Chapter 6 Sherlock Holmes

Hello, Mr. Detective.I am a detective, and it was the detective who sent me to you. Mr. Sherlock Holmes raised the detective novel to an unprecedented height with 60 stories.Faced with the legend of "one pound per word", it is difficult for a considerable number of literature lovers to remain calm.For public and private purposes, for fame and fortune, no one seems to have the need to resist detective novels. Therefore, since the end of the 19th century, a large number of Sherlock Holmes-style short detective stories have poured into the market, and the market share has risen sharply, and even reached 30% at one time-you know, even today, in some countries with very good reading habits, the entire The reading proportion of fiction works is less than 30%.

Most of the detective novels in this period are short works, with a detective and an assistant throughout, forming a "detective collection" model and strictly following the "Sherlock Holmes law".This period of "all-round popularity" among critics is called the "golden age of short stories", which is also the first climax period in the history of detective novels. Since it is a product of the "post-Sherlock Holmes era", in addition to maintaining the necessary respect for the old predecessors, some new features have also appeared in these works, for example, the body and personality of the detectives are becoming more "unfathomable", and the skills of the detectives are more sophisticated. It is more and more "magic".

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle used his Sherlock Holmes to pull countless geniuses into the ranks of detective novel creators.Among these creators, the one most closely related to jazz is undoubtedly Ernest William Hernan (1866-1921). This man was born in Yorkshire, England, went to Australia in 1884, returned to England in 1886, and started literary creation with the background of life in Australia. In 1893, after marrying Constance Doyle, Sir's sister, Hernan became the brother-in-law of the "Father of Sherlock Holmes".But this relationship did not make Jazz and Hernan feel any "like-mindedness" in the creation of mystery novels.

Hernan created many detective novels throughout his life, the most important of which is the "Rafflez the Thief series".On the surface, Raffles is a well-dressed and decent gentleman, showing the prosperity and stability of Victorian England in every way.He has been in the upper class society, and "hit it off" with many celebrities; but in fact, whenever the night is quiet, these celebrities become the targets of Raffles' "work".The gentleman on the beam travels through the dark world without ever missing a shot. Thus, a great miracle happened in the history of detective novels.On the one hand, the elder brother Conan Doyle directed Holmes to uphold justice and establish a glorious image of a detective; forces of justice.

Conan Doyle was extremely dissatisfied with this "disappointing" brother-in-law.He publicly accused Hernan: "It is absolutely impossible to turn a criminal into a hero." But his brother-in-law was not intimidated by his brother-in-law's fame. He used the novel to fight back: "There is no policeman like Sherlock Holmes!" In his eyes Well, the world's number one detective created by my uncle is as hypocritical and useless as the idiot policemen of Scotland Yard like Lestrade and Gregson. In Raffles's novel, Hernan specially marked on the title page: "This book is dedicated to Conan Doyle. This is my most sincere form of flattery." what a feeling.

Raffles is the first "black hero" in detective novels (his final ending is to die in battle for his country), and he opened a new creative mode of detective novels - the strange thief series.This model was imitated by countless creators later. Many heroes we see today (such as 007) have the shadow of the thief Raffles. If the brother-in-law's approach is just a kind of ridicule or "hype", then a Frenchman named Maurice LeBlanc vowed to trample Holmes under his feet. Maurice LeBlanc (1864-1941) was born in Lyon, France on November 11, 1864. He loved literature since childhood and admired Flaubert and Maupassant extremely.It stands to reason that such a literary and artistic youth should disdain to enter the circle of detective novels, but at that time, Sherlock Holmes' aura was too strong, and no one could avoid being vulgar.

The editor of a pulp magazine, seeing Sherlock Holmes and Raffles dominating across the channel, urged LeBlanc to create a similar image.One is to fight against the British guys, and the other is to get some rubles by the way.LeBron had no interest in this invitation, and failed to evade it several times, so he could only bite the bullet and write a novel called "Arson Robin Arrested" to deal with the assignment. Arsene Robin is a French youth who experienced ups and downs in life and was abandoned by the mainstream society since he was a child.Under the guidance of various complex emotions, he became a thief, robbing the rich and giving to the poor while "revenge on society".The thief is a quintessentially French product—handsome, suave, "artisanal," always victorious, and always surrounded by gold, silver, and beauties.

It is not difficult to see from the name of the first novel that LeBron has absolutely no desire to control Arsen Robin to "dominate the rivers and lakes"-he hopes that the handsome thief will end his life in prison.But the editor-in-chief thought the story and its hero would be a hit, and urged LeBlanc—to write a dozen more of the same story.LeBron is quite devastated - the protagonist is already in jail, how can this be written down?He has no choice but to do everything he can to make Arsen Robin escape from prison and start a new adventure... Facts have proved that the editor is still very discerning.The story of Arson Robin quickly became the best-selling book in France, and the handsome gentleman thief became a national icon.Therefore, the French readers who have always been "tsundere" put forward higher requirements for Robin - the Englishman named Sherlock Holmes should not be allowed to win the championship. To defeat him, the Frenchman's feet should be stepped on his face!

At this time, Maurice LeBlanc had forgotten his attitude towards Robin at the beginning of the creation, because his pocket was already full of rubles sent by the thief.Considering that I actually have the opportunity to stand shoulder to shoulder with Conan Doyle, there is no reason to back down. Thus, N stories of "Arson Robin VS Sherlock Holmes" came out.The ending is self-evident. Holmes, who came to France, was played around by Robin, and the vanity of the French was satisfied like never before.Now it seems that Maurice LeBlanc's novels cannot be compared with Sherlock Holmes' stories; but it is undeniable that as a representative work of the golden age of short stories, the story of Arson Robin cannot be ignored.

The above two are inextricably linked with Holmes.As events have progressed, the creators have been constantly looking for breakthroughs, trying to escape the shadow of Sherlock Holmes, at least partially.Judging from the results, some of them did really well. The first is the British Ernes Tebrama (1868-1942).Bramah was born on the outskirts of Manchester, England, formerly known as Ernest Bramma Smith, a journalist.In addition, everything about him is as mysterious as a mystery, and this is the only detective writer in history who is more mysterious than a detective. Brama's detective is named "Marcos Carrados".The reason why he can be famous in history is that Carrados is the first disabled detective in history-he is a blind man who is blind!The greatness of Carrados lies in the fact that he can analyze the mysteries that normal people can't understand with his eyes closed (it's the same for him anyway), but he can analyze them clearly.

The emergence of Karados constantly challenges the limits of human cognition of the objective world.He can use the sense of touch to solve the case-"This silver coin is a fake, because I can feel the traces of wax patterns on its surface"; the smell of glue from a fake beard"; he can use his hearing to solve crimes - "I'm sorry, sir. You lied, because your breathing suddenly became much faster"... Of course, these are very "pediatrics" for this blind detective "Yes, his logical deduction ability is even more incredible. Under this extreme setting, Karados continues to bring sensory shocks and psychological gaps to readers.Therefore, the impression left on the readers is particularly deep.This successful experience has influenced almost all creators during this period, and detection in an extreme environment has become the most fashionable method. If Karados still needs to touch, smell, and listen, then there is an old man sitting in a corner, even these links can be omitted.He likes to tell you the answer directly! Baroness Auchiz (1865-1947), a British female writer, was born in Hungary. She studied in Belgium and France in her early years. She entered the London Academy of Fine Arts at the age of 16 and later married an artist. In 1900, Baroness Auchiz started her literary creation and wrote a large number of excellent popular novels. She was hailed as "the first popular writer in the 20th century", and her representative was "The Old Man in the Corner".This detective novel is evaluated as the best-looking "easy chair detective" mode reasoning novel in history, and its status and achievements have not been surpassed so far. As mentioned earlier, "Easy Chair Detective" is a model created by Edgar Allan Poe in "The Mystery of Mary Roger", which is the most extreme intellectual game in detective novels - the detective stays at home and relies on second-hand information from hearsay , the truth can be deduced accurately.This model is difficult to control, and if you don’t pay attention to it, you will not be a dog if you draw a tiger, so later creators kept it at a respectful distance. When it came to the Baroness of Orcize, the "Easy Chair Detective" was used with ease and joy. The old man in the corner is nameless.People only know that he sits in ABC Cafe all day long, drinks milk, eats pastries, reads newspapers, and plays with a small red string in his hand.This is true of all good or bad mystery novels.But if you think about it carefully, there is actually a world of difference.The old man always stood outside the incident, watching everyone's every move from the perspective of "God". One day, the female reporter Baoli chatted about various mysterious cases and put forward some understandings of her own.Unexpectedly, the old man sitting on the side suddenly stood up and said loudly: "The police are a bunch of idiots, the truth of such and such incident is very clear!" The surprised reporter tried to get the old man to tell the truth, and the old man effortlessly clearly pointed out the real culprit. From then on, Baoli always told the old people strange things in society.The old man never participated in the investigation or checked the scene, but he always told Baoli the truth as soon as possible.It turned out that the old man's deduction never showed the slightest deviation.It was also from this that the detectives had a reason not to investigate and not to act, and to "talk on paper" with peace of mind. The most controversial part of "The Old Man in the Corner" is the topic of "justice".Although this old man has a beautiful chest, he never interferes with the progress of the incident, let alone cares about any social issues.He is a commentator through and through, treating reasoning like an intellectual game.The old man deduced the truth, just like swallowing milk and pastries, for an almost instinctive need and satisfaction.Where the milk and pastry came from did not interest him in the slightest. This "unjust" attitude of the old man has aroused criticism from many people.People think that this is contrary to the original intention of the creation of mystery novels, and even more contrary to the moral standards of human society.Sherlock Holmes can do nothing for justice, and is not afraid of hardships and dangers—even if it is not the case, it is the job of a detective to reveal the truth to the world. How can he be so insensitive like the old man in the corner? In fact, there is an attitude running through the book "The Old Man in the Corner", an attitude of despair.The old man often laughed at the incompetence of the police, satirized the so-called dirty inside stories of the so-called wealthy families, and commented on the inaccurate media reports.It can be said that the old man has completely despaired of everything.He has been furious in the face of accusations of "injustice" more than once-as mentioned earlier, the detectives of this period are quite individual.In his view, this kind of accusation is a misunderstanding of him, it is defiled the last pure land in his inner world, it is superficial and futile. Of course, not all detectives "advocate clear talk" like the old man in the corner, and there are also rigorous people who don't let go of clues and emphasize science everywhere. Austin Freeman (1862-1943), born in a tailor's family in Soho, London, entered Middlesex Hospital to study medicine at the age of 18. In 1877 he qualified as a physician and surgeon.In order to complete his studies, he went to work in the British colony on the Gold Coast of Africa for 7 years and became an assistant military doctor stationed in Accra on the Gold Coast.Later, he suffered from black urine fever and was sent back to China. After a long period of convalescence, he no longer engaged in full-time medical work, and turned to literary creation.After writing a well-received travelogue, he and his friends began to write a series of crime novels under the pseudonym "Clifford Ashdown".Then began to independently create detective stories with Thorndike as the protagonist. Thorndike - the first "micro-object detective" in history, the originator of CSI.He always has a suitcase at hand, which is full of bottles and cans, which can be used for evidence testing anytime and anywhere; he and his assistants have established a laboratory with a high technological content, which is specially used for case detection.Thorndike will pay attention to all physical traces and chemical phenomena at the scene of the case, such as the relationship between the direction of blood stains and gravity, the food left in the deceased's teeth and his eating habits.As for clues such as blood type, fingerprints, footprints, and hair, they cannot escape his microscope-like eyes. Thorndike's idiosyncrasies are entirely up to creator Freeman.This doctor has an almost crazy obsession with science, emphasizing rigor and logic everywhere.Like Thorndike, he had a laboratory of his own.Before writing a detective novel, Freeman would hide in the laboratory, mull over and test the tricks in the story.The laboratory is full of various "murder weapons" made by Freeman, because he needs to prove whether the murder weapons that appear in the story are manipulable in reality!Those who have offended Freeman in the past know this, and they are afraid that they will have trouble sleeping and eating. It is precisely because of this almost morbid rigor that Freeman invented a rather alternative creative mode-anti-narrative reasoning.In Thorndike's story, the opening part is all used to tell the case, presenting all the details in front of the readers; and nearly 2/3 of the latter, detective Thorndike came late, using himself (or his assistant) From the perspective of the murderer to demonstrate what method the murderer used, using a more scientific and rigorous method to solve the mystery. Freeman's work thus resembles a scholarly report in which the reader enjoys the pleasure of pure reasoning. After reading Freeman's Thorndike series of stories, the senior officials of the New York City Police Department were greatly inspired and established the world's first chemical laboratory dedicated to criminal detection in the early 20th century.This is absolutely unprecedented in the history of detective fiction. Later reviewers called Austin Freeman's detective novels "material evidence reasoning", that is, logical deduction is based on objective material evidence and belongs to the style of realism. During the same period, there was a pattern that was completely opposite to "evidence reasoning".This mode emphasizes purely theoretical logical analysis, emphasizing the psychological analysis of suspects.Compared with the "devotion" of "material evidence reasoning" to natural science, this genre pays more attention to the role of social science in the detective process, such as philosophy, psychology, theology, etc.People call this type of detective story "heart-evidence reasoning". Among the works of the "heart proof" model, the great British writer and the supreme writer of detective novels G. K．The "Father Brown" series created by Chesterton is the masterpiece and the pinnacle. G． K．Chesterton was born in London, England in 1874. He hated going to school when he was a child, and his grades were poor.One of his teachers once said: "If you split your head open, you will definitely not see the brain, but white fat." At the age of 16, Chesterton entered a university that did not have the right to grant degrees, and began to create magazines and publish pure literature such as novels and poems.But literary talent did not stop Chesterton from falling, and everyone felt sorry for the child's rebellion. When Chesterton was most depressed, he met a girl.This girl gave him decisive help and encouragement, teaching him that he should share his talent with more people instead of laughing at everyone with his talent.Chesterton accepted the girl's suggestion and started the real creation.The girl also became his wife without any accident and accompanied Chesterton all his life. Chesterton's works are extensive and profound, including novels, essays, reviews, poems, plays, etc. Here we only talk about detective novels. In September 1910, Chesterton published the first detective story of Father Brown - until his death in August 1936, he created a total of 51 detective stories of Father Brown.The 51 stories are organized into five short story collections: The Innocence of Father Brown (1911); The Wisdom of Father Brown (1914); The Suspicions of Father Brown (1926); Father Brown's Secret (1927); The Scandal of Father Brown (1935). Father Brown is short in stature, with a potato-shaped head. He always wears a black cloak and holds a large umbrella, shuttling through the fog in London.He is usually silent, but once he speaks, he makes witty remarks, pointing to the truth behind the fog.Father Brown's ability can no longer be summarized as thinking ability. His insight into human nature, speculation on people's hearts, and unique philosophical and even theological mind completely surpassed any previous detective who "eat" only by thinking ability. It is worth mentioning that G. K．Chesterton was a theological man who preached Catholicism throughout his life. On June 14, 1936, Chesterton died, and the Pope awarded him the title of "Guardian of the Catholic Faith".It is precisely because of Chesterton's belief that he naturally created the great detective image of Father Brown. The masterpiece of Father Brown series is.In this story, the owner died unexpectedly in a house under the close surveillance of four people, all of whom claimed that absolutely no one had entered or left the house.Father Brown said that someone entered the house, but no one would regard this person as a "person".In fact, as Father Brown said, this man walked into the house and committed murder in full view, and indeed no one would regard this man as a "human being"! It is by virtue of this thinking mode and ability based on philosophy and theology that Father Brown can be called "the world's three famous detectives" together with Dupin and Sherlock Holmes described by Edgar Allan Poe.Chesterton's Father Brown is a landmark work in detective fiction.It created the "heart evidence" genre, demonstrated the core skills of detective novels such as layout, misleading, and reversal, and played a textbook-like role. "King of the Chamber of Secrets" John Dickson Carr's detective, Dr. Gideon Fell, is based on G. K．Chesterton as the prototype; "Queen" Agatha Christie completely inherited the style of Father Brown series.The classic statement we are familiar with - "The best way to hide a big tree is to put it back into the forest; if there is no forest, we have to find a way to create a forest" is left by Father Brown.Now think about it, what a great and philosophical wisdom this is! In 1928, the British Detective Writers Club was established, which was the first association in history to specialize in the research and communication of detective novel creation.At the first general meeting, Chesterton was elected uncontested as the first president until his death in 1936.Its influence and contribution are evident.It can be said that G. K．Chesterton's Father Brown represents the pinnacle of the "golden age of the short story." Since Father Brown is so great, is he the best detective in the "post-Sherlock Holmes" era?On the whole, maybe it is, but in a certain aspect, it will not be the one above it, such as thinking ability. Detective fiction is an art of thinking, and detectives are proud of having strong thinking power.And the detective with the best thinking ability in history was born in this period.He is an American detective, he has a lot of titles, and he has a famous nickname - Thinking Machine. The maker of "Thinking Machine" is American writer Jack Futrill.Futcher was born in Georgia, USA in 1875. She left school at the age of 18 and entered a newspaper to write a column.Like thousands of writers of that era, influenced by the Sherlock Holmes fever, Futcher began to write detective novels. If Sherlock Holmes and Father Brown are typical British gentlemen, then the detective described by Futcher is an out-and-out American uncle.The old man's full name is Augustus S. F． X．Van Dusen is a professor at a university.He has more than 20 titles conferred by universities in more than a dozen countries including Britain, France, Germany, Russia, and Spain, including professor of philosophy, professor of law, member of the Royal Society, master of dentistry, etc. The professor was short in stature, with piercing eyes, and his messy hair was never taken care of.The old man's IQ is so unfathomable that he doesn't know how to consider other people's feelings at all.He doesn't have any etiquette, and often interrupts others roughly; "Don't tell me your own judgment, you just tell me the facts, and then do what I say"—this is the story that Van Dusen often talks to what the client said. However, this is understandable, because his logical thinking is too strong and does not need the help of others.In his view, everything can be explained logically.In order to prove this point of view, Professor Van Dusen challenged the world chess champion—he didn't know how to play chess before, and only spent half a day learning the basic rules.As a result of the challenge, the world champion was "put to death" in 30 steps-to be precise, only 15 steps were used, because after 15 steps, the professor said blankly: "After 15 steps, you will be killed by me." Die." Then, the world champion bowed his head and surrendered. "You are not a human being! You are a machine! You are a thinking machine!" the world champion sighed, hence the title "Thinking Machine". "Two plus two equals four, not four most of the time, but always four!"—this is the motto of "Thinking Machine".In the old man's eyes, all appearances are inevitable products of logic.Nothing is inexplicable as long as logic is used.In the world of detectives, there are many detectives with strong thinking, but Professor Fan who is so powerful that he can be called a "thinking machine" is absolutely unprecedented, and I am afraid that there will be hardly any latecomers. In 1905, the first story of the "Thinking Machine" series was published, and it quickly became a classic that cannot be ignored in the history of detective fiction.Subsequently, more than 50 series of works were published one after another, and Van Dusen fever reached its peak. In 1912, Futuier and his wife came to England to discuss the publication of their works.The negotiation went smoothly, and the couple ordered a boat ticket to return to the United States.Unfortunately, their tickets had "RMS Titanic" printed on them - "Royal Cruise Line Titanic". Thus, Jack Futuier suffered the same fate as Jack.His wife was lucky to escape, but he was buried in the cold sea.It is said that several unpublished "Thinking Machine" manuscripts also sank to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. There is no doubt that this is an immeasurable loss in the field of detective fiction.If Professor Van Dusen can continue to shine in the "golden age of novels" in the future, perhaps the entire process of detective novels will be changed by this crazy genius. Thief, blind man, numb critic, CSI originator, God's messenger, Frankenstein... enough, enough!Although there are far more detectives in the "post-Sherlock Holmes" era, I believe readers have already understood the style of detective novels in that era.Moreover, I can guarantee that the gentlemen you know are definitely the most elite members of that "golden age of short stories". The influence of Sherlock Holmes is unimaginable. He directly opened a dream era of "miraculous things happen every day, and detectives go everywhere".So, is this era the best era of detective fiction? To be sure - no! The fun has only just begun.