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→The evolution of Sherlock Holmes
Holmes is so popular that many people assume he was a real-life figure. This is not the case. This article will examine if the character was based on a historical crime fighter or real-life detective. It investigates the character's development, a biography of the fictional character, and then evaluates the likely candidates for the original model for the most famous detective in history.
====The evolution of When did Arthur Conan Doyle create Sherlock Holmes==? ==
[[File: Sherlock two.png|200px|thumbnail|left|Arthur Conan Doyle]]
The British writer Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930) created Sherlock Holmes. Doyle was a remarkable man, the son of an alcoholic Irish artist. He became a medical doctor, writer, freemason, and spiritualist. Conan Doyle created the character of Holmes when he was 27. Initially, found it very difficult to find a publisher.
The first Sherlock Holmes story was ''A Study in Scarlet'' (1887), and it proved a minor success. Later stories soon followed, and they became a sensation and made their author a celebrity. Soon the British public had an insatiable demand for the stories of Conan-Doyle.<ref>Edwards, Owen Dudley, The Quest for Sherlock Holmes: A Biographical Study of Arthur Conan Doyle (Edinburgh: Mainstream, 1983), p 114</ref>
==Why did Arthur Conan Doyle kill Sherlock Holmes?==
Doyle wrote over a dozen stories and two novels, but soon he became bored with Holmes and his assistant Dr. Watson's adventures. Despite pleas from his publishers, he killed off Sherlock Holmes in 1893. This led to a public outcry, and many fans of the investigator allegedly cried when they heard that Holmes had died.<ref>Edwards, p 119</ref>
For ten years, Conan-Doyle concentrated on historical fiction, which was well received. In 1901 he returned to writing stories about Holmes, after pressure from his writing public and lucrative offers from publishers. In total, Doyle wrote four novels and 57 short stories over his career. He wrote the last story about his most famous creation was in 1927. Since the death of Conan Doyle, many authors have continued to write stories based on the British doctor’s creation. There have been many movies about the great detective, and perhaps the most popular was Basil Rathbone, who portrayed the detective on the silver screen in Hollywood’s Golden era (the 1930s and 1940s). Robert Downey Jr.'s portrayal of Holmes was very well received in 2009 and a sequel in 2011.
== Sherlock Holmes in movies and television ===Since the death of Conan Doyle, many authors and filmmakers have continued to write stories and make movies and television series based on Conan Doyles’s creation. This is not surprising because Sherlock Holmes is currently in the public domain. There have been many movies about the detective, and perhaps the most popular was Basil Rathbone, who portrayed the detective on the silver screen in Hollywood’s Golden era (the 1930s and 1940s). Robert Downey Jr.'s portrayal of Holmes was very well received in 2009 and a sequel in 2011. Many movies are not based on the Conan Doyle stories but only use the unforgettable character in new plots. An excellent example of this was ''Mr. Holmes'' (2015), a re-imagining of the detective's later years in retirement. In recent decades there have been numerous television series based on the character, including ''Sherlock'', which has the master-investigator living in modern London and stars Benedict Cumberbatch (2010-2017). Many believe that Jeremy Brett’s portrayal of the detective in the ''Adventures of Sherlock Holmes'' (1984-1994) was the greatest ever. In 2020, <i>Enola Holmes</i> starring Millie Bobby Brown and Henry Cavil, based on a novel by Nancy Springer about Sherlock Holmes' sister, was streamed by Netflix. The Conan Doyle estate even filed a lawsuit regarding the Cavil's interpretation of Holmes even though the character is undeniably in the public domain.
====The fictional biography of the master detective====
