The Great Detective: The Amazing Rise and Immortal Life of Sherlock Holmes

“Fascinating.” — Boston Globe

“Entertaining.” — Globe and Mail

“Impressive.” — Washington Post

“For all who enjoy the company of Sherlock Holmes, in any of his many forms, reading Dundas’s book will be hours well spent.” — Los Angeles Review of Books

More than a century after Sherlock Holmes first capered into our world, Arthur Conan Doyle’s peculiar creation continues to fascinate us, and in The Great Detective, journalist and lifelong Sherlock fan Zach Dundas sets out to learn why. Through sparkling new readings of the original stories, he unearths the inspirations behind Holmes and his indispensable companion, Dr. John Watson, and reveals how Conan Doyle’s tales laid the groundwork for an infinitely remixable myth. This investigation leads Dundas on travels into the heart of the Holmesian universe, from a Fifth Avenue mansion and the boozy annual gathering of one of the world’s most exclusive Sherlock fan societies; to a freezing Devon heath out of The Hound of the Baskervilles; to sunny Pasadena, where Dundas chats with the creators of the BBC’s Sherlock and finagles a cameo appearance by Benedict Cumberbatch himself. Along the way, Dundas discovers and celebrates the ingredients that have made Holmes go viral — then, now, and as long as the game’s afoot.

“[A] sprightly, riveting exploration.” — Mental Floss

“Incisive, well informed, and slyly witty (like Holmes himself).” — Shelf Awareness, starred review