# Sherlock Holmes — The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes character guide > Sherlock Holmes in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle. **Role:** major **Also known as:** Holmes, Mr. Sherlock Holmes, Mr. Holmes, the celebrated Mr. Sherlock Holmes, Holmes the sleuthhound, Master Holmes **First appearance:** 0000-a-scandal-in-bohemia ## Snapshot A consulting detective who treats crime as an exact science, he can dissolve into any disguise and read a stranger's life from a glance. ## Who they are Holmes lives among tobacco ash, violin strings, and old books at Baker Street, taking cases the official police have abandoned and answering to no one but his own restless intellect. He scorns the softer passions as grit in a sensitive instrument, yet his cool precision is shadowed by weeks of cocaine and lethargy between investigations. When a scandal threatens a royal crown, his failure to outguess one clever woman becomes the measure by which he judges every case that follows. ## Relationships ### [Godfrey Norton](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_adventures_of_sherlock_holmes/characters/godfrey_norton) _professional_ Norton is a client of Holmes who seeks his help in a sensitive matter. ### [Lady Clara St. Simon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_adventures_of_sherlock_holmes/characters/lady_clara_st_simon) _professional_ Lady Clara is a client whose mysterious disappearance Holmes investigates. ### [Lord St. Simon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_adventures_of_sherlock_holmes/characters/lord_st_simon) _professional_ Lord St. Simon is a client who hires Holmes to find his missing bride. ### [Sir George Burnwell](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_adventures_of_sherlock_holmes/characters/sir_george_burnwell) _rivalry_ Holmes investigates and exposes Burnwell as a blackmailer and thief. ### [Inspector Lestrade](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_adventures_of_sherlock_holmes/characters/inspector_lestrade) _professional_ Lestrade is a Scotland Yard inspector who is a professional rival but sometimes collaborates with Holmes. ### [Irene Adler](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_adventures_of_sherlock_holmes/characters/irene_adler) _rivalry_ Adler outwits Holmes in a case, earning his lasting admiration and respect. ### [Colonel Openshaw](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_adventures_of_sherlock_holmes/characters/colonel_openshaw) _professional_ Colonel Openshaw is a client whose family curse Holmes investigates. ### [Mr. Merryweather](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_adventures_of_sherlock_holmes/characters/mr_merryweather) _professional_ Merryweather is a bank director who collaborates with Holmes to catch a criminal. ### [John Openshaw](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_adventures_of_sherlock_holmes/characters/john_openshaw) _professional_ John Openshaw is a client who brings his uncle's mysterious case to Holmes. ### [Godfrey Norton](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_adventures_of_sherlock_holmes/characters/godfrey_norton) _professional_ Norton is a client of Holmes who seeks his help in a sensitive matter. ### [Lord St. Simon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_adventures_of_sherlock_holmes/characters/lord_st_simon) _professional_ Lord St. Simon is a client who hires Holmes to find his missing bride. ### [Lady Clara St. Simon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_adventures_of_sherlock_holmes/characters/lady_clara_st_simon) _professional_ Lady Clara is a client whose mysterious disappearance Holmes investigates. ## In the story ### [A Scandal in Bohemia](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_adventures_of_sherlock_holmes/chapters/a-scandal-in-bohemia) Hired by the King, employs deduction and disguise to investigate Irene Adler, but is ultimately outmaneuvered by her, earning his lasting admiration. ### [A Scandal in Bohemia](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_adventures_of_sherlock_holmes/chapters/i) Holmes is reintroduced as the ultimate 'reasoning and observing machine,' who is deeply affected only by Irene Adler. He is shown alternating between cocaine and ambition. He demonstrates his deductive method to Watson and prepares to take the King of Bohemia's case. ### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_adventures_of_sherlock_holmes/chapters/ii) Disguises himself as a drunken groom to investigate Briony Lodge, then orchestrates and participates in the street brawl and fire alarm ruse to discover the photograph's location. ### [A Scandal in Bohemia: Chapter III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_adventures_of_sherlock_holmes/chapters/iii) Is visibly stunned by Adler's flight and letter. Requests her portrait as his reward, showing deep admiration. His plans are explicitly 'beaten by a woman's wit.' ### [The Redheaded League](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_adventures_of_sherlock_holmes/chapters/the-redheaded-league) Engaged by Jabez Wilson; demonstrates his deductive method and begins investigating the strange case. ### [A Case of Identity](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_adventures_of_sherlock_holmes/chapters/a-case-of-identity) Expounds on the strangeness of reality, deduces the stepfather's deception, and confronts Windibank. Shows his method of observation and discretion in handling the client's feelings. ### [The Boscombe Valley Mystery](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_adventures_of_sherlock_holmes/chapters/the-boscombe-valley-mystery) Transforms into a hunter at the crime scene, meticulously analyzing footprints. Expresses confidence in James McCarthy's innocence after hearing Alice Turner's story. ### [The Five Orange Pips](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_adventures_of_sherlock_holmes/chapters/the-five-orange-pips) Moodily cross-indexing crime records. Listens to Openshaw's story, deduces the K.K.K. connection, and gives urgent advice. Later discusses his method of reasoning and his limits of knowledge with Watson. ### [The Man with the Twisted Lip](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_adventures_of_sherlock_holmes/chapters/the-man-with-the-twisted-lip) Disguised as an old opium addict to investigate the disappearance of Neville St. Clair. He reveals the den is a murder trap and identifies the suspect Hugh Boone. ### [The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_adventures_of_sherlock_holmes/chapters/the-adventure-of-the-blue-carbuncle) Demonstrates masterful deduction from a hat, traces a lost goose, recovers a stolen gem, and shows unexpected mercy to the culprit. ### [The Adventure of the Speckled Band](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_adventures_of_sherlock_holmes/chapters/the-adventure-of-the-speckled-band) Awakens Watson early for a client, demonstrates his deductive reasoning with Helen Stoner, confronts Dr. Roylott's intimidation, investigates Stoke Moran, and solves the murder method, admitting an initial error in reasoning. ### [The Adventure of the Engineer’s Thumb](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_adventures_of_sherlock_holmes/chapters/the-adventure-of-the-engineer-s-thumb) Listens to Hatherley's story with a weary, veiled expression, deduces the location of the house from the mud on Hatherley's clothes, and leads the investigation to the scene, where he analyzes the evidence of the crime and the escape. ### [The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_adventures_of_sherlock_holmes/chapters/the-adventure-of-the-noble-bachelor) Receives the case from Lord St. Simon, humorously critiques Lestrade's methods, and focuses on the hotel bill clue. ### [The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_adventures_of_sherlock_holmes/chapters/the-adventure-of-the-beryl-coronet) Takes the case of the missing beryls. Calms the distraught banker, conducts a meticulous examination of the crime scene at Holder's home, and then disguises himself as a common loafer to pursue an outside investigation. ### [The Adventure of the Copper Beeches](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_adventures_of_sherlock_holmes/chapters/the-adventure-of-the-copper-beeches) Debates the artistic merit of Watson's case records, feeling they focus too much on sensation over logic. He is initially dismissive of Miss Hunter's case but becomes intensely engaged, deducing the sinister plot at the Copper Beeches. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_adventures_of_sherlock_holmes/characters/sherlock_holmes - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_adventures_of_sherlock_holmes - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_adventures_of_sherlock_holmes/characters