Stephen Fry credits Sherlock Holmes with changing his life

Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes has been reinvented by writers and performers for nearly as long as the detective has existed, and his appeal continues to cross generations. Stephen Fry reflects on how Holmes became a lasting cultural figure, and says the detective altered the course of his own life.

Holmes first appeared in 1887’s *A Study in Scarlet*, and Conan Doyle went on to write four novels and five collections of short stories, known as the Canon, comprising 60 stories. After Doyle apparently killed Holmes at Reichenbach Falls, public protest helped bring the character back; new stories and adaptations followed, from Basil Rathbone’s films to later versions on stage and screen. Holmes entered the public domain between 2014 and 2023, making further reinterpretations possible.