The World of Sherlock Holmes: The Facts and Fiction Behind the World's Greatest Detective

by Martin Fido

Enter the world of Sherlock Holmes, history’s most beloved detective, and explore the reality behind the myth.
 
The World of Sherlock Holmes delves into the fictional detective's storied history to uncover the myths and reality of the era when Holmes emerged—a time of great advances in crime analysis, medicine, and technology, when Scotland Yard was the king of criminal detection. Along with background on Holmes’s origin, fans can explore the various portrayals of the deerstalker detective through the years, concluding with BBC’s Sherlock; Elementary , which controversially cast a female Watson; and the action-packed Sherlock Holmes films directed by Guy Ritchie.

Genres: Nonfiction

224 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1998

Reviews

[Mark]

I'm no Sherlockian, but I do have my small collection of Annotated Sherlock (both) and some coffee table books and other tributes. This book just left me a little cold. While it certainly covers a lot of ground - almost every aspect of Conan Doyle and Holmes is covered, hence the three stars - it is more editorial than historical. It's more about the author's opinions (pretty negative on about half the stories). Also, he seems to get certain facts wrong, perhaps because of the breadth of his coverage, which makes me wonder which other facts are wrong that I don't have opportunity to check. His descriptions of Father Brown and Lord Peter make me think that he doesn't enjoy crime fiction quite enough to be a happy guide through it.

[Clare]

This is a very in-depth book, that not only covers a lot of ground in the Sherlock Holmes world, but also goes deep into all subjects. A must read for Sherlock fans!

[J.J. Lair]

I learned a few things about life in Doyle’s era of England. The officers in the Army and life. There is a fair amount of time given to Doyle’s other work and family. There is a countdown of Holmes facts through the stories. Why did Holmes persist to be famous when some of it is very dated? I live near Connecticut so the William Gillette stories interested me. Then we get the better actors and movies.
I think the author is fascinated by the character but not the stories. He has opinions on them, not all flattering. He rushed through that part of the book.

[Claire Q]

The book has a wide breadth of information and good pictures, but I found typos in my copy and I felt like there were a few mistakes. A good introduction for someone new to Sherlock Holmes. Got it as a Barnes and Noble bargain book and found it to be a good deal for the price.

[Crystal]

Did not agree with all the authors analysis of the stories and novels. Some were purely ridiculous, but full of interesting trivia and information. Great fun to flip through

[Michael Eklund]

Interesting subject, excellently illustrated, boringly written.

[Bikerider99]

Well done source of background information.

[Hiu Ying]

2。

[Lawon Clayton]

It didn't go in the direction I thought it would

[Jon Allanson]

This was a solid, if pedestrian, read. Nothing earthshattering, but a fine overview of the author, his creation, and the place the books and the character have found in the world. If you are a Sherlock fan at all, there are certainly worse things you could read.

[David Meyer]

A description of some of Conan Doyle's work, how it was received at the time it was written and why, as well as information about Conan Doyle himself and the ways his characters have been used and enjoyed to this day.

[Rachel Kennedy]

For the amateur Sherlockian like me, this was a dense and detailed read but quite interesting.

[C.O. Bonham]

A very readable collection of facts about all things Sherlock Holmes.