Editing Sherlock Holmes (section)

==Reception==
===Popularity===
[[File:The Strand Magazine (cover), vol. 65, no. 321, September 1917.jpg|thumb|upright|The popularity of Sherlock Holmes became widespread after his first appearance in ''[[The Strand Magazine]]'' in 1891. This September 1917 edition of the magazine, with the cover story, "Sherlock Holmes outwits a German spy", could be posted to troops free of charge.]]
The first two Sherlock Holmes stories, the novels ''[[A Study in Scarlet]]'' (1887) and ''[[The Sign of the Four]]'' (1890), were moderately well received, but Holmes first became very popular early in 1891 when the first six short stories featuring the character were published in ''[[The Strand Magazine]]''. Holmes became widely known in Britain and America.<ref name=":1"/> The character was so well known that in 1893 when Arthur Conan Doyle killed Holmes in the short story "[[The Final Problem]]", the strongly negative response from readers was unlike any previous public reaction to a fictional event. The ''Strand'' reportedly lost more than 20,000 subscribers as a result of Holmes's death.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kathryn Caroline Smith |date=2 May 2008 |title=Forming and Protecting the Middle-Class Victorian Ideal: Holmes and Watson |url=https://libres.uncg.edu/ir/uncp/f/Forming%20and%20Protecting%20the%20Middle-Class%20Victorian%20Ideal.pdf |website=University of North Carolina at Greensboro |publication-place=[[University of North Carolina at Pembroke]]}}</ref> Public pressure eventually contributed to Conan Doyle writing another Holmes story in 1901 and resurrecting the character in a story published in 1903.<ref name=":3"/> In Japan, Sherlock Holmes (and [[Alice (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland)|Alice]] from ''[[Alice's Adventures in Wonderland]]'') became immensely popular in the country in the 1890s as it was opening up to the West, and they are cited as two British fictional Victorians who left an enormous creative and cultural legacy there.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Nathan |first=Richard |date=18 December 2020 |title=Ultra-Influencers: The Two British Fictional Victorians that Changed Japan |url=https://www.redcircleauthors.com/news-and-views/ultra-influencers-the-two-british-fictional-victorians-that-changed-japan/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201218082150/https://www.redcircleauthors.com/news-and-views/ultra-influencers-the-two-british-fictional-victorians-that-changed-japan/ |archive-date=18 December 2020 |access-date=21 January 2021 |website=[[Red Circle Authors]]}}</ref>

Many fans of Sherlock Holmes have written letters to Holmes's address, [[221B Baker Street]]. Though the address 221B Baker Street did not exist when the stories were first published, letters began arriving to the large [[Abbey National]] building which first encompassed that address almost as soon as it was built in 1932. Fans continue to send letters to Sherlock Holmes;<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/bank-accounts/5394699/Santander-who-was-Abbeys-most-famous-customer.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/bank-accounts/5394699/Santander-who-was-Abbeys-most-famous-customer.html |archive-date=10 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Santander: who was Abbey's most famous customer?|date=27 May 2009|website=The Telegraph|access-date=18 February 2020}}{{cbignore}}</ref> these letters are now delivered to the [[Sherlock Holmes Museum]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/the-mystery-of-221b-baker-street-3608784/|title=The Mystery of 221B Baker Street|last=Stamp|first=Jimmy|date=18 July 2012|website=[[Smithsonian (magazine)|Smithsonian]] |access-date=18 February 2020|archive-date=23 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201123204245/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/the-mystery-of-221b-baker-street-3608784/|url-status=live}}</ref> Some of the people who have sent letters to 221B Baker Street believe Holmes is real.<ref name=":5"/> Members of the general public have also believed Holmes actually existed. In a 2008 survey of British teenagers, 58 per cent of respondents believed that Sherlock Holmes was a real individual.<ref name=":6"/> 

Some scholarly discussion of Holmes has occasionally been written (usually facetiously) from the perspective of Holmes and Dr. Watson having existed; an example of this are the five critical essays, "Studies in Sherlock Holmes", by the author and essayist [[Dorothy L. Sayers]] in her 1946 non-fiction collection, ''Unpopular Opinions'', including an article examining Watson's ''signature'' which was allegedly visible in some original ''Strand'' illustrations.<ref>{{Cite book | last = Sayers | first = Dorothy L. | title = Unpopular Opinions | location = London | year = 1946 |publisher = Victor Gollancz |page=134-190}}</ref>

The Sherlock Holmes stories continue to be widely read.<ref name=":1"/> Holmes's continuing popularity has led to many reimaginings of the character in adaptations.<ref name=":3"/> ''Guinness World Records'', which awarded Sherlock Holmes the title for "most portrayed literary human character in film & TV" in 2012, released a statement saying that the title "reflects his enduring appeal and demonstrates that his detective talents are as compelling today as they were 125 years ago".<ref name=":0"/>

===Honours===
[[File:Statue Of Sherlock Holmes-Marylebone Road.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Statue of Sherlock Holmes, London|Statue of Sherlock Holmes]] near [[221B Baker Street]], London]]
[[File:Sign at Sherlock Holmes Museum in Baker St 221b.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Blue plaque]] at The Sherlock Holmes Museum 221b Baker Street, London]]
The London [[Metropolitan Railway]] named one of its twenty [[Metropolitan Railway electric locomotives|electric locomotives]] deployed in the 1920s for Sherlock Holmes. He was the only fictional character so honoured, along with eminent Britons such as [[Lord Byron]], [[Benjamin Disraeli]], and [[Florence Nightingale]].<ref name="reed1934">{{cite book | title=Railway Engines of the World | publisher=Oxford University Press | author=Reed, Brian | year=1934 | page=133}}</ref>

A number of London streets are associated with Holmes. York Mews South, off Crawford Street, was renamed Sherlock Mews, and Watson's Mews is near Crawford Place.<ref>[http://www.lurotbrand.co.uk/images/mewsnews/MN%2002%20Summer%20web.pdf Mews News] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927185828/http://www.lurotbrand.co.uk/images/mewsnews/MN%2002%20Summer%20web.pdf |date=27 September 2013 }}. ''Lurot Brand''. Published Summer 2009. Retrieved 24 September 2013.</ref> [[The Sherlock Holmes]] is a [[public house]] in Northumberland Street in London which contains a large collection of memorabilia related to Holmes, the original collection having been put together for display in [[Baker Street]] during the [[Festival of Britain]] in 1951.<ref name=Sherlock>{{cite web|url=http://www.sherlockology.com/locations/northumberland-street|title=Northumberland Street|publisher=Sherlockology|access-date=6 June 2014|archive-date=21 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161221002041/http://www.sherlockology.com/locations/northumberland-street|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=Book>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nhEnHQAACAAJ|last=Thomson|first=Henry Douglas|title= The Sherlock Holmes Catalogue of the Collection in the Bars and the Grill Room and in the Reconstruction of Part of the Living Room at 221 B Baker Street|year=1958|publisher=Whitbread}}</ref>

In 2002, the [[Royal Society of Chemistry]] bestowed an honorary fellowship on Holmes for his use of forensic science and analytical chemistry in popular literature, making him (as of 2024) the only fictional character thus honoured.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/2332461.stm|title=NI chemist honours Sherlock Holmes|date=16 October 2002|access-date=19 June 2011|work=BBC News|archive-date=19 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180619014414/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/2332461.stm|url-status=live}}</ref> Holmes has been commemorated numerous times on UK postage stamps issued by the [[Royal Mail]], most recently in their [[Great Britain commemorative stamps 2020–2029#2020|August 2020 series]] to celebrate the ''Sherlock'' television series.<ref>{{cite news |title=Royal Mail launches Sherlock Holmes stamps that reveal secret storylines under UV light |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/sherlock-holmes-stamps-royal-mail-uv-light-buy-arthur-conan-doyle-a9651496.html |date=18 August 2020 |access-date=1 October 2022 |work=The Independent |archive-date=1 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221001105307/https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/sherlock-holmes-stamps-royal-mail-uv-light-buy-arthur-conan-doyle-a9651496.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

There are multiple statues of Sherlock Holmes around the world. The first, sculpted by [[John Doubleday (sculptor)|John Doubleday]], was unveiled in [[Meiringen]], Switzerland, in September 1988. The second was unveiled in October 1988 in [[Karuizawa]], Japan, and was sculpted by Yoshinori Satoh. The third was installed in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1989, and was sculpted by [[Gerald Laing]].<ref name="Redmond 301">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X3OIoRbJFhAC&pg=PA301 |title=Sherlock Holmes Handbook: Second Edition |year=2009 |last=Redmond |first=Christopher |page=301 |publisher=Dundurn |isbn=9781770705920}}</ref> In 1999, a [[Statue of Sherlock Holmes, London|statue of Sherlock Holmes]] in London, also by John Doubleday, was unveiled near the fictional detective's address, 221B Baker Street.<ref>{{cite news|last=Reid|first=T. R.|author-link=T. R. Reid|title=Sherlock Holmes honored with statue near fictional London home|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=xA8hAAAAIBAJ&pg=2790,5166715&dq=statue+sherlock-holmes+london&hl=en|access-date=6 January 2013|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=22 September 1999|archive-date=9 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109122558/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=xA8hAAAAIBAJ&pg=2790%2C5166715&dq=statue%20sherlock-holmes%20london&hl=en|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2001, a sculpture of Holmes and Arthur Conan Doyle by [[Irena Sedlecká]] was unveiled in a statue collection in Warwickshire, England.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://issuu.com/mallams/docs/the_franta_belsky_and_irena_sedleck |magazine=The Atelier Sale of Franta Belsky and Irena Sedlecka |publisher=Mallams |location=Oxford |date=11 April 2017 |access-date=6 August 2020 |last=Cannon-Brookes |first=Peter |page=33 |title=Irena Sedlecka |archive-date=20 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211020063753/https://issuu.com/mallams/docs/the_franta_belsky_and_irena_sedleck |url-status=live }}</ref> A sculpture depicting both Holmes and Watson was unveiled in 2007 in Moscow, Russia, based partially on [[Sidney Paget]]'s illustrations and partially on the actors in ''[[The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://ethnoworld.ru/en/projects/projects-in-russia/monument-to-sherlock-holmes-and-dr-watson/ |title=Monument to Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson |website=Dialogue of Cultures - United World |access-date=26 July 2020 |archive-date=26 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200726130358/https://ethnoworld.ru/en/projects/projects-in-russia/monument-to-sherlock-holmes-and-dr-watson/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2015, a sculpture of Holmes by [[Jane DeDecker]] was installed in the police headquarters of [[Edmond, Oklahoma|Edmond]], Oklahoma, United States.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.southwestart.com/featured/edmond-oct2017 |website=Southwest Art |title=A small Oklahoma town finds community through public art |last=Gangelhoff |first=Bonnie |date=15 September 2017 |access-date=6 August 2020 |archive-date=14 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201114002326/https://www.southwestart.com/featured/edmond-oct2017 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2019, a statue of Holmes was unveiled in [[Chester, Illinois|Chester]], Illinois, United States, as part of a series of statues honouring cartoonist [[E. C. Segar]] and his characters. The statue is titled "Sherlock & Segar", and the face of the statue was modelled on Segar.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.baskervilleproductions.com/statue|title=December 7, 2019: First Permanent Granite Tribute to Sherlock Holmes erected in the Americas|last=McClure|first=Michael|date=7 December 2019|website=Baskerville Productions|access-date=7 December 2019|archive-date=26 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200726123951/https://www.baskervilleproductions.com/statue|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Societies===
{{Main|Sherlock Holmes fandom#Societies}}
In 1934, the Sherlock Holmes Society (in London) and the [[The Baker Street Irregulars|Baker Street Irregulars]] (in New York) were founded. The latter is still active. The Sherlock Holmes Society was dissolved later in the 1930s, but was succeeded by a society with a slightly different name, the Sherlock Holmes Society of London, which was founded in 1951 and remains active.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.sherlock-holmes.org.uk/about-the-society/|title=About the Society|website=The Sherlock Holmes Society of London|language=en-US|access-date=27 December 2019|archive-date=16 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191216172108/http://www.sherlock-holmes.org.uk/about-the-society/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://bakerstreetirregulars.com/bsi-history/|title=Origins of the BSI|website=The Baker Street Irregulars|date=8 June 2018|language=en|access-date=27 December 2019|archive-date=27 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191227075452/https://bakerstreetirregulars.com/bsi-history/|url-status=live}}</ref> These societies were followed by many more, first in the US (where they are known as "scion societies"—offshoots—of the Baker Street Irregulars) and then in England and Denmark. There are at least 250 societies worldwide, including Australia, Canada (such as [[The Bootmakers of Toronto]]), India, and Japan.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sherlockian.net/celebrating/locations/|title=Societies and Locations|website=Sherlockian.net|language=en-US|access-date=27 December 2019|archive-date=27 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191227075449/https://www.sherlockian.net/celebrating/locations/|url-status=live}}</ref> Fans tend to be called "Holmesians" in the UK and "Sherlockians" in the US,<ref>{{Cite book|title=Sherlock Holmes Handbook: Second Edition|last=Redmond|first=Christopher|publisher=Dundurn Press|year=2009|isbn=978-1-55488-446-9|pages=257}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://bakerstreetbabes.tumblr.com/post/13620494234/question-whats-the-difference-between-a|title=Anonymous asked: Question: What's the difference between a Sherlockian and a Holmesian?|date=1 December 2012|website=[[Baker Street Babes]]|access-date=16 June 2018|archive-date=27 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181227070457/http://bakerstreetbabes.tumblr.com/post/13620494234/question-whats-the-difference-between-a|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Brown|first=David W.|url=https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/63985/15-curious-facts-about-sherlock-holmes-and-sherlockian-subculture|title=15 Curious Facts About Sherlock Holmes|website=[[Mental Floss]]|date=6 January 2020|access-date=6 January 2020|archive-date=6 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200106201004/https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/63985/15-curious-facts-about-sherlock-holmes-and-sherlockian-subculture|url-status=live}}</ref> though recently "Sherlockian" has also come to refer to fans of the [[Sherlock (TV series)|Benedict Cumberbatch-led BBC series]] regardless of location.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://alistaird221b.blogspot.com/2012/06/sherlockian-or-holmesian-what-do-these.html|title=Sherlockian or Holmesian - What do these terms mean now?|date=19 June 2012|website=Doyleockian|access-date=16 June 2018|archive-date=17 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180617042847/http://alistaird221b.blogspot.com/2012/06/sherlockian-or-holmesian-what-do-these.html|url-status=live}}</ref>