Of course, Holmes is not exactly hard-boiled. In fact, he epitomizes the kind of character the early hard-boiled writers were reacting against.
Nevertheless, he is, without doubt, the most famous and popular character in our genre (if not our sub-genre), and, since William F. Buckley has come up on the periphery of another thread, I thought I might point out a very fine article on Holmes and his creator, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, that was published in the December issue of the magazine Buckley started, NATIONAL REVIEW. Written by Thoedore Dalrymple to coincide with the release of the recent movie, it explores the enduring popularity Holmes, and the essential decency of Sir Arthur.
It's also available on NATIONAL REVIEW's website, and you can find it here:
http://nrd.nationalreview.com/article/?q=MWRlMGYwN2I0YjdkZDY1MWM5ODk1NjJmYzM0YTc2ZTU=
if you're interested.
JIM DOHERTY
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