If you travel all over the world, whether it is Paris or New York, Tokyo or London, you will see detective novels for sale everywhere in bookstores, station docks, and even in train carriages and airplane cockpits; Newspapers and magazines, you will immediately see eye-catching new book notices of detective novels.Detective fiction has the largest number of readers today.Even those who consider detective stories to be of no literary value still browse through the popular ones.Although a large number of detective novels blindly pursue commercial value, there are still many works that have a certain impact on certain aspects of society.Especially in recent years, detective novels have been gradually combined with political novels to describe espionage activities and political struggles between governments and criminal activities in society. Therefore, its influence on society is gradually expanding.

It is generally believed that Edgar Allan Poe (Edgar Allan Poe, 1809-1849) is the father of detective fiction, and Wilkie Collins (Wilkie Collins, 1824-1889) pushed detective fiction to a new stage.But there is no doubt that Conan Doyle has become the most influential writer of detective novels because of shaping the image of Sherlock Holmes as a detective. Conan Doyle (Arthur Conan Doyle, 1859-1930) was born in Piccadiplasse, near Edinburgh, Scotland. His father was a civil servant in the government's Ministry of Construction.He studied in a missionary school in his youth, and later studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh, and received a doctorate in medicine in 1885.In 1902, he was knighted for his defense of British policy in the South African War.

Conan Doyle had a strong interest in literature.While he was practicing medicine at South West, he was a constant contributor to the Cornhill magazine.He carefully read the works of Edgar Allan Poe, Wilkie Collins and others, and was deeply influenced by them. He not only turned his thoughts to literature, but also paid attention to the science of detectives.Joseph Bell, a surgeon at the University Hospital of Edinburgh, in order to make his explanations lively and interesting, encouraged students to make the necessary judgments by observing and logically deducing patients as they would observe a left-handed cobbler or a sergeant retired from the Highland Regiment.Conan Doyle was greatly inspired and formed a story in his mind: a detective with a high scientific mind encountered a murder case, and the perpetrator disguised himself as a coachman... This story is the first draft.After careful consideration, the detective was named Sherlock Holmes.As a novelist, Conan Doyle realized that his protagonist must have a supporting character and that a storyteller should also be present.In this way, it is described in the form of Dr. Watson's recollection; and it outlines Watson's professional background, laying the groundwork for many side comments in the future.

Conan Doyle's works were not taken seriously at first.After it was completed in April 1886, he first sent it to the editor-in-chief of Cornhill magazine; the reply was "too long for a short story, but too short for a book", and it was not published.Then he sent it to Frederick Vaughan and Arrowsmith, but it was sent back without even reading it.Finally, he sent it to Ward Locke Publishing Company.The company responded a little more positively, saying: "The story cannot be published immediately. If you will leave us the manuscript, we will select it for the Beeton Christmas Annual 1887." It was published seven years ago.

After seeing the novel, the editor of Lippincott's Magazine thought it was well written, and John Conan Doyle went on to write a detective story about Sherlock Holmes.Thus, it came out in 1890.The novel objectively reflects the colonial plunder of India and has achieved great success. At the beginning of 1891, Conan Doyle decided to abandon medicine and pursue literature, specializing in writing.When "A Scandal in Bohemia" was published in The Shore Magazine in July 1891, Sherlock Holmes immediately became a famous figure in English literature.Conan Doyle wrote six short stories in a row: "A Scandal in Bohemia", "The Redheads", "The Case of Identity", "The Boscombe Valley Mystery", "Five Orange Pit", " Crooked Lip Man".These stories aroused great public interest and had a profound impact. Shore Magazine asked Conan Doyle to write more stories like this for them.Conan Doyle's reaction was not positive, asking for a handsome payment of fifty pounds per story. "Seaside Magazine" not only readily agreed, but also demanded that the manuscript be delivered as soon as possible.So Conan Doyle began writing a second batch of stories.The second batch, also of six, was compiled together with the six of the first batch in 1892 and published as A History of Adventure.At the same time, "The Shore Magazine" continued to use Conan Doyle to write Sherlock Holmes detective stories.Conan Doyle deliberately refused, and offered twelve stories to pay £1,000 for the manuscript.But "Seaside Magazine" was eager to write a manuscript, so it readily agreed to his request.In 1892, twelve stories, starting with "The Silver Horse", were published one after another.In 1894, these twelve stories were compiled into "Memoirs" and published.At this point, Conan Doyle was determined to stop writing such stories, so in one dramatic moment Holmes fell into the abyss and drowned, leaving Watson to close The Last Case.

For the death of Sherlock Holmes, readers are not only regretful, but also very angry, and even threaten and abuse the author.In 1901, Conan Doyle heard a friend tell the Dartmoor legend, and he conceived a fantastic story about a family being chased by a ghostly hound, and decided to use it as an early exploration of Sherlock Holmes. story.This was published in 1902; it revived the hope of Sherlock Holmes in readers and publishers alike.In 1903, Conan Doyle used his rich knowledge to escape Holmes in the story "The Empty House", thus starting another set of stories, titled "The Return", which was published in 1905.After that, he wrote three sets of stories (1915) (1917) and "New Detective" (1927).

From 1928 to 1929, the entire story about Sherlock Holmes was published in the UK in two volumes, short and long.Since all the stories take Sherlock Holmes as the central character, these works are collectively called "The Complete Works of Detective Sherlock Holmes". Decades have passed, and the image of Sherlock Holmes is still vivid in people's minds; "The Complete Works of Detective Sherlock Holmes" has been republished continuously in Europe and America, some of which have been reprinted more than 50 times; the image of Sherlock Holmes is still worshiped by many people, some Avid readers will even look for remnants of the fictional Baker Street.What is the reason?

First of all, Holmes is a flesh-and-blood figure, and he appears in real life down-to-earth.He traveled in the familiar carriage or train, haunted the London fog in November, stayed in the well-known hotels, read the Daily Telegraph and other popular newspapers, and communicated with people from all walks of life Contact... makes it easy for the reader to believe that he is a member of the social reality and feel authentic and memorable. The novel describes his family and personal experiences.He is a descendant of a country gentleman, and his grandmother is the younger sister of the French painter Horace Vernay, so he was familiar with Vernay's paintings since he was a child, and learned about the social customs of two generations ago, which explains why he can adapt to rural life , familiar with the country scene, and never misses any opportunity for French cases.

Holmes has a superb detective talent, which is the result of his continuous learning, research and practice.He specially rented a house on Baker Street close to the British Museum, where he used all materials and opportunities to study the experience and science of detectives, developed the habit of being good at thinking, and mastered the correct way of thinking.Therefore, the various detectives he conducted were logical and reasonable; his explanations and judgments on various cases were well-done, making it easy for people to accept and believe. The structure of the novel is tight, with every detail, ups and downs, and fascinating.It constantly raises various questions from various aspects, attracting readers to seek answers, and can't bear to put them down.This technique is somewhat similar to Chinese chapter novels, and it is also a technique commonly used in today's detective novels.Novels often use thrilling plots to stimulate readers' emotions and make readers feel horrible, but they can't stop, thus leaving a deep impression on them.

In addition, Holmes' various investigations involved the social reality of Britain at that time, highlighting the problems of morality, crime and colonialism.Murder for money, adultery and murder, treachery, domineering, plundering, robbers committing crimes, traitors rampaging...all are reflected in the novel.The works condemn all kinds of crimes and immoral behaviors, promote humanitarianism, good and evil are rewarded, and the idea that the law cannot escape, very cater to the psychology of the general public and arouse their resonance.To a certain extent, this can be said to be the social significance of the novel.

It should be noted that many of Holmes' investigations are cases of disease.This is of course closely related to Conan Doyle's work as a doctor, and also reflects the development of medicine, chemistry and biology at that time.In Sherlock Holmes's apartment in Baker Street, "the walls are covered with scientific diagrams. A table used for chemical experiments, which has been stained with black spots by acid", is an expression of this.Conan Doyle combines pathology with detective cases, which not only expands the content of detective novels, but also objectively provides readers with certain cognitive value. In short, Holmes is a very successful typical character.The detective experience and methods reflected in him still have a certain reference value; some police schools in Europe and the United States still often use some cases of Sherlock Holmes as models for examination questions or case analysis.To sum up, there are generally the following points: 1. Holmes attaches great importance to investigation and research.Almost without exception, he has to go to the scene to conduct a careful investigation of the cases he undertakes, even if it is an unburned paper ball or the shape of a lantern, he will not let go of it.He is good at analyzing cases from various aspects, "using his thoughts calmly, just like a good chess player moves his pieces with forethought." On the basis of analysis and research, he puts forward certain hypotheses, raises contradictions and problems , with these contradictions and problems, further in-depth investigation, and then carefully study, analyze the case, and solve the problem. 2. Holmes treats the case with extreme enthusiasm and seriousness.He often does not avoid hardships and dangers, forgets to eat and sleep, goes deep into the tiger's den, investigates the case, sometimes visits the thief's den late at night, and sometimes even performs poison gas experiments on himself.He carefully observes the characters' mannerisms and facial expressions, and carefully understands the surrounding environment, people's reactions, newspaper news and advertisements.Even the furnishings of the furniture and the chirping of poultry and livestock, he also considers it in connection with the facts of the case.Because of this, his judgment on the facts of the case can list convincing factual basis. 3. Sherlock Holmes is good at using psychology and logic.He observes people's psychological activities, closely links psychological activities with evidence materials, conducts careful logical reasoning, sorts out the context of the case, grasps the essentials, conducts sufficient research, and then makes a judgment.In addition, Holmes pays great attention to collecting and accumulating materials, from various cases to newspapers and magazines, as long as the case needs, he can refer to them at his fingertips.He also conducted necessary study and research on criminology and forensic science, and constantly expanded his knowledge, which also played a very beneficial role in his crime-solving activities. Sherlock Holmes' experience and methods of investigating cases still have certain reference significance for our public security and judicial work today. However, Sherlock Holmes is not a real detective, and the novel does not specifically summarize his life's investigative experience, so there are many fictional elements in Holmes.This is mainly manifested in mysticism.Almost all stories have "the mark of the devil".Especially in the works after "Return", this defect is more obvious.It seems that "changes in face, changes in eyes, closing of lips, clenching or loosening of fists" can all correctly judge a person's thought activities and judge the cause and effect of a case.To a certain extent, this reflects that the author has lost the enthusiasm for creating such stories, and only created them based on subjective imagination in pursuit of satisfying the wishes of publishers and readers.This is why Conan Doyle's works after 1902 are not as successful as his previous works.In addition, the author promotes Holmes' personal investigative ability everywhere, as if he is an omnipotent genius in detecting cases; the detection of all cases seems to be single-handed and entirely personal.And in his later works, he can often make correct judgments on various cases with his own imagination.Such isolated and subjectivist factors are undoubtedly not desirable. In "The Complete Works of Sherlock Holmes", although Conan Doyle involves crimes in society and objectively reflects some social conditions at that time, after all, he does not consciously describe social reality and raise moral and crime issues in society. He just borrows these questions (or makes up some of them) to create a compelling story.As the western critic Goldsmith said: "A book can have hundreds of fallacies, but it is very interesting." Therefore, Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes lacks profound and real social significance.However, the artistic skills of Conan Doyle's detective novels have had a considerable impact on later.Using Watson's method of reminiscing and directly participating in the detective makes people feel as comfortable as listening to a story; combining actions with knowledge and making logical reasoning makes people feel authentic and credible; Detective novels draw on. Although the orthodox literary history does not pay much attention to Conan Doyle and his detective novels, but with the continuous popularity and development of European and American detective novels, in recent years, some western critics have begun to make a new evaluation of him.Conan Doyle, as an important early writer of detective novels, and detective novels, as a literary genre popular in Europe and America, should occupy a proper place in the history of literature. Wang Fengzhen January 1979

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