Mystery Cube
The 10 Commandments of Detective Fiction
Hound of the Baskervilles Reading Assignments
Bloodhound + Mastiff =
Sherlock Holmes
How can we begin to measure the impact of a fictional character upon the real world? In the case of Sherlock Holmes, hero of The Hound of the Baskervilles, there are countless lenses through which to study Holmes' impact. Here are four:
Stamps
On the bulletin board in our classroom, among the postage stamp photos, are a series of stamps from Great Britain illustrating five stories featuring the great detective. These stamps are just the beginning of a treasure trove of other stamps featuring Holmes, his partner in crime solving, Dr. Watson, and author Arthur Conan Doyle.
Geography
Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective who makes his home in a real city, London. This allows the ardent Holmes fan to design a tour around London and other English communities of the various sites from the Homes novels and short stories. Even such fictional sites as 221B Baker Street, Holmes' apartment, are the subject of detailed attention, just as if they were real places. Check out the floor plan of 221B Baker Street!
Movies
The list of movies featuring Sherlock Holmes is long and varied. It includes retellings of the Arthur Conan Doyle stories, Walt Disney animated cartoons, and flights of the imagination such as a film imagining a meeting between Holmes and Sigmund Freud, and another placing Holmes an Watson in World War II Europe (view that film in its entirety!).
The Sherlock Holmes "Look"
Even if you have never read any of the stories of Sherlock Holmes, you likely can picture this famous detective. Even if you think you do not know what Holmes looks like, the Holmes "look" has come to symbolize the concept of "detective". Check out this photo gallery to see what I mean!
From here, you can continue your investigation of what makes a literary character great.
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