Re-imagining Sherlock Holmes as the hero in detective fiction

Abstract

This paper is set to present and examine the character of the world’s most famous detective hero, Sherlock Holmes through its most recent adaptations: the BBC series Sherlock and the CBS series Elementary. For a better understanding of the character, contemporary detectives were contrasted to Arthur Conan Doyle’s original one by looking at the four novels (A Study in Scarlet, The Sign of Four, The Hound of the Baskervilles and The Valley of Fear) and a collection of short stories (The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes). The focus is on how Holmes’ character has been re-written and transitioned into the 21st century. It interrogated whether the sleuth’s personality made the character still viable for contemporary audience. The issue of the character’s persistent appeal through time within the detective genre was also tackled.