Sherlock Holmes :: English Literature

Sherlock HolmesWhat qualities are in that respect in Conan Doyles Sherlock Holmes storieswhich form sustained their popularity for so m both years?Conan Doyle was among the first writers of detective stories andnovels in England. The first novel recognised as a detective degree waswritten in 1868, by Wilkie Collins entitled The Moonstone. Later in1870, the popular novelist Charles Dickens also tried his hand at opus a detective novel called The Mystery of Edwin Drood. Theseearly detective stories own non become as famous as Doyles creationfor a number of reasons, one of which is that when Doyle began writinghis novels there was a greater use up in everyday for stories, as morepeople were fit amend and were taught how to read.Consequently, when the stories about Holmes were published, there wasa growing readership in England, greater than there had been inDickens and Collins time. Furthermore, the fact that dialect wasrarely used in any of the Sherlock Holmes stories, unlike other worksof the time, made it easier for people to read and understand thecontent, particularly those who had only recently acquired the basicskill of reading. In addition, as the stories were originallypublished in the Strand magazine, this made them moderately accessible,and therefore they enjoyed a wider social readership. The stories wereoften shorter than those of other writers, and thus avoided spare detail. Generally, the stories have a distinct andsuccinct plot structure and were back up by illustrations, which Isuggest, played a part in the general success.Because the popularity of his detective stories increased rapidly, yetat the same time Doyle was becoming more and more uncomfortable withhis character. He wanted, out of personal resource to devote greatertime to other forms of writing. He decided that the top hat way to dothis was to end the life of Sherlock Holmes with a outstanding storyinvolving Holmes worst adversary, Professor Moriarty. Doyle sent hisfamou s detective and his enemy plunging to their conclusions at theReichenbach Falls in Switzerland. Doyle, however, had underestimatedthe popularity of his character, because when his followers read TheAdventure of the last Problem there was a public outcry over hisaction. He received many letters from infuriated readers and some men in reality marched through London, wearing black crepe bands aroundtheir hats, indicating their remorse for the death of their favouritedetective. It has been suggested that it was the popularity ofSherlock Holmes, which kept the The Strand magazine in business, andwhen Doyles stories did not appear in it, there were fewer copiessold, showing the tremendous popularity of the detective.