Famous Fictional Detectives
Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Doyle wrote
four novels and fifty-six short stories about the detective. The first novel was published in
1887. Holmes is thought of as the most famous detective in English literature. He is best
known for using his clever powers of observation and reasoning to solve difficult cases.
With the help of his good friend and assistant, Dr. John Watson, Holmes worked out of
his apartment at 221B Baker Street in London. Dr. Watson narrates all but four of the
stories about Holmes. Sherlock Holmes was an instant hit when Doyle created the
detective. He is still so popular that he’s often mistaken for a real person. Among the
most famous Holmes stories are “A Study in Scarlet” (the first Sherlock Holmes story,
1887) and “The Hound of the Baskervilles” (1902).
Dr. John Watson is Sherlock Holmes’s best friend and biographer in Sir Arthur Conan
Doyle’s famous mysteries. He is also the narrator for most of Doyle’s stories. In “A Study
in Scarlet”, Watson describes how he and Holmes met, as well as their adventures at 221B
Baker Street in London, where they lived together at the end of the 1800s. Watson has
some experience as a doctor and served with the military in Afghanistan. He sometimes
tries to solve cases on his own, but without Holmes’s detective skills, he doesn’t have
much success.
Nancy Drew is an 18-year-old fictional amateur detective and the star of the Nancy Drew
Mystery Stories, a series of mystery novels for kids and teens. The first book in the series,
“The Secret of the Old Clock”, was published in April 1930. All of the stories are
ghostwritten under the name Carolyn Keene, though many different authors actually
wrote the books. Nancy’s mother died when she was three. She lives with her father,
Carson Drew, who is a well-known lawyer in the town of River Heights. Their
housekeeper, Hannah Gruen, also lives with them. Nancy doesn’t attend school or have
a job. Instead, she spends her time solving mysteries. Her two best friends, Bess Marvin
and Georgia “George” Fayne, who are cousins, and her boyfriend, Ned Nickerson, often
help her. In addition to the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories, Nancy also appears in several
other series, including Nancy Drew Girl Detective, Nancy Drew Files, and Nancy Drew on
Campus. In 2007, she made the move to the big screen in “Nancy Drew”, starring Emma
Roberts.
Sam Spade
Sam Spade is the detective hero in Dashiell Hammett’s novel “The Maltese Falcon”. He
is a partner in the Archer and Spade Detective Agency in San Francisco. There are also
several movie adaptations of “The Maltese Falcon”. The most famous one stars Humphrey
Bogart as Spade. This is the only novel in which Spade appears, but that hasn’t
stopped him from becoming one of the best-known examples of a tough-guy private eye.
Perry Mason
Perry Mason is a defense attorney and main character in a series of detective stories
created by author Erle Stanley Gardner. Mason is featured in more than 80 novels
and short stories. Most of the plots revolve around Mason’s client being put on
trial for murder. He is always able to prove his client’s innocence in the courtroom,
typically by proving another character’s guilt. In addition to Gardner’s books, Perry
Mason appeared on a long-running CBS radio series, which ran from 1943-1955, as
well as multiple TV series (1957-1966), and more than 25 made-for-TV movies.