The (Perpetual) Return of Sherlock Holmes

Nineteenth-century literature is crawling with characters that just won't die.

The Headless Horseman forever stalks the hamlet of Sleepy Hollow. The protagonist of The Tell-Tale Heart is tormented by the still-beating heart of his victim under the floorboards - or at least thinks he is. There's the ageless, homicidal Dorian Gray, and evil Lord Ruthven, the original "vampyre". Most immortally of all, there are Dracula and the eternal child Peter Pan (if we stretch it to 1903).

Sherlock Holmes, however, is in a league of his own.

Despite plunging over a waterfall to his death in 1893, Holmes came back - and since then he's kept repeating like a dodgy curry. There have been countless film and television productions, with and without deerstalker and pipe, and we now have the joy of not one but two screen adaptations at once. This month the second Sherlock Holmes film starring Robert Downey Jr was released on DVD, as well as the second series of Sherlock, with Benedict Cumberbatch. I thought it was impossible to replace Robert in my affections. I was wrong. I would listen to Benedict Cumberbatch read our workplace safety manual. I'd listen to him read it in Danish.

The best thing about these adaptations is that they're not stuck - so to speak - in the past. The original Holmes is a great character, but let's face it, he doesn't grow any more than Peter Pan. For all we see of his inner life, he might as well be Rupert Bear. That's why it's so fascinating how much of a hold he's had on the popular imagination all through the years, and why it's great to see so many new interpretations, keeping his character fresh. A ridiculous ninety-five titles relating to Sherlock Holmes have appeared in Auckland Libraries in the past 18 months. And apparently we haven't reached saturation point yet.

You may already have come across the Mary Russell novels (she's Sherlock's wife) by Laurie R King, but there are also teen series by Andrew Lane and Shane Peacock, a junior graphic novel series by Murray Shaw, a Japanese manga called Young Miss Holmes and....wait for it...Muppet Sherlock Holmes.

So if, like the rest of the world, you can't get enough Sherlock, this list is for you.

Victorian Undead II: Sherlock Holmes vs. Dracula

This (rather) graphic novel follows Victorian Undead: Sherlock Holmes vs Zombies, in which Moriarty decides to use a zombie plague against the British government. Now Dracula decides London might be a good place to settle, and our super-sleuth is forced to intervene. No third instalment has been announced as yet, but one can only assume there will be robots or aliens involved. Lamentably popular.

The Baker Street Phantom - Fabrice Bourland

In the spring of 1932, with Londoners terrorised by a series of brutal murders, the private detective agency of Messrs. Singleton and Trelawney quietly opens its doors in Bloomsbury. The first person to call on their services is a worried Lady Arthur Conan Doyle. She tells of mysterious events at 221 Baker Street - and a premonition that the London murders signal terrible danger for mankind. Their investigation will take our intrepid heroes into a world of seances and spirits. Is someone really haunting Baker Street, or is it a hoax? And who is murdering Londoners in the style of the great literary villains? Reads just like a real 1930s mystery.

Sherlock Holmes and the Swedish Enigma - Barry Grant

Following The Strange Return of Sherlock Holmes and Sherlock Holmes and the Shakespeare Letter, Holmes is in top form, fully recovered from being frozen in a glacier until the present day. . .A corpse in a sarcophagus, a headless macaw, and a stolen slice of Black Forest gateau alert Sherlock Holmes to a macabre international crime in progress, and lead him through London's backstreets to the gloomy moors of Cornwall. People vanish, Greek statues vanish. Even Holmes vanishes - to the distress of his companion, James Wilson, whose emails and text messages go unanswered. Is this finally the end for Holmes?

House of Silk - Anthony Horowitz

The most hyped new Sherlock Holmes novel in ages, House of Silk feels like authentic Conan Doyle. November 1890. An agitated gentleman arrives unannounced at 221b Baker Street, telling the story of a scar-faced man with piercing eyes who has stalked him in recent weeks. Holmes and Watson find themselves swiftly drawn into a series of puzzling and sinister events, stretching from London to the criminal underworld of Boston. As the pair delve deeper into the case, they stumble across a whispered phrase 'the House of Silk': a mysterious foe more deadly than any Holmes has encountered, and a conspiracy that threatens to tear apart the very fabric of society... 

A Brief History of Sherlock Holmes - Nigel Cawthorne

As this post illustrates, there are so many stories out there featuring the great detective. But how much do we really know? This is billed as "the complete guide to the world's most famous detective", detailing the history of the character, from conception to his resurrection after his untimely death. Also included is a biography of author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, providing context for this timeless character. Cawthorne covers everything from the short stories to the film adaptations and why Holmes is such an enduring popular figure.

Sherlock Holmes in New York (DVD)

Holmes meets Bond in this 70s film starring Roger Moore. Sherlock Holmes is lured to New York by his arch nemesis Moriarty under the guise that something sinister has happened to Holmes' former flame, Irene Adler. Moriarty plans to commit the crime of the century - a crime that will occur under Holmes' very nose - and he will be powerless to stop it. When the villainous scoundrel makes good on his promise by quietly robbing the world's gold reserves from a high-security bank vault, why is Holmes refusing to put his remarkable deductive powers to use? Has Moriarty indeed pulled off the crime of the century?

The Moriarty Papers - Viv Croot

Compiled by Moriarty's lieutenant, Colonel Sebastian Moran, these documents claim to reveal the truth about Holmes's favourite antagonist. The infamous Professor James Moriarty is a brooding presence in all of the adventures of celebrated British detective Sherlock Holmes. So who exactly was he? A power-crazed mathematician, as described by Arthur Conan Doyle? Or the public face of an underground brotherhood? Read this and you'll know.

Unless of course Moriarty is tricking us again. Just sayin'.

The Secret Archives of Sherlock Holmes - June Thomson

Dr Watson supposedly wrote these previously unpublished adventures. You can find out more here: http://www.johnhwatsonmd.com/the-secret-archives-of-sherlock-holmes/. Meanwhile, enjoy such strange circumstances as: a mysterious veiled lady carries a counterfeit painting into an art dealer's office. A widow with three hands slips out of a church door. A farmer lies dead in a barn, his son accused of his murder. A skeleton with a silver locket is unearthed in a back garden. These tales also feature some old enemies from the past, figures left behind in the mists of the Reichenbach Falls.

The London of Sherlock Holmes - John Christopher

A description of London as it was in Sherlock's time, complete with a guide to places of interest. Did you know that 221B Baker Street did not exist until the 1930s? Conan Doyle didn't want anyone to be embarrassed by having a fictional hero living at their address, so he put Holmes somewhere that didn't exist. It wasn't until 1932, when Upper Baker Street and an adjoining lane were renamed Baker Street (leading to a renumbering of the houses), that 221 became a real address. If you read The Baker Street Phantom you'll find out all about it!

The Holmes Affair - Graham Moore

As the world mourns the demise of Sherlock Holmes, Conan Doyle has a new preoccupation. A chance encounter sets him on the trail of a brutal killer targeting suffragettes. Together with Bram Stoker, he roams the streets of Victorian London searching for clues. And in present-day New York, Harold White's lifelong obsession with Sherlock Holmes turns into something far more sinister. The world's leading Doyle scholar is found murdered in his hotel room, and only Harold is familiar enough with the Holmes novels to recognise the clues the killer has left. Clues which will lead him not only to a murderer, but also to Conan Doyle's missing diary - and a secret that Conan Doyle risked everything to hide.

Success Secrets of Sherlock Holmes - David Acord

It's a sign of how far the obsession with Holmes has gone that there are now inspirational guides on how to emulate his success in your own life. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle funneled much of his real-life genius-and the brilliance of others around him-into Sherlock Holmes, creating a character greater than the sum of his parts. In this quirky and intriguing look at the traits that made Sherlock Holmes successful, David Acord explores how to unleash our own genius. I really hope there's nothing about injecting yourself with cocaine or learning the violin.

Believe me, there's plenty more where these came from, so if these don't sate your appetite, try a subject search for Sherlock Holmes on our website. Happy hunting.