in Bohemia. Holmes’ explanation for his emotional detachment was that emotions and romantic passions would get in the way of his logical, deductive mind. Conan Doyle did, in fact, write many other short stories, historical novels, poems, histories - as well as his own biography. He was dismayed to think that he would be remembered primarily as the author of the Sherlock Holmes stories, but history has proven this to be the case. Doyle passed away on July 7, 1930 and his literary contribution lives on. The impact of Sherlock Holmes is greater than perhaps he ever imagined. Conan Doyle opened the door wide to the detective/mystery genre of today. And the methods of detection used by Holmes have been incorporated into standard practices of modern detectives. In fact, at one time Holmes’ cases were required reading in a number of European and Asian police forces. Doyle himself used Holmes’ techniques to free several innocent men accused of crimes. Sherlock Holmes stories have been translated into more than fifty languages, and have been adapted as plays, films, radio and television series, a musical comedy, a ballet, cartoons, comic books, and advertisements. The profile of the gangly Holmes, with pipe and magnifying glass, is automatically recognizable even without the mention of his illustrious name. And for those of us who love a good mystery – we have Arthur Conan Doyle and his strange and gifted friend, Sherlock Holmes to thank. Next month we’ll look at a famous detective with a little different "spirit." Mystery Trivia - Last month’s Mystery Question - How many times throughout the many stories of Sherlock Holmes did this brilliant detective say to his bumbling sidekick: "Elementary, my dear Watson!" Answer - This quote never appeared in any of the original Sherlock Holmes stories. It only popped up later in SH films. This month's Mystery Question - One famous detective’s arch rival reformed and became his "Dr. Watson." This side-kick, named Flambeau, was paired with what "spiritual" detective? Answer next month in this column. -- Sources - The Return of Sherlock Holmes, The Reader’s Digest Association, Inc, 1991 The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, A & W Publishers, Inc, 1975 Web sites: Arthur Conan Doyle: Doyle vs. Holmes Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930) Arthur Conan Doyle – A Brief Biographical Study Biography of Arthur Conan Doyle MysteryNet.com |
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