London in the era of Queen Victoria was a captivating place to live. Flickering gas lamps lit the foul streets, casting ghostly shadows. Prostitution, drug abuse and murder where commonplace. There was much poverty and ill health; poor people lived in cramped, dirty and squalid conditions. Public hangings were frequent and Victorian people feared crime greatly. Crimes were rife in the slums of London. smog caused by factories weighed heavily on the city, creating a dark and lifeless place .At this time an infamous murder , Jack the ripper , was loose on the streets of London, attacking women he knifed and ruthlessly murdered prostitutes , often sending body parts to the police force to show of his crimes. Sherlock Holmes has become one of the most celebrated and fictional detectives the world has ever known. When Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes, surfaces in 1887 the Victorians immediately fell for the fictional character as they liked the fact that he cracked every case and always defeated evil.
Another reason that the books have remained so popular is the humour that the writer uses in the stories to lighten the mood and relieve the tension. An example of this is in the story of “The Speckled Band” when we are told that Holmes is crawling around on the floor with his magnifying glass. This projects a funny image to the reader and serves to break up the tension, which at the time is very high. Another example of this is “Is to copy out the Encyclopaedia Britannica”. This is the only work Jabez Wilson has to do. It is funny because the task seems so boring. Another funny part was in “the red headed league” where Sherlock describes Jabez Wilson as obese pompous and slow” this keeps the reader very entertained and makes them want to read on.
