Sherlock Holmes
We couldn't skimp on one of the most famous fictional detectives in the world, next to Hercule Poirot of course! This post was originally going to be a Folklore Friday before we realised that Sherlock Holmes has shaped an awful lot of history even though he doesn't really exist, and that was when we realised it was equally as valid to have an entire post for him. Holmes, created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, is a consulting detective, a job which was also pretty much created for him. His most recognisable traits are his keen observation skills which is now a coined phrase as Holmesian Deduction, and his bluntness, not to mention his violin playing in the early hours and his drug misuse, but this last one isn't often touched on. He even claims that starving himself during a case refines the mind and helps him to think clearer, but we don't condone that. Sherlock first surfaced in A Study in Scarlet in 1887, but he wasn't popular until his regular slot of short stories...
