Sherlock Holmes and the Law

When a person has solved an enigmatic mystery by creating a connection between a series of seemengly unrelated and inexplicable events, we often say admiringly: "Well I must say you are a real Sherlock Holmes!"The name alone has become synonymous with brilliant acumen.

The private detective Sherlock Holmes was created by the English author Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930), who from 1887 to 1927 wrote 4 novels and 56 short stories about him, collectively known as the Conan. Of these, "The Hound of the Baskervilles" is the most famous, and it has time and again been named the world's best crime novel, just as Holmes has been hailed as the world's greatest detective.

"Sherlock Holmes and the Law" is about the relationship between crime and punishment. The whole of the Conan is reviewed with this issue in mind. When Holmes has uncovered a culprit, he as a general rule hands him over to the police. Sometimes, however, he makes an exception, in that he either punishes the guilty himself or lets him escape further prosecution. Ultimately, he puts his own sense of justice above English law, and he does so based on his inner moral compass. To find out about, describe and understand this compass is the task and goal of this book.

In addition, "Sherlock Holmes and the Law" also contains a section on Arthur Conan Doyle's life, an overview of the Conan, a description of Holmes and Watson's personalities and friendship, an introduction to Holmes' working method and his relationship with the police.



Henrik Fibæk Jensen (born 1954). A Danish writer. Master of Arts in Danish, history and philosophy from Aarhus University. He has written books about the authors Johannes Buchholtz, Jeppe Aakjær, Søren Kierkegaard and Hans Peter Kofoed-Hansen, the private detective Sherlock Holmes, the robber Jens Langkniv (a Danish Robin Hood-figure), and the serial killer John Christie. In addition magazine articles about Hans Scherfig, N.F.S. Grundtvig, Jack the Ripper, Emil Boesen and local history subjects from the Skive region in Jutland, Denmark.