ABSTRACT
Mickey Mouse and Santa Claus are his only rivals to having the world's most instantly recognizable silhouette. Almost everyone in the literate world knows that a deerstalker cap on the head, a drooping pipe in the mouth, a short-caped overcoat on the shoulders, and a magnifying glass in the hand mean that Sherlock Holmes is afoot. The demand for Sherlock Holmes stories, both original and derivative, has been unrelenting ever since this intellectual action hero first appeared in London's Strand Magazine in 1891. Untold numbers of novels, stage plays, films, radio dramas, and television programs have used the Holmes character both seriously and in parody. However, the following case offers something that has never been seen before: Sherlock Holmes coming to life and taking his place on history's stage.
