“My name is Sherlock Holmes. It is my business to know what other people do not know.”
-The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle

We once again celebrated Sherlock Holmes Day on 22 May, reminiscing about the evergreen fictional detective and commemorating the birthday of the remarkable literary figure created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Sherlock Holmes Day has been globally celebrated since 2013, honouring the creator of the iconic literary character.

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Sir Arthur Conan Doyle gave us the world’s first consulting detective, shaping the trajectory of detective fiction, popular culture, and forensic science alike. Drawing inspiration from Edgar Allan Poe’s C. Auguste Dupin, who taught us that the truth is always hidden in plain sight, Doyle gave us Holmes, who taught us that one should not just see but observe. As detective fiction evolved from Dupin’s ratiocination to Holmesian deduction, creating the path to the golden age of detective fiction, Doyle’s Holmes is still considered the quintessential detective.

When we think of a detective, our minds unequivocally think of someone in a funny hat, smoking a pipe while donning a long coat, and meandering through the streets with his ‘partner in solving crimes’, John Watson. Doyle’s creation has achieved the status of being adjudged to be the prototype of the detective figure, where the name Sherlock Holmes has become an adjective in itself. However, the question that surfaces is what makes him the greatest of all detectives and why is he still relevant? Why are several plays, series, and films adapted from Doyle’s works so much that the Guinness Book of World Records has recognised Sherlock Holmes as ‘the most portrayed human literary character in film and television history’?

Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes is a man known for his genius and power of deduction. He takes note of what may seem inconsequential to others, for he thinks “to a great mind, nothing is little” – A Study in Scarlet. He possesses extensive knowledge of chemistry, anatomy, law, and sensational literature and even plays the violin. To solve the cases, he discloses, “It is a capital mistake to theorise before one has data. Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts” – A Scandal in Bohemia and once we have the data, then it’s all ‘elementary’.

Despite having a profound mastery of sciences and being the first detective to ever use toxicology, blood stains, and ballistics to solve a crime, he does not know how to express or intercept emotions. Holmes is a machine who believes in having a ‘brain attic memory’ as he nonchalantly proclaims, “I consider that a man’s brain originally is like a little empty attic, and you have to stock it with such furniture as you choose” – A Study in Scarlet. Sherlock, in the BBC series, rightly sums up the character when the protagonist iterates, “I’m not psychopath, I’m a high-functioning sociopath. Do your research!”

However, with all his genius comes his faults, or what one can call ‘the cost of genius.’ The character of Holmes is so obsessed with solving crimes that he is almost narcissistic and obnoxious and may soon traverse the path of being a psychopath. When he doesn’t have a case, he even resorts to morphine and cocaine to feel the rush. With all his shortcomings and flaws, enthusiasts of crime and detective stories still find themselves drawn to this great detective. But why? All his flaws make him human and relatable.

The genius detective who knows about the 140 variants of ash from pipe, cigar, and cigarette tobacco does not know that the earth revolves around the sun. He is incapable of grasping sentiments, but his bond with his roommate, John Watson, says otherwise. It is his humanness of being flawed and being far from perfect that makes him likeable. Even though readers may not resonate with the character, they surely understand him.
It is this quality of Sherlock Holmes, who created a profession for himself because he craved mental exaltation, that makes him contemporarily relevant and fascinating at once. For as long as we crave cerebral stimulation, yearn for the thrill of the chase, and seek validation for our mental prowess, the game will always be afoot.