The Lasting Legacy of Sherlock Holmes

The Lasting Legacy of Sherlock Holmes

    Everyone loves a good mystery. They are able to capture the reader's attention with a striking beginning, a case that starts to grow larger than life itself as more clues and information are revealed, and a twisted ending that turns the story on its head once the truth is finally revealed. While the overall plot can often be enough to compel readers, no mystery is complete without the charming detective who guides them through the story by showing them the world through their eyes. There have been many famous detectives in literature over the years, such as Hercule Poirot, Philip Marlowe, and C. Auguste Dupin. However, the most famous literary detective is arguably Sherlock Holmes. Arthur Conan Doyle's mystery stories written for The Strand magazine in the late 1800s and early 1900s have withstood the test of time in thanks to his detective protagonist. With several short stories and novels attached to his name, new readers are able to dive into a unique story starring him and his trusty partner, Dr. John Watson, whenever they would like. Whether it is his keen attention to detail and vast knowledge on every topic known to man, his aloof and introverted yet relatable personality, or his dedication and loyalty to Watson, modern readers continue to be drawn to the character of Sherlock Holmes. His popularity can often be credited to the global fanbase dedicated to the detective that has grown and flourished over time. Even during the time of the stories' original publication, when fan culture was relatively unheard of, there was a strong group of followers that publicly expressed their love for Holmes and the works Conan Doyle featured him in. This population continued to spread throughout the decades, allowing his legacy to grow into one of pop culture's first fandoms. The continuous loyalty and devotion fans of Sherlock Holmes possess have helped pave the way for modern fan culture and keep the famous detective's legacy alive.

    Most people tend to believe that fandoms were a late twentieth century invention that seeped into and grew during the twenty-first century. However, a fandom for Sherlock Holmes and his stories seemed to be cultivating during the time of their original publication. While it is difficult to tell if a fandom existed during the initial release of "A Study in Scarlet" and onward, there was a time when this dedicated group of fans first emerged in the public eye. In 1893, Conan Doyle published a Sherlock Holmes story entitled "The Final Problem." In it, Holmes and Watson travel to Switzerland so the former can take down his greatest foe, Professor Moriarty. Unfortunately, Holmes does not succeed and instead falls down a waterfall with Moriarty where they both presumably meet their deaths. The story was met with public outrage during its initial publication. The most lasting impact their fury had was on The Strand, as over 20,000 readers of the magazine canceled their subscription after "The Final Problem's" publication (Loos). The vast number of readers that turned away from the publication giving them the works they loved because of one author's decision shows how powerful a creator's choices can be on their fans. Modern fans often voice their dissatisfaction over one aspect of their favorite work at some point in their lives, whether it is an ending that goes against everything that led up to it or the development of a popular character. This will often lead them to spark public campaigns online that cause others in the fandom to turn away from the work or its creator. Fan decisions have a large impact on a work's continuing success in the public, as is shown with Sherlockians, or fans of Sherlock Holmes. Alongside the Strand cancellations, there are rumors that Victorian fans took to other methods in voicing their disapproval of Conan Doyle's decision. While these rumors have mostly been proven to be untrue, an urban legend still remains that explains how people wore black bands in mourning over the loss of their favorite detective (Loos). This displays another aspect of fan culture that is popular in modern day, which is clothing. People often wear t-shirts to conventions or in everyday life that display quotes or fan slogans relating to their favorite fandoms. While this information on Sherlockians may not be entirely true, it still showcases a popular part of fan culture that continues to be displayed in every fandom today. It also shows how deeply a fictional character can affect a person's life, as fans were willing to dress in mourning clothes and treat Holmes's death as if he were real. The level of outrage displayed by Sherlockians at the time is what prompted Conan Doyle to resurrect Holmes in "The Empty House," allowing Holmes and Watson to solve more cases together well into the early 1900s (Loos). Holmes's return is part of what allowed his legacy to live on for fans around the world. This is also when his fanbase began to grow more prominent in the public eye.

An illustration of Sherlock Holmes (right) and Dr. Watson done by Sidney Paget (Paget)

    The 1900s is when Sherlockians began to make a name for themselves and seek out other fans to share their love of Sherlock Holmes with. During this time, fan works, adaptations, and group meetings formed as a way to express how much the fictional detective and his stories meant to them. One way that this was able to endure for so long is through the concept of "'The Great Game,' that is, treating Holmes and Watson as if they were real, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle as merely the literary agent" (Evans). Through the Great Game, Holmes grew from his role as a literary detective into a legitimate person that people could admire. He had taken on a life of his own and sparked a debate about his own legacy with his fans. The Great Game is also said to have been the source of the word "canon" within fan culture, since fans used it to describe Conan Doyle's stories in order to differentiate between the details provided by the author and fan details (Jones). This is a word often used in modern fan culture as a shorthand for the work they are describing to others. The fact that a word so commonly used in modern day originated as early as the 1910s shows how much of an impact the Sherlock Holmes fandom had and continues to have on fan culture. Another way that fans took to sharing their love of Holmes was through mailing letters to his London flat. As a part of the Great Game, fans often searched for the true 221B Baker Street, the address where Holmes and Watson initially received their cases. While a Baker Street does exist in London, there is said to be no building assigned to the number 221B (Ue and Cranfield 70). However, this did not stop Sherlockians from continuing their devotion to the Great Game. Fans would write letters to Holmes and ask him personal questions that Conan Doyle's works were unable to answer for them. Instead of 221B Baker Street, these letters would be sent to the Abbey Road Building Society, where members would take care in answering them and sending fans replies that hopefully gave them the answers they craved (Ue and Cranfield 70-71). The Great Game allowed fans to take their love of Sherlock Holmes to a new level, as they could find ways to reach out to the detective in real life and make him a part of their lives in a way they never had before. They revered him as a real person they could look up to and find out all the answers that were burning within them about their favorite detective. The largest display of Sherlockian culture comes in the form of literary societies that exist around the world. These societies are organizations that gather together in order to discuss Conan Doyle's works as well as new theories about the detective that previous fans may not have thought of before. While most of these societies have different names depending on their location, they all fall under the umbrella term of the main society, the Baker Street Irregulars. The group was founded in 1934, is said to be invitation-only, and allows fans to discuss "the study of Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Watson, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and the Victorian world" ("About The Baker Street Irregulars™"). The Baker Street Irregulars allowed one of the first group settings of fan discussion to occur, as people could join together and discuss their individual theories and opinions about the work they loved. Its inception could be the reason why modern fan culture exists and continues to be so prevalent, as people were able to be confident in expressing their love of a work of fiction and express it with the people around them. Sherlockians of the 1900s allowed the fan culture that had already been created with the detective to grow into something that extended outside of Victorian London.

    Fans continue to share their love of Sherlock Holmes with others today through the memorabilia collections that exist throughout the world. Sherlockians have often come together to collect every piece of merchandise they can find about the famous detective, whether it be first editions of the original stories, outfits resembling Holmes's signature deerstalker hat, or other pieces of material worth collecting. However, Sherlockians are not the type of people to keep their memorabilia to themselves. Fans travel all over the world to view these collections for themselves and try to step into the world that Conan Doyle created for them to enjoy. London has a large amount of memorabilia that is present for fans to explore in different corners of the city. One of the largest is the Sherlock Holmes Museum located at Conan Doyle's designated location of Holmes and Watson's flat, 221B Baker Street. The museum first opened in 1990 and hosts tours through a four-story building filled with different types of Holmes memorabilia. This includes a recreation of Holmes and Watson's study, items that date back to the Victorian era where the stories take place, and costumes and set pieces from the various onscreen portrayals of Holmes. The museum prides itself on being a haven for Sherlockians old and young, as it states on their website that the museum welcomes all fans, "[w]hether you're a die-hard devotee of the original stories or a recent Cumberbatch convert..." ("About the museum"). The Sherlock Holmes Museum is a place where fans can immerse themselves in the world of their favorite detective that exists outside of the page and screen. It allows them to delve deeper into the lore they may already be familiar with, such as the costumes and study replica, and step into the shoes of Conan Doyle's characters so they can understand their world. The museum is a place where they can appreciate their love of Sherlock Holmes in the flesh and experience that love with other fans around them. While the museum is a highlight of Sherlock Holmes tourism, there are other locations throughout the world for Sherlockians to explore. Conan Doyle included real locations throughout London and England in his works, enabling fans to go to these locations and explore them for themselves. This includes the Criterion restaurant featured in "A Study in Scarlet" and the Northumberland Hotel, now called the Sherlock Holmes Pub and Restaurant, which was featured in The Hound of the Baskervilles (Brandstatter). These locations help ground Conan Doyle's stories into reality, furthering fans' wishes to immerse themselves into Holmes's world. Unlike other stories that involve realms that cannot legitimately be traveled to, the inclusion of real-world locations allows fans to feel as if they are walking where Holmes and Watson once walked. They can step into their favorite scenes and understand what was going through both Conan Doyle's mind when he wrote his stories and Holmes and Watson's when they went there. Sherlockian tourism exists outside of England as well, as there are tourist sites for fans of every age around the world. Switzerland is a popular location for fans to travel to due to it being the country where Holmes faked his death in "The Final Problem." There, fans can find two museums where they can view Sherlockian memorabilia, the hotel that Holmes stayed in during Conan Doyle's story, and a statue depicting the familiar image of the detective sitting on a rock in his deerstalker hat and pipe in hand (Brandstatter). The fact that Sherlock Holmes tourism exists outside of England shows the global impact Conan Doyle's stories have on the population. Fans are able to feel connected to their favorite detective wherever they are in the world, and they can step into their favorite story by visiting these locations. Sherlock Holmes grew into more than a fictional detective and became someone that the public could emulate through the tourism industry dedicated to him.

Holmes enthusiast John Bennett Shaw ("Remembering John Bennett Shaw")

    One of the most famous Sherlockians was an American man named John Bennett Shaw. Shaw was a popular figure in the Sherlock Holmes fandom from the late 1950s until his death in 1994. Growing up in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Shaw took to collecting every piece of Holmes memorabilia he could get his hands on. It began with collecting the Conan Doyle stories in their original novel forms but soon developed into obtaining odd pieces of merchandise, such as t-shirts, statues, a custom-made license plate, and a trading card depicting the famous detective ("Remembering John Bennett Shaw"). Shaw's devotion to Holmes shows just how far fans are willing to go for their favorite fictional characters. If they feel strongly enough about a character they love, they will take the extra step in collecting as much merchandise as they can to experience their love for them in different ways. Shaw moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico in the 1960s, where he housed his collection inside his home. He welcomed other Sherlockians into his home so they could see the collection for themselves, strove to create local scions where people could talk about Conan Doyle's work together, and hosted events that allowed fans to celebrate their love of the famous detective. One of these was the Sebastian Moran Annual Air Gun Shoot Off, a target practice event where Sherlockians could come to his house and practice shooting off rifles at a target depicting a silhouette of one of Holmes's greatest foes, Sebastian Moran ("The Library: The Holy of Holies"). Shaw's drive to bring fans together made him a leading member of the Sherlockian fandom. The impact that Holmes had on himself and other fans made him want to celebrate that love with others, showcasing the true connection that members of a fandom can feel with one another. After Shaw's death in 1994, his literary Holmes collection was donated to the University of Minnesota. Since then, it has continued to grow and collect more works discussing Sherlock Holmes, allowing it to become the officially titled John Bennett Shaw Collection. Sherlockians are able to visit the collection today and view over "12,000 books, 32,000 periodicals, and a vast amount of other Sherlockian ephemera" ("Remembering John Bennett Shaw"). Shaw's legacy in the Sherlock Holmes fandom has been able to last over two decades after his death, showing how fans continue to devote themselves to the detective even in modern times.

Fans of Sherlock attempting a cosplay world record at UCL (Stillwell) 

    When people try to picture what a Sherlock Holmes fan looks like, they may imagine an adult white man who may come off as stuffy and a know-it-all. While the fandom may have been started by adult white men, Holmes's popularity has been able to reach a mainstream society that extends beyond this population. Now in the twenty-first century, Sherlockians are comprised of every group of people thanks to the different forms of fan works that exist in the media. As of 2012, Sherlock Holmes holds the Guinness World Record for most onscreen portrayals of any literary human fictional character, with the number standing at over 254 portrayals (Guinness World Records News). With such a large amount of media existing that involves the famous detective, Conan Doyle's work is able to reach audiences of all ages, genders, and cultures. A person does not have to feel restricted to only enjoying the original literature or one screen adaptation. They are able to explore multiple forms of Sherlock Holmes and see how other people portray the character in a way that best suits them. Holmes's legacy has allowed him to become flexible throughout other art forms, garnering new fans in every generation that came after his initial publication. Most modern Sherlockians originated not from their love of the detective in literature but from their love of his portrayal in the BBC miniseries, Sherlock. The 2010 series starring Benedict Cumberbatch as the titular character exposed Holmes to a modern audience that was mostly comprised of teenage and young adult girls. Fans were able to explore their love of the detective in a way that had not been done previously with fans of the original Conan Doyle stories. Since modern fan culture had already been established at this time, they were able to introduce others to the character through cosplay, conventions, and online fan works. On July 19th, 2014, the Sherlock fandom's love of the series and its lead actor was so strong that 113 fans gathered at the University College London, each one dressed up like Holmes in his signature costume from the 1800s. The event was held in both celebration of Benedict Cumberbatch's thirty-eighth birthday and as an attempt to break the Guinness World Record for "the greatest number of people dressed as Sherlock Holmes in one place" (Loftus). Multiple populations of people were present at the event, ranging from small children to older adults. The event itself showed how greatly a modern audience has been affected by the fictional detective. Holmes continues to make an impact on the world and in modern culture through the organization of these events, as his existence is able to spread to those who both participate in them and witness them occurring. It also shows the devotion people have towards the character and those involved in his portrayal, since the event was in honor of both Holmes and his actor. Sherlock Holmes has been able to reach a variety of audiences since his Victorian inception, and his popularity does not seem to be slowing down any time soon.

    Not only is mainstream fan culture able to learn about Holmes through public events, but they can also be exposed to him in online fan communities. On the fanfiction website Archive Of Our Own, over 130,000 works are classified under the tag "Sherlock Holmes & Related Fandoms," with the page count totaling at 5,000 ("Sherlock Holmes & Related Fandoms"). A similar website, fanfiction.net, has a large amount of works as well with a number totaling at 3.7 thousand ("Sherlock Holmes"). Sherlockian fanfiction tends to have a variety of plots attached to its stories. They can involve a more domestic glance into the lives of Holmes and Watson, a crossover with a different fandom, or an exploration into the growing fan theory that Holmes is both gay and in a romantic relationship with Watson. Fans are able to use fanfiction as a creative outlet to explore what they love about Holmes in a written form. They utilize their own theories and interpretations of the character and share them in a way that they would like to see him portrayed. Fanfiction allows fans to be their true selves and collaborate with one another in sharing their admiration of their favorite fictional character. Another art form that has allowed Sherlockians to explore their love of Holmes is music. In 2011, the Sherlock Fan Orchestra was first established on YouTube. The group's purpose is to allow fans of Sherlock to come together to perform musical scores from episodes of the miniseries together. They are given a piece of music to perform with their own instruments, record themselves, then allow the videos to come together in one large orchestral piece of the same song. As of 2016, the channel has been viewed "over 100,000 times" (Clendenning 152). The group creates a large amount of exposure of the Sherlockian fandom to the general public, as "...live music related to the fandom also brings together Sherlockians of different generations, and provides a way for non-musicians and the non-YouTube savvy to experience Sherlockian music" (Clendenning 153). The Sherlock Fan Orchestra allows fans of every faction of life to explore a part of Sherlockian culture that they may be either familiar or not familiar with. It lets established fans become more connected to a work that they love and new fans explore a part of Sherlock Holmes culture that they may not have experienced before. Online fan works within the Sherlock Holmes fandom have brought modern fans of the fictional detective together in a way that shows how much fan culture has changed since the Victorian era while also keeping the spirit of the original fans alive.

Part of my personal Sherlock Holmes collection. Pictured left to right: A Holmes-themed puzzle book, a t-shirt from the Sherlock Holmes Museum, and a book entitled The Sherlock Holmes Handbook (Mucci).

    I have been proud to call myself a Sherlockian since 2015. Unlike most modern fans, my discovery of Sherlock Holmes began with neither the original short stories and novels by Conan Doyle nor the BBC miniseries. The main adaptation that appeals to me is the 2009 Guy Ritchie film, aptly titled Sherlock Holmes, that starred Robert Downey Jr. as the titular character. When I first watched the film, I was attracted to the way the character was portrayed as an introverted genius in every field except social interaction. As an introvert myself, it made him more relatable to me. The film also displayed fantastic chemistry between Holmes and Watson, and the stories of both the 2009 film and its 2011 sequel were unique from other adaptations. When I first watched the films, I knew that they were different from the original source material and were not as popular as other portrayals of Sherlock Holmes. This led me to learn as much as I could about the fictional detective so I could become fully immersed in the world that had piqued my interest. I purchased the entire collection of Conan Doyle's stories and finished reading it within three months. I also looked into some lesser-known adaptations to see what they had to offer, such as the television series Elementary, the 1970 film The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes, and the young adult book series by Brittany Cavallaro that portrays Holmes as a modern-day, female teenager attending boarding school named Charlotte. My friends and family have come to know me as their resident Sherlockian, leading them to find Holmes memorabilia for me whenever they can. I own two t-shirts depicting Holmes, a deerstalker hat, a mug displaying quotes from the original novels, Holmes-themed puzzle and guide books, and a Holmes-themed notebook that is meant for taking observations of your surroundings to solve the small mysteries in your life. One of the shirts and the deerstalker were a gift from my best friend, who purchased them for me when she visited the Sherlock Holmes Museum in London. Sherlock Holmes has made a large impact on my life because he served as the gateway for several of the other interests and fandoms that I am a part of today. I have been a dedicated fanfiction writer for most of my life and have completed over a hundred stories involving Holmes and Watson in various situations. While these stories are all unpublished and have only been seen by my eyes and my friend's, writing these stories is what led me to begin taking all of my writing seriously. Rather than writing whatever came to mind then shelving it after the first draft, I would often return to these stories and revise them accordingly, trying to understand how I could improve them from how I first created them. My Holmes stories enabled me to take care of my craft and understand that my writing could go beyond my original goals for what I wanted to say. Sherlock Holmes was also the beginning of my interest in the mystery genre as a whole. I loved how the stories of the Ritchie films and the original novels always left me guessing and had scattered clues throughout their scenes, allowing me to put the pieces together like a true detective. Since Holmes's popularity helped to inspire others to create their own mysteries, I wanted to see how others tackled the genre with their own detective protagonists and continue to be invested in every mystery I can get my hands on. The character of Sherlock Holmes remains one that I hold close to my heart since I learned about him at such a formative time in my life. His continued hold on who I am as a person shows just how large his impact has been on the greater fan community. His stories could have been lost in the literary canon and received minimal pop culture attention, but his devoted fans were able to keep his story alive well over a hundred years. His influence has been flexible to every art form and communication platform fan culture thrives in and continues to be adaptable to the changing times. The strong dedication Sherlockians have towards the character have allowed Holmes and his story to be cherished by modern fans such as myself, thus helping his legacy thrive for years to come.

Works Cited

"About the Baker Street Irregulars™." The Baker Street Irregulars™, https://bakerstreetirregulars.com/about-the-bsi/. Accessed 15 Feb. 2021.

"About the Museum." The Sherlock Holmes Museum, https://www.sherlock-holmes.co.uk/about-the-museum/. Accessed 17 Feb. 2021.

Brandstatter, Tasha. "Literary Tourism: Sherlock Holmes." Book Riot, 30 Aug. 2015, https://bookriot.com/literary-tourism-sherlock-holmes/.

Clendenning, Elizabeth A. "Sherlock's Violin: Making the Victorian Modern Through Musical Fan Culture." Journal of Fandom Studies, vol. 4, no. 2, 2016, pp. 141-158.

Evans, Mary Katherine. "'The Name is Sherlock Holmes, and the Address Is 221B Baker Street': Virtual Reality, Fan Communities, and Tourism." Journal of Popular Culture, vol. 52, no. 6, 2019, pp. 1494-1511.

Guinness World Records News. "Sherlock Holmes Awarded Title for Most Portrayed Literary Human Character in Film & TV." Guinness World Records, 14 May 2012, https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2012/5/sherlock-holmes-awarded-title-for-most-portrayed-literary-human-character-in-film-tv-41743/?fb_comment_id=10150968618545953_27376924#:~:text=Having%20been%20depicted%20on%20screen,human%20character%20in%20film%20%26%20TV. Accessed 20 Feb. 2021.

Jones, Alexi. "'Sherlock Holmes,' the First Modern Fandom, Holds the Secret to Lasting Success." Affinity Magazine, 21 Dec. 2018, http://culture.affinitymagazine.us/sherlock-holmes-the-first-modern-fandom-holds-the-secret-to-lasting-success/. Accessed 15 Feb. 2021.

Loftus, Valerie. "Sherlock Fans Attempt World Record for Most People Dressed as Holmes in One Place." The Daily Edge, 20 July 2014, https://www.dailyedge.ie/sherlock-fans-guinness-world-record-1580491-Jul2014/. Accessed 20 Feb. 2021.

Loos, Chloe. "In Context: Sherlock Holmes in Pop Culture." Arizona Theatre Company, https://arizonatheatre.org/blog/in-context-sherlock-holmes-in-pop-culture/. Accessed 15 Feb. 2021.

Mucci, Alexis. My Sherlock Holmes Collection. 2021.

Paget, Sidney. Untitled Illustration of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. 1891, Time Life Pictures/Getty Images. Retrieved from Flood, Allison. "Macmillan Reveals Adventures of Young Sherlock Holmes." The Guardian, 18 March 2009, https://www.theguardian.com/books/2009/mar/18/young-sherlock-holmes-macmillan. Accessed 22 Feb. 2021.

"Remembering John Bennett Shaw." John Bennett Shaw, https://www.johnbennettshaw.com/. Accessed 17 Feb. 2021.

"Sherlock Holmes." Fanfiction.net, https://www.fanfiction.net/book/Sherlock-Holmes/. Accessed 20 Feb. 2021.

"Sherlock Holmes & Related Fandoms." Archive of Our Own, https://archiveofourown.org/tags/Sherlock%20Holmes%20*a*%20Related%20Fandoms/works. Accessed 20 Feb. 2021.

Stillwell, John. Untitled Photograph of Sherlock Fans Dressed as Holmes. 2014, PA Wire/Press Association Images. Retrieved from Loftus, Valerie. "Sherlock Fans Attempt World Record for Most People Dressed as Holmes in One Place." The Daily Edge, 20 July 2014, https://www.dailyedge.ie/sherlock-fans-guinness-world-record-1580491-Jul2014/. Accessed 22 Feb. 2021.

"The Library: The Holy of Holies." John Bennett Shaw, https://www.johnbennettshaw.com/library. Accessed 17 Feb. 2021.

Ue, Tom, and Jonathan Cranfield. Fan Phenomena: Sherlock Holmes. E-book, Intellect Books, 2014.