15 facts about Sherlock Holmes
- Holmes’ famous deerstalker cap was not created by Arthur Conan Doyle, but by the illustrator, Sidney Paget.
- The phrase ‘Elementary my dear Watson’ was never mentioned in the Sherlock Holmes books.
- Sherlock is a fictional detective of the late 19th and early 20th centuries but still keeps being a true character in the numerous people’s imagination. His first published appearance took place in 1887.
- Holmes is modeled after the Scottish physician Joseph Bell.
- The most notable story for Holmes is “The Hounds of Baskervilles.”
- Sherlock means blonde, but the main characters are all dark haired.
- Watson has a bullet wound that was first described as being in the shoulder, but in another story the wound had moved to the leg.
- “when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth?” is the most famous true quote written by Arthur Conan Doyle.
- Four novels and fifty-six short-stories featuring his creation were written by the author. Almost all were narrated by the detective’s friend and biographer, Dr. John H. Watson. The exceptions are two stories narrated by Holmes himself and two more written in the third person.
- Sherlock Holmes believed in Spiritualism, fairies and ghosts, just like his creator and author.
- In 1964, Sherlock Holmes books were the best sellers second only to the Bible.
- The stories describe a period from 1878 up to 1903. The final case takes place in 1914.
- There are more than 260 movies, 2 musicals and a ballet based on the book.
- Sherlock abused cocaine and morphine in “The Sign Of Four”
- “The Strand” was one of the first magazines where the stories appeared and they continued to do so for over forty years.
