The Science of Sherlock Holmes

As well as fiction and non-fiction titles, Stewart Ross has written prize-winning books for children (his book The Story of Scotland won the Saltire Society prize). Stewart Ross has written many books including Solve it Like Sherlock and The First of Everything for Michael O'Mara Books.

Lively and immensely readable, The Science of Sherlock Holmes looks at the advancements in crime-solving and general science from late Victorian times to the modern day.

Over the course of the nineteenth century, the reading public acquired a taste for the new genre of detective fiction. At the same time, science was transforming every aspect of human life. Arthur Conan Doyle, a young doctor and up-and-coming writer, brilliantly wove these two strands together to create detective fiction's most memorable and enduring character: Sherlock Holmes.

Detailed yet eminently readable, The Science of Sherlock Holmes looks at contemporary scientific achievement at the time of writing and how these were employed in the Sherlock stories. The book looks at Holmes' deductive logic and his skills in specific areas: codes, prints, writing, disguise, guns etc. and how these are still used today in the world of criminology. Learn about Holmes's brilliant forensic reasoning and his skills in areas such as prints and marks, handwriting, disguise and weaponry. Discover his encyclopaedic scientific knowledge over an immense field, from botany and poisons to physics and ballistics. See, too, how many of the techniques pioneered by Holmes are still relevant in modern criminal investigation.

A fascinating look at the variety of scientific principles that Arthur Conan Doyle used in his Sherlock Holmes stories. From the theoretical sciences - physics, chemistry, biology, astronomy, psychology - to the practical application of science in medicine, agriculture, communication, transport and technology, Sherlock Holmes used science to outwit the bad guys and bad women in his ongoing battle against crime and corruption.

The incredible story of how Arthur Conan Doyle combined personal experience with the contemporary fascination with criminality and a profound faith in science to create the world's most famous detective: Sherlock Holmes.