When the writer Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930) decided in 1893 to kill off his best-loved character, the consulting detective Sherlock Holmes, he caused a storm of public protest. Holmes, along with his faithful companion Dr Watson, had become a household name and refused to die. Eventually Doyle relented, restored his detective to life and wrote four more immensely popular Holmes books before his own death in 1930. Since then Holmes and Watson have continued to flourish in films, plays, radio and TV productions. Conan Doyle's ice-cold detective, with his endearingly human foibles and weaknesses has proved immortal.

Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson in "The Reigate Squire". This story (Strand Magazine, June 1893) opens with Holmes prostrated with nervous exhaustion and closes on another of his cleverly reasoned triumphs as the slippery Cunningham father and son are arrested for the murder of their coachman.

Sherlock Holmes and Sir Henry in "The Hound of the Baskervilles". The climactic scene from The Hound of the Baskervilles (Strand Magazine, April 1902) is one of the most dramatic in all fiction – the mist down over Dartmoor, the terrified Sir Henry Baskerville sprawled in the heather, the hellish hound with blazing jaws tearing at his throat.

Sherlock Holmes and Lestrade in "The Six Napoleons". By the time of "The Adventure of the Six Napoleons" (Strand Magazine, May 1904), Lestrade has learned to work amicably with the great detective. He breaks out in spontaneous applause when Holmes, in a typical coup de théâtre, smashes the plaster bust of Napoleon with his hunting-crop to reveal the stolen black pearl of the Borgias.

Sherlock Holmes and Mycroft in "The Greek Interpreter". It is in "The Greek Interpreter" (Strand Magazine, September 1893) that Conan Doyle introduces his readers to the detective's brother Mycroft, who helps him to discover the whereabouts of Mr Melas, the Greek interpreter.

Sherlock Holmes and Moriarty in "The Final Problem". In this story (Strand Magazine, December 1893) Holmes, locked in mortal combat with his archenemy, Professor Moriarty, plunges to his apparent death in the Reichenbach Falls.