The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes
ISBN: 9780241952931(ISBN-10: 024195293X)
12 segments
Characters (6)
| Name | Aliases | Role |
|---|---|---|
Dr John H. Watson Army surgeon invalided home from Afghanistan who becomes Sherlock Holmes's companion, lodger, and chronicler. Steady, decent, and possessed of considerable courage, he serves as both the practical counterweight to Holmes's eccentricity and the reader's point of entry into a world that would otherwise be entirely alien. Narrator of the overwhelming majority of the canonical stories. | John Watson, Dr Watson, John H. Watson | Protagonist |
Sherlock Holmes The world's only consulting detective, operating from 221B Baker Street, London. Possessed of extraordinary powers of observation and deductive reasoning, he applies a rigorous scientific method to criminal investigation while remaining largely indifferent to conventional social expectations. Capable of brilliant warmth and profound coldness in equal measure, his partnership with Dr Watson is the central relationship of the canon. | Mr Sherlock Holmes, Sigerson, Captain Basil | Protagonist |
Colonel Sebastian Moran Former Colonel of the First Bangalore Pioneers and big game hunter, described by Holmes as the second most dangerous man in London after Moriarty. Chief of staff to Moriarty's criminal organisation. Appears in The Adventure of the Empty House. | Colonel Moran, Sebastian Moran | Antagonist |
Professor James Moriarty A former Professor of Mathematics turned criminal mastermind, described by Holmes as the Napoleon of Crime - the organising intelligence behind much of London's serious criminality. Appears directly in only a handful of stories but casts a shadow across the later canon. | The Napoleon of Crime, Professor Moriarty | Antagonist |
Inspector Lestrade Scotland Yard's most prominent inspector in the canon and Holmes's most frequent professional contact within the official police. Tenacious and not without competence, but habitually out of his depth on the cases that matter most, he represents the institutional approach to detection that Holmes consistently outpaces. His relationship with Holmes evolves from grudging tolerance to genuine respect across the canon. | G. Lestrade, Inspector G. Lestrade | Supporting |
Mrs Hudson Landlady of 221B Baker Street and the domestic anchor of Holmes's unconventional household. Tolerates her tenant's erratic hours, dangerous visitors, and destructive experiments with remarkable equanimity. More resilient and resourceful than her role suggests, she is a constant presence across the canon without ever being its focus. | Supporting |
History
| Date | Event | Details |
|---|---|---|
31 March 1927 | Publication | Reception on publication was respectful but muted, Doyle's own public acknowledgement of his diminished enthusiasm for the character colouring critical response. Contemporary reviewers were generally kind but noted the unevenness of the collection and the sense of obligation rather than inspiration in several stories. Doyle's preface to the collection, in which he bid farewell to Holmes with evident relief, was itself widely noted and quoted. Modern critical assessment is consistent in placing the Case-Book last among the five collections in overall quality, though The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire and The Adventure of the Illustrious Client are regarded as strong late-period work. The collection is valued as a document of a writer's complicated relationship with his most famous creation as much as for its individual merits. |
Publication31 March 1927
Reception on publication was respectful but muted, Doyle's own public acknowledgement of his diminished enthusiasm for the character colouring critical response. Contemporary reviewers were generally kind but noted the unevenness of the collection and the sense of obligation rather than inspiration in several stories. Doyle's preface to the collection, in which he bid farewell to Holmes with evident relief, was itself widely noted and quoted. Modern critical assessment is consistent in placing the Case-Book last among the five collections in overall quality, though The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire and The Adventure of the Illustrious Client are regarded as strong late-period work. The collection is valued as a document of a writer's complicated relationship with his most famous creation as much as for its individual merits.