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Sherlock Holmes: the real history that inspired the detective stories

Andrew Lycett shares how Sir Arthur Conan Doyle created his most famous character, and what the stories reveal about the author's own life and times

Published: December 27, 2023 at 7:44 AM

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Sherlock Holmes is arguably the most famous fictional detective of all time. The resident of 221B Baker Street has been the subject of countless film and television portrayals, remaining a figure of fascination around the globe. But what inspired Holmes’s creator, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, to bring him into the world in the first place? Jon Bauckham speaks to the author and biographer Andrew Lycett about the origins of the character and what the stories reveal about Conan Doyle himself.

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Andrew Lycett is the author of The Worlds of Sherlock Holmes: The Inspiration Behind the World's Greatest Detective (Frances Lincoln, 2023)

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Authors

Jon BauckhamDigital commissioning editor

Jon Bauckham is the digital commissioning editor at HistoryExtra

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