Literary hero Sherlock Holmes

100 great literary heroes [with illustrations] Eremin Viktor Nikolaevich

Sherlock Holmes

“He was not a great writer; he cannot be compared with such geniuses of English literature as Swift, Defoe, Fielding, Thackeray, Dickens,” said the Russian writer, translator and outstanding literary critic K.I. about Arthur Conan Doyle. Chukovsky (1882–1969). Let us clarify: Conan Doyle could have become a great writer (just remember his wonderful historical novel “The White Company” about the events of the Hundred Years War), but he was ruined by the main literary hero of his work and life - Sherlock Holmes. The paradox, apparently, is that Conan Doyle himself knew about this and tried to get rid of Holmes, and many in his circle - friends, household members - understood this, but all of them together turned out to be powerless in the face of the temptations of that powerful force that today we call mass culture. So, Sherlock Holmes is one of the most solid creations of the literature of mass culture, moreover, he is the cornerstone in the foundation of mass culture, but precisely because he is characterized by all the weaknesses of mass culture - schematicism, lightness and... gradual aging.

Yes Yes! Precisely aging, since today, after a little over a hundred years, books about it are read less and less. And the point is not that the interest of new generations in reading is falling in general. Fiction, especially as printing developed and became cheaper, from the 18th century. largely filled out the second part of the famous cry of the ancient Roman mob “Bread and Circuses” for educated people. But if initially the dominant role in the work was played by the artistry of description and thought, then by the end of the 19th century. The fascination of the plot began to come to the fore. The literature of mass culture has finally moved to the position of “popularity”, pure entertainment for the crowd. Its pioneers and leaders were Alexander Dumas the Father and Arthur Conan Doyle, which is why their works in embryo still bear the remnants of a philosophical and artistic beginning. Entertainment, as we know, requires more and more new updates; the old becomes boring and forgotten. A big role in this is played by the endless number of epigones eager to make quick money, who, with their large numbers and lack of talent, devalue the original source.

K.I. also understood this. Chukovsky, who communicated more than once with Conan Doyle himself. He tried to justify the popular hero with a saving reference: “Sherlock Holmes is loved by children all over the world, and although books about his adventures are written for adult readers, they have long become children’s (read: always in demand - V.E.) books...” Today, this thesis is gradually becoming obsolete. However, Sherlock Holmes' brothers in criminal investigation presented in this book - Hercule Poirot and Commissioner Maigret - age many times faster than the main detective of world literature.

Arthur Conan Doyle was born in 1859 in Edinburgh into a large Irish Catholic family. His father, Charles Altamont Doyle (1832–1893), was an artist and architect. Mother, born Mary Foley (1838–1921), was a housewife. Arthur Conan is the writer's name, but over time he himself began to use his middle name as part of his surname.

Unfortunately, the father of the future writer was a chronic alcoholic (by the time Arthur came of age, he had gone crazy due to drunkenness), and the family was often in poverty. However, the Doyles' wealthy relatives took charge of the boy's education. For seven years, Arthur studied at a closed Catholic school in Stonyhurst, which belonged to the Jesuit order. After successfully graduating from school, the young man began to prepare to take the priesthood.

But first, Arthur went on a pleasure trip to the continent, where he first became acquainted with the works of the father of the detective genre, Edgar Allan Poe (Auguste Dupin from “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” can be considered the first detective in the history of world literature).

Upon returning to Scotland, the young man learned that his father had been admitted to a psychiatric clinic and that worries about supporting the family fell entirely on his shoulders. The solution was the medical faculty of the University of Edinburgh, where you could get a good scholarship.

At the university, Arthur was especially strongly influenced by his teacher Dr. Joseph Bell (1837–1911), an excellent diagnostician, surgeon and pathologist who developed a method of research (mainly diseases), which later became known as deductive. It was Bell who later served as the prototype for Sherlock Holmes.

At the university, Arthur Conan Doyle began his literary career: in 1879, his first story, “Secrets of the Sussex Valley,” was published in Chambers magazine.

And on next year To earn extra money, the young man set out as a surgeon on a voyage to the Arctic Circle on the whaler Nadezhda. The voyage lasted seven months. After graduating from university in 1881, Doyle became a doctor on the merchant ship Mayumba and made a trip to Africa, after which he chose to write off ashore. In 1882, he opened a private practice in the small seaside town of Southsea, where he lived for seven years - until 1890, when he said goodbye to medicine forever. The fact is that initially the young doctor had no clients, and out of boredom he returned to writing stories.

When Conan Doyle married Louise Hawkins (1858–1906) in 1885, he decided to earn money to support his family through literature. Since the stories provided little income, Doyle wrote the novel Girdlestones Trading House, but could not publish it - all publishers refused. The second novel seemed to suffer the same fate, but publishers were found who published it (though only two years after the manuscript was submitted) in Beaton's Christmas Weekly for 1887. It was A Study in Scarlet, where for the first time Private detective William Sherlock Scott Holmes, better known to us as Sherlock Holmes, and his friend and assistant Dr. John Hamish Watson appeared. It is curious that in the same year and for the rest of his life, Conan Doyle became interested in the “study” of life after life - spiritualism.

The name Sherlock Holmes did not arise by chance. Or rather, the detective’s surname - it was borne by Doyle’s favorite American writer and satirist poet, and at the same time medical scientist Oliver Wendell Holmes (1809–1894).

At first, Sherlock Holmes did not interest the reading public. Considering it only an episode in his literary destiny, Conan Doyle became interested in writing historical novels, in particular, he created “The Adventures of Mickey Clark” (1888) and “The White Squad” (1889–1890) (the latter was recognized as the best English historical novel during the author’s lifetime after "Ivanhoe") And suddenly, in the midst of work on “The White Squad,” the writer received an invitation to a meeting from the American editor of Lippincott’s Magazine. The recommender turned out to be Oscar Wilde, who was then unfamiliar with Doyle; one might say, the godfather of the great detective. With him light hand the young writer was commissioned to write a story about Sherlock Holmes. Thus, in 1890, The Sign of Four appeared, which brought Conan Doyle international fame and made Sherlock Holmes the most popular hero of the detective genre. By the way, the word “detection” translated from English means “discovery”, “discovery”, therefore, the center of a detective work is not the crime or the criminal, but the person solving the crime and his path to solving the crime. Edgar Allan Poe laid the foundations of the genre, and its true creator was Arthur Conan Doyle.

In total, Conan Doyle wrote nine books about Sherlock Holmes - four novels (A Study in Scarlet - 1887; The Sign of Four - 1890; The Hound of the Baskervilles - 1902; The Valley of Terror - 1914-1915 gg.) and five collections combining fifty-six stories (“The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes” – 12 stories; “Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes” – 12 stories; “The Return of Sherlock Holmes” – 13 stories; “His Farewell Bow” – 7 stories”; “ Sherlock Holmes Archive - 12 stories"). In total, Conan Doyle worked on the Holmes series for about forty years - the last work about the brilliant detective, “His Last Bow,” appeared in 1927.

While working on stories about the brilliant detective for the Strand magazine (the writer collaborated with this magazine throughout his life), illustrator Sidney Edward Paget (1860–1908), together with Conan Doyle, developed the appearance of Sherlock Holmes, which became canonical. It's funny, but Paget's model for Holmes was his younger brother Walter Paget (1863–1935), also an artist, who took up the baton of illustrating Holmes works after Sidney's death. This is how our domestic illustrators began to portray Holmes.

The stories in The Strand, especially "The Man with the Cleft Lip", brought Doyle world fame. He left medical practice and devoted himself entirely to literature. By the beginning of 1892, the writer was tired of Sherlock Holmes and tried to return to historical topics. However, this was not the case. When he was offered £1,000 for a story about Holmes, the writer did not have the strength to refuse. But even then it was becoming more and more difficult to come up with new stories.

At the beginning of 1893, Conan Doyle and his wife went on vacation to Switzerland. There, at the Reichenbach Falls, the writer came up with the idea to kill his hero in order to close the topic of Sherlock Holmes once and for all. When the story "Holmes's Last Case" was published, twenty thousand subscribers at once abandoned the Strand magazine!

The writer did not agree to revive his hero for almost ten years. But his income gradually decreased - they paid several times less for works on other subjects, readers demanded the return of Sherlock Holmes, and new stories about the adventures of the detective were ripening.

At the beginning of 1901, the writer’s friend, journalist and editor of the Daily Express, Bertram Fletcher Robinson (1872–1907), told Doyle a terrible legend about a 17th-century man. in Devonshire, Sir Richard Cabell, who sold his soul to the devil, for which he was subsequently torn to pieces wild dogs. This was one of the versions of the ancient legend about a huge ferocious dog that once lived in Norfolk and bore the nickname Black Devil. The idea to write a novel on this topic immediately appeared. The friends agreed on co-authorship, as Conan Doyle announced in a letter to his mother. Fletcher invited Doyle to Dartmouth to show him the places where the events were to take place. A certain Harry Baskerville worked there as a groom for co-author Conan Doyle...

As work on the novel progressed, the idea arose to make not a simple horror novel, but a detective story, that is, to bring back Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. To avoid any discrepancies, the events of the novel had to take place before the death of the detective in the waterfall.

However, Conan Doyle was not going to share his heroes. The Hound of the Baskervilles was published in 1902 in the Strand magazine only under his name, but with thanks to Fletcher Robinson, which subsequently disappeared from reprints. And already in 1902, rumors began to spread that the novel was written by Robinson, and Doyle only allowed him to use the name Holmes. Fifty years after the novel was first published, this gossip was confirmed by Harry Baskerville!

The writer’s biographers have long since refuted it based on facts, but the story of how in 1907 Conan Doyle persuaded his mistress, Mrs. Robinson, to give poison to her typhoid-stricken husband and thus hid the secret of the birth of the “Hound of the Baskervilles” is still being circulated in the tabloid press. .

The publication of The Hound of the Baskervilles spurred a new wave of interest in Sherlock Holmes. Conan Doyle at first refused to return to his hero, but when the United States received an offer to pay 5 thousand dollars (over 80 thousand dollars at the modern rate) for each story about the detective, the writer gave up. Sherlock Holmes escaped from the waterfall and returned to further investigations. By the way, passionate fans of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, based on the works of Conan Doyle, clearly calculated the years of life of their favorite heroes: Dr. Watson (1852–1929), Sherlock Holmes (1854–1930). The detective died along with his author.

These dates only confirm the famous words of the writer spoken by Conan Doyle on the day of his seventieth birthday:

“…Don’t you know that I am not the creator of the image of Sherlock Holmes? It was the readers who created it in their imaginations!”

This is the key given to us by Doyle to reveal the true image of Sherlock Holmes. If initially the writer treated his hero with respect and tried to give him as many attractive features as possible - Holmes is an energetic, sympathetic, and disinterested person, ready to come to the aid of the humiliated and insulted to the detriment of the rich and noble, then Doyle later began to openly mock his hero, but it was too late - mass culture did its job and elevated the detective above his creator. But the writer showed him as both a narrow-minded ignoramus - Holmes has no idea that the Earth is round, and a slow-witted person who utters banal truths, and a drug addict - his thought processes are activated mainly under the influence of morphine and cocaine, and in some cases even a complete fool... Everything was justified by the readers, the true creators of Sherlock Holmes! All the evil was attributed to Conan Doyle. But Holmes himself remained, according to K.I. Chukovsky, almost the only “of the characters in children’s world literature whose main occupation is thinking and logic.” Mass culture defeated Conan Doyle, who hated him, Sherlock Holmes - the father of mass culture - triumphed, because he was and remains wise at the level of the crowd.

Suzanne Dean, Odetta Suzanne Holmes, Detta Suzanne Walker, Mia “I am three women... who I was at first; one that had no right to be, but was; and the one you saved." (TB-2) Five-year-old Odette Holmes had a brick fall on her head when the whole family came north for her aunt's wedding.

From the book The Secret of Captain Nemo author Kluger Daniel Museevich

From the book Under the Sign of Four author Tugusheva Maya Pavlovna

The Immortal Sherlock Holmes Joseph Bell, an Edinburgh professor, was very interesting person. He was distinguished by rare insight, unerring intuition and great powers of observation. His student, the young doctor Arthur Conan Doyle, who practiced in the town of Southsea,

With the release of the third season of the British mini-series Sherlock, we are looking into how writers and directors see the great detective today.

In Conan Doyle's stories, Dr. Watson describes Holmes as a tall, thin man with sharp eyes, an aquiline nose and a prominent chin, which he believes indicates determination. Sherlock Holmes passionately loves his job and is ready to get to work, not interested in the fee, and in everyday life he is unpretentious, he can not pay attention to the disorder in the house, as well as to order.

He smokes a lot. And, by the way, not only pipes, but also cigars and even cigarettes. When there are no interesting things to do, he indulges in cocaine. Walks with a cane. Playing the violin. But Conan Doyle says nothing about Holmes’s famous hunting hat; it was invented by the first illustrator of the stories, Sidney Paget.

By now, the image of the great detective has completely changed beyond recognition. Using the example of four different film adaptations recent years we decided to figure out how Holmes is seen today.

(Total 86 photos)

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2010, "Sherlock"

British mini-series, a fantasy about what the famous detective would be like if he lived in modern world, where, in addition to deduction, you can always use Wikipedia, and your main opponent is a guy from the IT department.

Sherlock Holmes - Benedict Cumberbatch

1. Instead of a “protruding chin,” Holmes from the British television series “Sherlock” has prominent cheekbones, and as for character, he is a rather unpleasant, slippery type.

2. Self-centered, cynical, selfish, vain and narcissistic.

3. This Sherlock is rude and unfriendly to those around him, although he still helps Scotland Yard inspectors unravel cases.

4. He is an erudite. When he thinks, he plays the violin.

5. He doesn’t smoke a pipe, he puts nicotine patches on his forearm, sometimes three at a time. This helps him concentrate better and think through in advance the experiments he performs on corpses, and on living people too.

6. This Sherlock lives in the modern world, so he predictably loves various gadgets and prefers SMS to calls.

7. His wardrobe includes Spencer Hart suits and shirts of discreet colors, over which he always wears a double-breasted coat and a blue scarf tied with a Parisian knot.

14. But Sherlock doesn’t wear hats, but he did mess up once: he put on the iconic hunting hat for camouflage, but got caught by the paparazzi, who captured this ridiculous image forever.

John Watson - Martin Freeman

17. The local John is a man of high moral principles and nerves of steel, but at the same time he is quite phlegmatic and comes to life only in the company of Sherlock, with whom, according to by and large, became a new source of adrenaline for him after returning from Afghanistan.

18. Thanks to his military background, Watson is an excellent shooter and is unpretentious in clothes.

22. He can be seen wearing a two-day shirt (mostly checkered), a knitted jumper, jeans that are more comfortable than fashionable, brown boots and a black jacket with leather overlays.

23. Unlike many other Watsons, this one does not wear a mustache (however, in the new season he briefly changes his habit), and instead of a paper diary, he keeps a blog on the Internet, which even the royal family likes to read in their spare time.

25. In short, it is not surprising that by the end of the second season, Sherlock became a real rock star.

Other characters

26. Jim Moriarty in this film adaptation is not a professor at all.

27. He alternates between pretending to be an IT guy and the boyfriend of Molly’s lab assistant, or a tourist in a baseball cap with a British flag, or even an actor named Richard Brooks, who seems to forget to wash his hair, let alone think about what to wear.

28. But don’t be deceived: in fact, Jim Moriarty loves expensive, well-tailored suits (for example, Vivienne Westwood), to which he skillfully selects everything: from ties (the most elegant one is with skulls, Alexander McQueen) to boots.

29. Moriarty is a real psycho and sociopath, a mad genius with unlimited power over people and a skilled manipulator.

33. But Mrs. Hudson matches our Rina Zelenaya - a sweet English old lady who does not forget to remind her tenants that she is not a housekeeper.

2009, "Sherlock Holmes"

A comedy film adaptation by Guy Ritchie in two parts, in which Holmes behaves like an overgrown child (and even rides a pony), but still manages to save London, not completely quarrel with Watson and even kiss Irene Adler.

Sherlock Holmes - Robert Downey Jr.

35. Guy Ritchie's Holmes is short, and his nose is more like a duck's than an eagle's. This is the funniest and most comical Sherlock Holmes.

36. He is eccentric, crazy, optimistic, dashing, resourceful and energetic.

37. He traditionally smokes a pipe, plays the violin at night, despises hygiene, and experiments on Watson the bulldog.

38. At home, Sherlock prefers to wear underwear or completely blends in with the interior, and when outside he puts on a coat (corduroy or wool), scarves and a black fedora (and no hunting hat).

39. Among the accessories, round black glasses, like those of Basilio the cat, were seen.

40. One day, Watson accuses Holmes of stealing his clothes, which perhaps affects the detective’s decent wardrobe.

41. This Holmes is not afraid to use his fists. Good physical preparation helps him participate in fights without rules, and in general is a reason to start a brawl out of nowhere.

42. Robert Downey Jr.'s Sherlock is also the most loving of the four. At the very least, he is not averse to having a good time not only with Irene Adler.

43. But he hates Dr. Watson’s fiancée and tries in every possible way to dissuade his comrade from getting married, because a woman can violate the sacred male brotherhood and break up an ideal team.

John Watson - Jude Law

47. Guy Ritchie's John Watson is also handsome. He is a military officer, so he has good bearing, he is neat in his clothes, well-groomed, and disciplined. As befits a classic Watson, he has a mustache.

48. In terms of agility, he keeps up with Holmes, independently beats up his enemies and can even punch Sherlock himself in the nose. He loves to shoot and does it well.

Other characters

53. The most stylish one here is probably Moriarty. A bloodthirsty and mysterious criminal mastermind, he dresses in black and wears a tall top hat. Just like Sherlock, he is an intellectual with a capital “I”, a lover of chess.

55. It is worth paying attention to Sherlock's brother, Mycroft, played here by Stephen Fry. It would seem that he is a more serious and well-bred gentleman, a dandy, a joker and a sybarite, he likes to walk around naked at home. However, this does not prevent him from being friends with Sherlock, and at times it’s even great to help him.

56. Irene Adler

2012, “Elementary”

An attempt by the Americans to film their own series about Holmes in the big city, with the only difference that the result was a classic procedural, and half of the characters turned into women.

Sherlock Holmes - Jonny Lee Miller

59. He has experienced more than all the other Holmeses and therefore is perhaps the most vulnerable and melancholic.

60. And also the most tattooed.

61. Holmes constantly improves and trains, although he rarely uses physical force in practice. He is interested in bees, which he breeds on the roof.

62. And in clothes he is quite neat, prefers smart casual - checkered shirts, jackets, short coats - and buttons up all the buttons.

John Watson - Lucy Liu

63. With the light hand of the screenwriters, John Watson became Joan here. A former doctor (more precisely, a surgeon), hired by Holmes' father to help him rehabilitate after rehab, eventually becomes an assistant in business and the only person Holmes listens to and treats with tenderness.

64. Joan Watson is observant and erudite, she can solve a case on her own, and she enjoys doing it.

65. For this, Holmes respects her and helps her develop, trains her.

67. We almost forgot: Joan is the only Watson who has not fought and cannot shoot.71.

73. And Irene Adler, Sherlock’s deceased lover, turns out to be Moriarty. The only woman equal in intelligence to Holmes becomes his main opponent. Isn't it subtle? And this, by the way, is the only Moriarty who does not die, but goes to prison.

2013, "Sherlock Holmes"

A serial film by Andrei Kavun, to which the dissatisfied viewer had two main complaints: a) not enough Soviet-style, b) too Guy Ritchie-style.

Sherlock Holmes - Igor Petrenko

74. The new Russian Sherlock is a young, slightly awkward, bespectacled, biochemist passionate about solving mysteries. He is a theorist without practical knowledge - he does not know how to fight or shoot, Watson does all this for him.

75. In the first boxing sparring, John completely knocks out Sherlock with one blow. But then the doctor acts as a kind of senior comrade and teacher for the detective. He never tires of talking about arrogance, arrogance, buffoonery, childish cruelty, but at the same time the constant correctness of Holmes.

76. Holmes himself curses every now and then, gets drunk from time to time, smokes cigarettes, but owns a collection of pipes, spends chemical experiments in his room and receives Queen Victoria herself there.

77. And he puts on the famous mac and hunting hat only once, to immediately take them off - it’s too inconvenient, or it’s a vest, a cap and a short coat.

83. Smokes a pipe, but quits after Holmes' supposed death.

84. Unlike his companion, he is in excellent physical shape: first he participates in the fight in the ring instead of him (and defeats Shark Strator), and then, as we have already said, he completely punches Holmes in the face.

Other characters

85. Lestrade is portrayed by Boyarsky, and all the time it seems that he is about to shout: “Rag!”, Mycroft turns out to be Sherlock’s twin brother, but with a beard and a top hat, and Martha Hudson actually marries Watson.

86. Moriarty, in turn, hangs around the detectives all the time, impersonating others, and also likes to sit on Big Ben, and this ends badly for him.

Main persons

Sherlock Holmes- the main character of the stories, a consulting detective who is fluent in the “deductive method.”
“His character is difficult. Very difficult. I would even say unbearable,” this is how their mutual friend recommended Holmes to Watson. As Watson himself noted after a short acquaintance with him - “He has a very narrow circle of interests. He does not know the simplest things. Although he knows criminal law, chemistry perfectly - or rather, that section of it that concerns poisons and explosives. He knows everything about weapons - bladed and firearms. Probably a good shooter." And he boxes, as Watson had the opportunity to experience in practice.
He is selfless, prefers not to take money from low-income clients, and calculates his income in opera tickets.

Dr. Watson- friend, assistant and biographer of Sherlock Holmes.
The search for inexpensive housing turned into regular dangerous adventures for him, and reading London newspapers prompted him to take up his pen.
He was the regiment's boxing champion. His preferred weapons are revolvers and chairs. Has experience killing wild muskets. Knows how to cut stylish masks from black silk. He is amazing at breaking open Indian caskets with an English poker. Loves animals - especially a saddle of lamb. Indispensable when catching dangerous criminals and discussing orchids.
He was noticed in only two sins: snoring at night and studying pharmacology.
He repeatedly showed extraordinary courage: he single-handedly tracked down a killer in an abandoned house, caught runaway convicts in a swamp, and even shaved with a straight razor on a moving train.

Mrs. Hudson- landlady at 221B Baker Street.
By letting such a tenant as Holmes into the door, she doomed herself for life to a restless life for the good of Britain and an unconscious mastery of the deductive method.
A model of Victorian equanimity, punctuality and constancy.

Mycroft Holmes - brother Sherlock Holmes, seven years older than him.
He is married, has a son, loves his dog, a red setter, and works in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Very famous... in his circle.
His brother Sherlock believes that Mycroft is very observant (much more observant than himself - moderator's note), and he could make an excellent detective if he did not prefer silence and everything in the world. easy chair in club.

Mary Morstan- Doctor Watson's wife.
A respectable, moderately modest, moderately smart girl. Perfect couple for the same moderately modest and moderately intelligent gentleman.
She accepted the news of possible wealth without unnecessary emotions, which characterizes her with the best side. She also reacted indifferently to the news that wealth was being abolished.

Scotland Yard investigators

Inspector Lestrade- Scotland Yard detective.
Holmes spoke about him simply: “Fox terrier. Lots of energy, little intelligence.”
Tobias Gregson- Inspector of Scotland Yard, “the most intelligent detective of Scotland Yard,” according to Sherlock Holmes. He willingly accepts the help of the great detective.
Inspector Bradstreet- Scotland Yard detective.
Stanley Hopkins- a young Scotland Yard detective.

The rest of the characters.

Episode No. 1. Acquaintance.
Dr Grimsby Roylott- owner of a mansion near London; served in India, from where he brought a hyena and a baboon (as it later turned out, and poisonous snake). All the animals were allowed to roam around the mansion and garden at night.
According to Holmes, "really a brute." Prone to damaging good things, sophisticated murders through exotic animals.
He served in India for a long time, but his career ended in the most unpleasant way.
Character "rude, unrestrained." He perceived Watson as “every fool,” Mrs. Hudson as an “old hen,” and Mrs. Farintosh, unknown to us, as an “old fool.” According to other reviews - “a bandit” and a “terrible person” with a “mad disposition” (“everyone in their family is like that.”
Killed by his own weapon (a snake) while trying to kill his stepdaughter.
Helen Stoner - The adopted daughter of Dr. Grimsby Roylott and the twin sister of Julia Stoner, who was killed, as the investigation revealed, by her stepfather with the help of a poisonous snake.
Her intention to get married endangered her own life, due to the greed of her stepfather, who tried to prevent her stepdaughter from inheriting rights.
An unhappy but brave girl.

Episode No. 2. Bloody inscription.
Jefferson Hope- a man whose bride died at the hands of the Mormons, who decided to take revenge on the “fanatics.” He offered his victims two pills: one harmless, the other with poison, with the words “If there is no justice in the world, then I have no reason to live.” He left the bloody inscription “Revenge” at the crime scene. He was exposed by Sherlock Holmes, who considered Jefferson Hope "a ferocious, dangerous, but in some ways a very noble man" and died in prison from a cerebral hemorrhage.

Episode No. 3. King of blackmail.
Charles Augustus Milverton- in fact, the king of blackmail, by obtaining “careless letters”, then extorted money for non-disclosure.
The king of blackmail, played on people's vices, mistakes and weaknesses. He has many victims to his name. "One of the nastiest people in London", according to Sherlock Holmes. In addition, he played an important role in Professor Moriarty’s networks - he obtained funds.
Lady Huxley- one of Milverton's victims. Her husband could not stand the publicity of her secret correspondence and died of cardiac arrest. Kills Milverton. Later she helps Holmes by giving him a secret code from Moriarty's papers, which she stole from Milverton.
“What a woman, what self-control, what common sense!” - Holmes spoke about her, almost being harmed by her enterprise.

Episode No. 4. Death fight.
Professor James Moriarty- the head of a powerful criminal organization, a genius of the criminal world. From a good family, he received an excellent education. Endowed with phenomenal mathematical abilities, allowing him to subtly manipulate the underworld of London. Sherlock Holmes crossed his path many times, but the murder of Milverton and the resulting loss of valuable documents of the organization, which allowed Holmes to expose him, were the last straw. Dies in a fight with Holmes at the Reichenbach Falls.
“This man has entwined his networks all over London, and no one really knows anything about him,” says Holmes.
Sebastian Moran- the second most dangerous person in London after Professor Moriarty. Retired Colonel, former officer in Her Majesty's Indian Army. He served in the first Bangalore Engineer Regiment. He was caught red-handed and fell into the trap of Sherlock Holmes.
A card sharper and hitman in the service of Professor Moriarty.

Peter Steiler Jr. - Involved in the case of the theft of Cupid's head at the Royal Museum
– all his life he was drawn to beauty, he could not resist. Holmes then
one treated him humanely.

Steiler was released early for good behavior and
lifting bought a modest hotel in the modest Swiss Alps.

If it were not for Holmes, he would not have lived here and admired this
beauty (damn it).

Episode No. 5. Tiger hunting.
Sir Ronald Adair- an honest young man, having won together with Colonel Moran and exposing him in fraud, gave the money to other players, as a result of which he ended up owing the colonel a round sum. He was shot by a colonel for non-payment of a debt.
Regular player and board member of the Bagatelle club. An avid gambler, but never goes beyond the limits of prudence. The youngest son of the governor of one of the English provinces in Australia.
Marker -
The spectacular six of Professor Moriarty.
Prone to colds, especially in spring. Widower, father of two children - a younger boy and an older girl. I was going to remarry, despite gout and a not quite correct bite.
He carried out small assignments and, thanks to his specific appearance, served as a means of psychological pressure on Moriarty’s “clients”. Catchphrase: “My advice to you.”

Hound of the Baskervilles.
Dr James Mortimer -
Country doctor, moved from London to the country in 1884.
Unambitious, absent-minded, dearly loves his cocker spaniel Snoopy. There is indirect evidence that he is married, although no one has ever seen his wife.
He became the unwitting initiator of the investigation when he discovered traces of an “og-huge dog” near the body of Sir Charles Baskerville.
Thanks to his “damned forgetfulness” and professionalism, he often switches to Latin when communicating with people, sees the skeleton in his interlocutor first of all, and prefers living grave remains, in which he often digs. As a result, he even managed to call Holmes “the second largest European expert.”
Sir Henry Baskerville -
He spent most of his childhood and youth in the United States and Canada and would have lived there happily if he had not received an inheritance in England.
Typical representative"golden youth" of the New World. Outwardly he is energetic, active and courageous, but inside he is unbalanced, prone to alcoholism and dependent.
I was very upset to learn that the Old World differs from the New World not only in clothes, but also in the menu.
IN stressful situation instinctively reached out to the first suitable individual of the opposite sex.
Catchphrases: “Who do they take me for in this hotel!”, “What is this, what, what is this, what was that?”
Secretly hates oatmeal and dogs.
John Barrymore- Sir Henry's butler
Butler. Representative of the fifth or sixth generation of Barrymores to live at Baskerville Hall. As a result, he has all the virtues of an English butler (probably at the genetic level), such as pathological equanimity, chronic neatness and punctuality, perfect diction, monumental coordination of movements and everything else that the owner to whom he is zealously devoted usually does not have.
Special features: neatly dressed, beard... black.
Catchphrase: "Oatmeal, sir!"
Eliza Barrymore- the wife of the butler John Barrymore, Sir Henry's housekeeper, cunning, curious, verbose, hysterical in nature. Thanks to this, she clarified a lot of things in the investigation, essentially pointing out the involvement of Laura Lyons in the case.
Jack Stapleton- cunning, friendly, cheerful.
A criminal adventurer with an entomological bent. Unable to cope with the loss of his social position after an “unpleasant incident” with an epidemic in the school he headed in Yorkshire, Stapleton, according to the old English tradition, went to great lengths, wanting to get the inheritance of Sir Charles Baskerville. The family legend about the dog only added to the charm of this purely English murder.
Baryl Stapleton -
Mrs Laura Lyons - Her maiden name was Laura Frankland. She married an artist named Lyons, who came to sketch, and then shamelessly abandoned her.
He makes a living by typing and is sliding down an inclined plane. She gives the impression of an intelligent woman, but apparently only externally. Her promiscuity in men almost destroyed her, making Laura an instrument in Stapleton’s criminal plans.
Mr Frankland- Laura Lyons' father. Active old senile. Behind long years practicing bad character, he lost all public interest in his person.
After a quarrel with his loving daughter Laura, he was left completely alone. He is trying to compensate for the current situation by attracting public attention through the judicial system.
He spent his entire fortune on legal fees. At the same time, he pretends that he has no personal interest in these matters - he is only fulfilling a public duty.

Treasures of Agra.
Irene Adler- a woman who managed to unravel Holmes’s plan when he, under the guise of a priest, wounded in a fight with beggars, entered her house and escaped. Holmes considered this case his defeat (despite the fact that he achieved his main goal), and about Irene Adler said: “This woman,” and instead of the reward offered by the King of Bohemia, he preferred to take a photograph of the above-mentioned person.
A mythical creature, the materialized personification of the feminine principle of Sherlock Holmes.
Before her, the great detective is powerless, like a savage before the idol of God. Abstract female logic cannot be analyzed, but is no less effective, and deduction is not a competitor to female intuition. A pure and cold mind next to someone like Irene Adler is nothing more than a beautiful yacht on the surface Pacific Ocean. You have a little time to enjoy the swim... while the ocean is truly "quiet"...
Thaddeus Sholto- an honest, eccentric, hypochondriac person, passionate about Eastern culture.
He gives the impression of a non-greedy, noble and stupid person. He loves to smoke hookah and at the same time worries about the mitral valve of his heart.
Bartholomew Sholto- Twin brother of Thaddeus Sholto.
Jonathan Small - Probably, about such people they say “Gentleman of Fortune”. The golden mean is not for them, they lead gambling with this illusory “luck”, which accordingly gives them only two options: Pan vs Lost. Or the treasures of Agra, or hard labor on the Andaman Islands. Their element is piracy. And piracy is not a banal robbery, it is the expropriation of expropriators, which gives a big jackpot and some kind of moral right. This is what Jonathan Small himself said. And he bears no ill will towards Sherlock Holmes... because those are the rules of the game of "luck".
Major Sholto - A typical representative of people who inadequately perceive cash. The result was acute attacks of stinginess, persecution mania, loss of conscience and common sense. Which is what he died with.
The jewelry, as expected, did not go to either him, his children, or Jonathan Small.
King of Bohemia

The twentieth century begins.

SHERLOCK HOLMES (English) Sherlock Holmes) - the hero of A. Conan Doyle’s stories “A Study in Scarlet” (1887), “The Sign of Four” (1890), “The Hound of the Baskervilles” (1902) and the collections of stories “The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes” (1891), “Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes "(1892-1893) and others. The image of an unusually observant person, capable of unraveling a certain puzzling situation and explaining something that seemed inexplicable, appeared in literature before Conan Doyle. Edgar Poe created Dupin and Legrand, predecessors of S.H. W. Collins wrote a detective novel, “The Moonstone,” in which a professional detective and an astute village doctor unravel the incredibly complicated story of the theft of an Indian diamond. A. K. Doyle continued to develop the genre and did it so successfully that many readers believed in the reality of Sh.H. and began writing letters to Baker Street, where, as you know, this brilliant detective lived, sharing an apartment with his friend and chronicler Dr. Watson. E. Poe was the first to describe such a couple - next to an extraordinary personality there was a man of very ordinary merits, not stupid, but also unable to comprehend the course of his friend’s reasoning and therefore in need of explanations, which are also necessary for readers. Dr. Watson is an interested observer and often a participant in S.H.'s adventures, following his work with admiration and describing it in his stories. Thanks to his records, we became aware of the methods, habits and characteristics of Sh.H. Truly it was perfect unique person, his mind had no equal, and he chose an unusual field of application of his talents - forensics, devoting his own intellect to the investigation of incomprehensible murders, terrible mysteries or mysterious disappearances. As an opponent Sh.H. (albeit quite funny and surprisingly stupid) is the professional Scotland Yard detective Lestrade, who often takes credit for the successes of the famous amateur detective. According to the tradition, originating in English dandyism, the amateur who does something out of sheer interest and personal pleasure is superior to the professional who works for a piece of bread. That is why Conan Doyle, with the help of Dr. Watson, emphasizes in every possible way that his hero is a gentleman who loves to solve one or two criminal mysteries in his spare time and chooses the most interesting ones for himself. Sh.H. can abandon the Duke's case, which promises an unheard-of fee, and take up the story of a simple governess who does not have a penny. The King of Bohemia offered him a precious ring, but S.H. He asked in return only for a photograph of a woman who was able to see through his plan and thereby aroused his admiration. The special charm of this image is due to the fact that it surprisingly combines incredible observation, a sharp mind with simple human affections and weaknesses. Sh.H. is an excellent violinist, he loves music, tobacco and is sometimes able to lie on the sofa all day, smoking a pipe and indulging in thought. But periods of apathy are replaced by bursts of frantic energy, and now he is again ready to rush to the other end of London to set up an ambush or study the scene of the incident. A brilliant solution and the capture of the criminal is the usual ending to such stories. Insight of Sh.H. seems supernatural, but his explanations are always simple, and the slow-witted Dr. Watson notes with annoyance that he himself could have guessed if he had paid attention to this or that detail. “You look, but you don’t observe, and that’s a big difference,” explains Sh.Kh. the secret of your art. Descendants of Sh.H. Hercule Poirot, Commissioner Maigret and many other characters became members of the detective genre.

Lit.: Tugusheva M.P. Under the sign of four: about the fate of the works of E. Poe, A. K. Doyle, A. Christie. M., 1991.

The most famous detective in the literary world came from the pen of Arthur Conan Doyle and still remains a recognized favorite of the public. A recognizable character has found his character traits, certain attributes that allow him not to get lost among other heroes and to be familiar even to those who have not even met the work of Conan Doyle. To this day, film adaptations of this detective’s numerous adventures in the form of films and TV series remain relevant. The characterization of Sherlock Holmes will help present this character as he was intended by his creator.

Brief information

Sherlock Holmes is the hero of detective stories and stories by Arthur Conan Doyle. His image of an observant genius, capable of unraveling any case and solving even the most complex puzzle, is complemented by the image of his faithful friend - Dr. Watson, a simpler and more ordinary person. Arthur Conan Doyle devoted thirty-one years of his life to the great detective story (from 1886 to 1917), popularizing the detective novel genre and giving rise to many followers and admirers. The characterization of Sherlock Holmes cannot be unambiguous, since even this character himself cannot be called unambiguous.

“Sherlock Holmes is a great man, and perhaps one day, with great luck, he will also become understandable.”

The image of Sherlock Holmes was formed at the turn of the era, at a time when the world in which Arthur Conan Doyle and his characters lived could be described by only one epithet - contradictory.

The detective can be immediately identified as a decadent, Victorian and neo-romantic hero. Why does the characterization of Sherlock Holmes go to such extremes? Because each direction had a fairly strong influence on the formation of the image that was so remembered by readers.

Victorian Sherlock Holmes

He is the prototype of a character from a real Victorian novel. But what does this definition include?

Previously, it was believed that a gentleman was a person of noble birth, wealthy enough to live without working. Therefore, the activities of such persons were amateur in nature, and their qualities included the ability to improvise, a free mind and a love of experimentation.

Over time, the criteria became more and more blurred, and as a result, to define a gentleman, his character traits and personality traits became more important, and not a Gentleman - this is an example of nobility, a code of honor, gallantry and intelligence, equanimity under any circumstances.

So who is Sherlock Holmes? The characterization of the hero contains all these qualities, so he may well be called a gentleman. In addition, he is quite wealthy, and investigates crimes solely for his own pleasure, in order to relieve boredom.

But still, he doesn’t fully suit this image.

Decadence - end-of-the-century aesthetics

Decadence is an extreme, it is opposition to the old system. It was expressed in contempt for the ordinary, it was stormy, not prim, individual and creative, instead of normal and accepted. And who will argue that all this is not suitable for our hero? The characterization of Sherlock Holmes is exactly this - you can’t call him ordinary. And if something aroused his interest, then everything else became unimportant: the time of day did not play a role in the detective’s activity schedule, only the desire to eradicate boredom and unravel the next mystery remained important.

Neo-romantic Sherlock Holmes

Characterization as a self-sufficient and self-motivated person, independent in actions and judgments - this is how the character came to the forefront in neo-romanticism. These same traits are also characteristic of Mr. Holmes. Just like neo-romantic heroes, he fights for justice in his microworld, without seeking to resolve global universal problems.

and drug addiction

One of the reasons why Sherlock Holmes cannot be classified as Victorian literature is that there is no propaganda in the hero family values. The detective's relations with his relatives are strained; throughout the entire series, only his older brother Mycroft is mentioned, who is more likely a stranger or enemy than a friend, and there is a reference to his nephew (only once).

In addition, Holmes has a passion that is closer to decadence than to the prim Victorian gentlemen - drugs, morphine and cocaine. In those days when these substances still walked along the sharp edge between medications and harmful to the body, the detective’s addictions did not seem uniquely harmful, but they left a bad imprint, clearly separating the stories from family books.

Features of Conan Doyle's novels and Holmes' deductive method

The characterization of Sherlock Holmes emphasizes his unique and inquisitive mind. The same thing distinguishes all stories about a detective: Arthur Conan Doyle does not relish the aesthetics of murder, he does not consider it aesthetic, most of attention is paid to reflection, progress, intellectuality and psychology.

You can also notice that an amateur detective often acts not according to the laws of England, but according to the laws of honor, his own principles - he can let the criminal go if he believes that he was right in his actions. And this is not an isolated case. The villains in Holmes' adventures cannot always even be called such - these are always stories about love and betrayal, friends and enemies, and they are rarely committed for the sake of only one evil.