The Power of Sherlock Holmes makes fans flock to the source text

There is always the concern with adaptations that they will not do justice to the novels on which they are based. Yet somehow, irrespective of the final result (though in this case – what a result!), it can also be great just to see more fans heading for the books themselves.

With BBC’s Sherlock proving popular over the New Year and Elementary doing well Stateside, new stats from eBay show that, rather than diminish the original novels by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, these adaptations and interpretations of the Sherlock stories have actually led many fans to the novels, with The Hound of the Baskervilles coming out on top. Since Christmas, sales of Doyle’s Sherlock novels have soared 71% and Baskervilles has risen by 62%, closely followed by The Sign of Four and A Study in Scarlet.

Of course, it’s not just the novels that fans are looking for: sales of Sherlock memorabilia have more than doubled over the last month. In particular, sales of Sherlock-inspired deerstalker hats have risen by 38% though there has been no mention of people imitating Dr Watson with a walking stick just yet...

 

Has the show made you read the novels... or perhaps purchase a new hat for the winter?