Myth and Modern Man in Sherlock Holmes: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and the Uses of Nostalgia

Bloomington, Indiana: Gaslight Publications, 1992. CE4 - A first edition (same date) hardcover book in very good condition in good dust jacket. Dust jacket has wrinkling, chipping, crease and small tears and taped tears on the edges and corners, some scattered scratches, scuffing, and rubbing, tanning and light shelf wear. Book has some bumped corners, light discoloration and shelf wear. For more than a hundred years, critics, scholars and the whole spectrum of readers have been pleasantly mystified by the enduring popularity of Sherlock Holmes. Why is an eccentric, pipe-smoking Victorian detective the greatest fictional character of all time? Myth and Modern Man in Sherlock Holmes answers this question at long last with a thoughtful assessment of Conan Doyle's place in history. As social and technological developments propelled his generation into the modern world, human experience became characterized by unceasing change, amoral and directionless. Many thinkers recognized the modernist phenomenon, but it was Conan Doyle who created a character who spoke directly to the fears and needs of his day. Historian David S. Payne discusses the ways in which crime, class, race, religion gender roles, scientific progress and the crisis of rationalism all converged in Sherlock and the loyal Doctor Watson to produce a popular mythology that will never cease to be relevant. 9.5"x6.5", 311 pages. Satisfaction Guaranteed. Sherlock Holmes is a fictional private detective created by British author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a "consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science, and logical reasoning that borders on the fantastic, which he employs when investigating cases for a wide variety of clients, including Scotland Yard. First appearing in print in 1887's A Study in Scarlet, the character's popularity became widespread with the first series of short stories in The Strand Magazine, beginning with "A Scandal in Bohemia" in 1891; additional tales appeared from then until 1927, eventually totalling four novels and 56 short stories. All but one are set in the Victorian or Edwardian eras, between about 1880 and 1914. Most are narrated by the character of Holmes's friend and biographer Dr. John H. Watson, who usually accompanies Holmes during his investigations and often shares quarters with him at the address of 221B Baker Street, London, where many of the stories begin. Though not the first fictional detective, Sherlock Holmes is arguably the best known. By the 1990s there were already over 25,000 stage adaptations, films, television productions and publications featuring the detective, and Guinness World Records lists him as the most portrayed literary human character in film and television history. Holmes's popularity and fame are such that many have believed him to be not a fictional character but a real individual; numerous literary and fan societies have been founded on this pretense. Avid readers of the Holmes stories helped create the modern practice of fandom. The character and stories have had a profound and lasting effect on mystery writing and popular culture as a whole, with the original tales as well as thousands written by authors other than Conan Doyle being adapted into stage and radio plays, television, films, video games, and other media for over one hundred years. . First Edition. Hardcover. Very Good/Good. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall.