Why is Sherlock Holmes a classic?

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The Sherlock Holmes stories have been popular since they were first published in 1885. They have been the inspiration for other detective stories, such as Agatha Christrie's Hercule Poirot stories, and what literary folks call parodies of Sherlock Holmes and pastiches (books written in the style of), such as August Derleth's Solar Pons stories.

Sherlock Holmes has 'brand recognition'. See a deerstalker cap and a magnifying glass and you think 'Sherlock Holmes' A keen detective (usually a private detective) is called 'a Sherlock'. Other fictional detectives and the merits of their stories are compared to Holmes and the merits of the stories Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote about him.

Does Holmes' popularity make him a literary classic? Some say yes. Some say no, usually because they say that 'detective fiction' has no literary merit. I think he is a classic, because his stories set a standard in mystery fiction.

And Sir Arthur's Holmes stories have not been out of print. In fact so many people have written Sherlock Holmes stories or used Sherlock to advertise their products that he and his heirs could have hired armies of copyright lawyers over the century to protect his creation and he and they would be fabulously rich.

First answer by Marylinusca. Last edit by Marylinusca. Contributor trust: 1 [recommend contributorrecommended]. Question popularity: 2 [recommend question].