Soon after his creation by the Scottish author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes became an iconic character in British culture, synonymous with detective work. Based in 221B Baker Street, London, Holmes and his long-suffering friend Dr Watson foiled murderers, blackmailers, and other criminals in Victorian England. 

The pair have so many chronicled cases that it can be difficult to know where to start. So, here’s the full case file – everything you need to know about Sherlock Holmes. 

The First Case 

Sherlock Holmes made his debut appearance in Conan Doyle’s 1887 novel A Study in Scarlet. In this story, Dr John Watson, returning to London after his military service in Afghanistan, looks for a place to live, and through a mutual friend, meets Sherlock Holmes. 

Not long after moving into Baker Street, Watson discovers his new flatmate’s unusual career – he’s a consulting detective, who assists the police or private clients in solving particularly tricky mysteries. Watson joins Holmes at the scene of a murder and helps him crack the case. It’s the beginning of a beautiful friendship. 

The Doyle Canon 

Conan Doyle followed up A Study in Scarlet with three further novels – The Sign of the Four, The Hound of the Baskervilles, and The Valley of Fear. He also wrote 56 short stories featuring Holmes and Watson; these were originally published in The Strand magazine and have since been available across five collected volumes. 

By 1893, Conan Doyle was tiring of writing the characters, so killed Holmes off in dramatic fashion in The Final Problem. But he was surprised by the public outcry – with 20,000 people cancelling their Strand subscriptions in protest – and a decade later, brought Holmes back to life. The 1903 story The Adventure of the Empty House explains how Holmes had faked his death. Conan Doyle then continued writing Holmes stories until 1927. 

Holmes and Watson 

The Holmes stories are mostly written from the perspective of Dr Watson, and typically follow a set structure. Holmes and Watson will be visited by a client or a police officer, who will tell them about a perplexing case. They then visit the crime scene, where Holmes will make further deductions, and eventually solve the mystery. 

Sherlock’s success comes from his incredible powers of observation and deduction. For example, wear and tear on a visitor’s clothing would indicate their profession and recent whereabouts. Watson has a lot to offer, too – his medical training, military experience, and his more sympathetic demeanour that, compared to Holmes’ aloofness, often helps when dealing with clients and suspects. 

Allies 

Throughout their adventures, Holmes and Watson often interact with members of Scotland Yard, most commonly Inspector Lestrade, who makes 13 appearances in Conan Doyle's works. Lestrade and his colleagues are conventional officers who follow the rulebook, and Holmes always proves himself to be the better detective! 

Another recurring character, who twice brings cases to Holmes, is his brother Mycroft. A government official, Mycroft is even more intelligent than Sherlock, but lacks the energy for field work. 

221B Baker Street landlady Mrs Hudson makes regular but small appearances in the stories, often bringing Holmes his meals and showing visitors in. Sherlock also has help from the Baker Street Irregulars, a group of street urchins he employs to run errands and carry out surveillance. 

Enemies 

The most famous adversary of Holmes and Watson is Professor James Moriarty. Also known as the Napoleon of Crime, Moriarty is the antithesis to Holmes, a criminal mastermind who uses his great intelligence to assist villains across England. 

Despite his iconic status, Moriarty plays a direct role in only two Conan Doyle stories. In the first of these, The Final Problem, Holmes tracks down Moriarty and they both tumble from the Reichenbach Falls – an incident which seems to kill both, though we later learn Holmes survived. Moriarty is also behind the crimes in The Valley of Fear, a novel released after but set before The Final Problem. 

Other notable villains faced by Holmes and Watson across the canon include Colonel Sebastian Moran, an assassin under Moriarty’s employ, Charles Augustus Milverton, a notorious blackmailer, and Irene Adler, a woman involved in A Scandal in Bohemia who manages to outsmart Holmes. 

Continuations and Adaptations 

Though Conan Doyle’s works form what fans term the official canon, many writers have expanded on Holmes and Watson’s adventures, and the Holmes stories have also been adapted many times for film and TV – in fact, the detective's first film appearance was a 30-second silent movie in 1900. 

Popular adaptations across the years include the fourteen films made from 1939 to 1946 starring Basil Rathbone as Holmes and Nigel Bruce as Watson, the 1984-1994 Granada Television series starring Jeremy Brett as Holmes, with David Burke and Edward Hardwicke as Watson, the 2009 and 2011 films starring Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law, and the 2010-2017 BBC series Sherlock starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman. 

Holmes on Audio 

Big Finish Productions’ range of audio dramas based on Conan Doyle’s characters began in 2009, with The Last Act, starring Roger Llewellyn as Holmes. Since 2010’s Holmes and the Ripper, the Great Detective has been played by Nicholas Briggs, with Richard Earl as Watson. This pairing has lasted over many full-cast audio releases, encompassing both new stories and adaptations of beloved classics. 

Briggs and Earl will return as Holmes and Watson in this year’s series Sherlock Holmes Untold, an eight-part serial released in weekly instalments from Wednesday 1 October 2025. This is now available to pre-order for just £24.99 exclusively here. Customers who pre-order will gain access to the weekly episode downloads, as well as the complete box set download to own. 

All the above prices (including pre-order and multibuy bundle discounts) are fixed for a limited time only and guaranteed no later than 31 January 2026.