One possible reason is that 'most of the translations have in truth been partial rewritings of those original stories reconfigured to suit the local context' (9). As a result, global readers and audiences are drawn into a sentimental imagining of a past that has never been their own. Dwelling on the early success of Sherlock Holmes in Russia (the first foreign translation, in 1893) and recent vogue in Japan (the 2018 series, Miss Sherlock), McCaw writes:ĭoyle fashioned an eternally desirable time and place that inherently exploits a nostalgia that seemingly transcends cultural and linguistic boundaries, appealing even to those non-English peoples for whom such a Victorian world has no presence in their historical memory. McCaw draws from a UNESCO report of 2018, Index Translationum, to indicate that by that year the total reached 1,170 translations – 'more than the number of translations of any single Shakespeare play' or 'the famed international icons James Bond (278) and Harry Potter (731)' (2). Remarkably, this 'life of its own,' far from being confined to the British Isles, has now become a global phenomenon. The 'Dictionary' proper, organised in the classic A-Z way, is accompanied by an academic critical apparatus of the highest interest, the most innovative element being the 13-page 'Introduction' which strives to discover and explain why Sherlock Holmes 'has transcended his stories and taken on a life of its own' (2). Professor McCaw, who teaches Victorian Literature and Culture at the University of Winchester, has just produced an eminently readable compendium on 'the most portrayed human character' ( Guinness World Records, 2012, qtd. You may use the images without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the photographer or source and (2) link your document to this URL or credit the Victorian Web in a print document. The original text has been reformatted and illustrated for the Victorian Web by Jacqueline Banerjee. Online inter-disciplinary journal Cercles, where the review wasįirst published. This review is reproduced here by kind permission of Professor Capet and the

Review sherlock miss