Текст к Шерлоку Холмсу (Sherlock Holmes)

Dear friends!

1. Of course, you don`t need to be explain who Sherlock Holmes is. The greatest of all great detectives. I think everybody read stories about Sherlock Holmes and about his investigations.

2. But do you know who and how created this literary character? Who John Watson is? What`s the role of Arthur Conan Doyle`s stories in the world culture? Let`s have a fresh look at the adventures of the Great Detective and remember once more John Watson`s classical stories.

3. So, Dr. Joseph Bell is said to be the original of Sherlock Holmes. He was Conan Doyle`s colleague. They worked together at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary. Bell was able to exactly determine the profession and the character of his patient and always advised his student to use their eyes, hearing and sense of smell as well as the brain. Having kept an eye on him every day, the writer had endowed the main character of his works with Bell`s traits.

4. Sherlock Holmes appears in 56 stories and 4 narratives by Arthur Conan Doyle. In most cases the stories are told by Holmes`s best friend Dr. Watson. The first novel, “A Study in a Scarlet”, was written in 1887. The last collection of the stories, “The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes”, was published in 1927.

5. 5) Arthur Conan Doyle considered his works about Sherlock Holmes “an easy reading” and didn`t share the rapture of readers because he considered himself first of all the writer of historical novels. That`s why he decided to finish the story about the detective and the story “The Final Problem” gave him the opportunity. But the letters of readers, among whom were the members of the royal family, compeled him to continue the stories about the detective. Arthur Conan Doyle had never informed of the date of the Sherlock Holmes`s birth in his works. There is no exact evidence, but we can suppose that he was born in 1854 (by the story “His Last Bow ”). Nathan Bengis, one of the persons, who respects Sherlock Holmes, had found that day after many years of hard work- the six of January, 1854. Michael Harrison agreed with this statement and added that it was very frosty on Sherlock Holmes`s birth.

6. We know little about Holmes`s family and ancestors. He was a presider of county gentleman. His grandmother was the sister of French painter Horace Vernet. There is Holmes`s elder brother, Mycroft Holmes, in some works, who works at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Sherlock Holmes marked with handsome appearance: he was tall, unusually skin, long shaped face, high forehead, black hear, overhanging eyebrows, beaked nose, thin and compressed lips, grey eyes, assistant and sharp sight. With such appearance he had to disguise or he hadn`t solve a single problem.

7. Holmes liked playing the violin and did it most of the time during the night. Among his sport hobbies there were easten martial arts, box, fencing, golf and swimming. You can`t imagine the Great Detective without his favorite pipe and lope. He was obsessed with the facts and could be proud of scrupulous knowledge in the following fields: forensic medicine and expertise, botanic, newspaper prints, parfums, violins, the breeds of dogs, titles and trands of the biggest firms in the world.

8. He was especially good at chemistry. He wasn`t very good at philosophy but it doesn`t mean that he didn`t have his own philosophic opinion. By nature he was optimist or he wouldn`t catch the criminals because the other criminal will take the place of this one now or then. However, he thought that there is no sense in life. He was a bachelor. To his mind, love contradicts the common sense. But we can`t forget about Irene Adler. She was “that woman” because only she could prove him that a woman can be clever.

9. We know much more about Dr. Watson. He was born in the early fifties of the 19^th century. When a child, he lived in Australia, then his family moved in England. Having graduated from the Medicine College of London University, Watson got the doctor`s degree. Then it was the war, in Afghanistan. In the fatal battle of Maiwand military surgeon John Watson was seriously wounded and was sent to retirement. It was then Dr. Watson met Sherlock Holmes who was looking for companion with whom he could share the flat and expenses.

10. Dr. Watson helped the Great Detective for seventeen years. He was the men of a middle height, with square chin huge neck and accurately cut moustache. He was practical, hard-working, talented in literature, brave and had a good sense of humor.

11. The first film was shot in 1900 by the great inventor Thomas Edison and lasted just 30 seconds. At present time there are about 210 films with the detective. The story about Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson has a place in the Guinness Book of World Records by the amount of screen versions.

12. As western critics say, the best Watson was played by Nigel Bruse, the best Holmes- by Basil Rathbone.

13. But we know that there is no and can`t even be a better Sherlock Holmes than Sherlock Holmes shot by Igor Maslennikov. Just only Vasily Livanov is a genuine Holmes. It`s as true as the notion that the best Dr. Watson is Vitaly Solomin and Mrs Hadson is Rina Zelenaya. The Soviet films about Sherlock Holmes, starred with Solomin and Livanov are admitted one of the best screen version even by the English,

14. and since 23 of February 2006 these acknowledgment has been of a state level, Livanov was awarded to British Empire Order. On the portrait of Holmes in London museum there is a picture of Vasily Livanov.

15. In 2007 the New Zealand`s mint emitted commemorative series of four silver coins to the book publication anniversary. On the reverse of each coin there are images of the main characters of the story about Sherlock Holmes played by Russian actors.

16. Without any doubt, Baker Street is the most famous street in London.

17. The Great Detective lived in the house 221b, Baker Street, which didn`t exist at that time. And we can`t say that it exists now because the numbers of the houses from 215 to 229 date from the building Abbey National.

18. Recently, this address was appropriated to the house, which became the Sherlock Holmes museum. There are you can see armchairs, letters, pipes, retorts and flasks, the violin and the spirit of Holmes.

19. If you arrive to London, try to visit “Baker Street” underground station. Its walls are decorated with the scenes from Dr. Watson stories.

20. And when you go upstairs, don`t be afraid, if a tall men wearing a long coat and a hunters cap gives you Sherlock Holmes`s card. It means that you`re invited to the museum.

21. In general, there are a lot of museums and monuments to Sherlock Holmes. Recently, at 27th of April, 2007, there was unveiled the monument to Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson by Andrey Orlov in Moscow.

22. All over the world thousands of people are the members of fan clubs devoted to Sherlock Holmes. They write books about their idol, leave out the maps and encyclopedias, meet at conferences. One of fans is David Shore, the creator of TV series “Dr. House”. In many ways House is a medicine analogy of Sherlock Holmes. Similarities between Gregory House and the famous fictional detective Sherlock Holmes appear throughout the series, such as addiction to drugs, interested only in unusual and ‘exotic’ medicine cases, the use of deductive method of thinking, playing the musical instruments, the friendship with Dr. Wilson, whose name is very similar to Watson's, and meeting with a crazy man named Moriarty.

23. House's building number is 221B, a direct reference to Holmes's street address. Once House received a "second edition Conan Doyle" as a Christmas gift. The woman named Irene Adler gave House a green book by Joseph Bell.

24. I finish my story with this phrase. We owe her to TV series “The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson”. It became “branded” at the Russian spaces.