# Mycroft Holmes — His Last Bow character guide

> Mycroft Holmes in His Last Bow by Arthur Conan Doyle.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Mycroft, Brother Mycroft

**First appearance:** 0006-the-adventure-of-the-bruce-partington-plans

## Snapshot

Sherlock's elder brother, a sedentary government functionary who occasionally is the British government, and whose rare visits to Baker Street signal a crisis beyond ordinary crime.

## Who they are

Mycroft draws four hundred and fifty pounds a year, holds no title, and has no ambition, yet his mind is the central clearinghouse through which every department's conclusions pass. He is the most indispensable man in the country and knows it, but he rarely stirs from his club and never takes a case himself. When he descends on Baker Street over the Cadogan West affair, his uncharacteristic urgency tells Sherlock that something truly grave has happened.

## Relationships

### [Sherlock Holmes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/his_last_bow_se/characters/sherlock_holmes)

_family_

Mycroft is Sherlock's older brother, with a close but formal familial bond and occasional professional collaboration.

### [Sherlock Holmes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/his_last_bow_se/characters/sherlock_holmes)

_family_

Mycroft is Sherlock's older brother, with a close but formal familial bond and occasional professional collaboration.

### [Sherlock Holmes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/his_last_bow_se/characters/sherlock_holmes)

_family_

Mycroft is Sherlock's older brother, with a close but formal familial bond and occasional professional collaboration.

## In the story

### [The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/his_last_bow_se/chapters/the-adventure-of-the-bruce-partington-plans)

Visits Baker Street to enlist Sherlock's help in the Cadogan West case, described as the most indispensable man in the country.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/his_last_bow_se/characters/mycroft_holmes
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/his_last_bow_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/his_last_bow_se/characters