What makes Harry Potter and Sherlock Holmes so popular?

When one is asked to name a famous British novel, I am sure that most people will either mention The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes or Harry Potter. Translated into countless languages, the two works are not only popular in Britain, but is loved by people all around the globe. So, what makes the two novels so successful? Although created in a very different era, the two works have few things in common, which makes them popular to this day. 

The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle 

Firstly. I would like to introduce the brief summary of The adventure of Sherlock Holmes. Since I am the one who got interested in the story after watching the first episode of the drama, but the stories of the novel are a bit different.

 

The adventures of Sherlock Holmes is a series of 12 stories written by Arthur Conan Doyle. The main character of this story is a very clever detective, Sherlock Holmes and his assistant, Dr John Watson. The stories are told by first person narrative from Watson’s point of view. The stories are mainly about strange mysteries and those two characters solve the problems in the different situations. Holmes is described as a fairer sense of justice since he identifies and correct social injustices in the mysteries. 

Background 

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Doyle was the eldest son in the 10 siblings and had a father addicted to alcohol. Thanks to the support by his mother and relatives, he was able to go to the university and majoring medicine. He began writing in the late 1870s, and had his first short story, “The Mystery of Sasassa Valley”, published in September 1879. 8 years later, A Study in Scarlet, his first Sherlock Holmes story, was published by Ward Lock & Co. The novel was well received, but Doyle was paid little for it, and despite a series of novel, The Sign of the  Four, which was published in Lipincott’s Monthly Magazine, he shifted his focus to short stories.  

Popularity  

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The first edition was published on 4 October 1892 and there are 12 volumes of the stories. The first one sold 10,000 copies and competed with the joint edition of Strand Magazine, which was published in large quantities. By the end of the year, 8,000 copies had been sold. The first edition sold out soon and was reprinted 5,000 copies in 1893 and 1894. The series “The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes”, which became famous all over the world as the original of the stages, the movies, and the television dramas. Especially, the Granada television production in the 1980s, acted by Jeremy Brett, is the most famous one. He was praised by many as the most suitable actor for Sherlock. Sherlock Holmes has been in the media without any interruption since the first origin of Sherlock Holmes appeared in print more than 125 years ago.  The characters created by Conan Doyle have become a global phenomenon beyond the boundaries of literature and are still creating new fans.   

Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling 

Next, I’m going to introduce the story about Harry Potter. 

Brief summary  

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As most of you know, Harry Potter is one of the best fantasy novels written by J.K.Rowling. The stories are set in England in the 1990s and it depicts the school life of Harry Potter, a wizard boy, and the struggle with the mighty dark wizard Voldemort, who murdered Harry’s parents 

Background 

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Harry Potter books are written by J.K. Rowling who were unknown author when the first novel was published in 1997. Before her works were published, she was having severe life that she was a single mother receiving welfare and was suffering from depression at the time. Eventually, overcoming the depression, Rolling finally completed the script of “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” in 1995. She brought the manuscript to the publisher and asked for publication, but it was just refused.  A year later,  she concluded the contract with Blooms Berry Publishing Company. The editor-in-chief of Blooms Berry Publishing Company had his 8-year-old child read the manuscript and saw the response before he read it. If this editor-in-chief did not do that, “Harry Potter” might not have appeared in the world even now. She did not expect to abruptly become one of the world’s most popular authors. However, she is now the best famous novelist in the world.  

 

Popularity

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When the first volume, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, was published in 1997 by Bloomsbury Publishing House in London, it quickly became a world bestseller, even though it was the first novel by an entirely unknown author. It was read not only by children but also by many adults, and it became a global social phenomenon as a popular work that transcended the boundaries of children’s literature. The stories are now translated into 73 languages and the total circulation of the series reached 500 million as of December 1, 2018, which makes them the best-selling series of all time. 

Now, I would like to explain the similarity in the two works, which makes them so popular. 

 

Sympathetic Protagonist 

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One of the factors which makes the two works so popular is its featuring of the protagonists, whom the audiences can sympathize with. In order for a book to succeed, they must have an attractive protagonist, which readers can sympathize with. To do so, authors must illustrate not only the positive side of the character but also their negative side. The two works successfully does so by featuring protagonists with pros and cos. For example, in The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes, Holmes is not only illustrated as an intelligent and brilliant character, but also as an odd figure, who sometimes takes drugs when he has no cases to solve. We are also provided with an impatient side of him in “The Adventure of the Yellow Face”, in which Holmes jumps to the conclusion, only to find out that his reasoning was wrong. In Harry Potter, Harry is illustrated as a kind and friendly character, but we see that there is an immature side to him as he smirks at the Dursleys at the end of the first book. The cons remind us that the protagonist is not perfect, thus making them more likable. 

 

Content which anybody can enjoy 

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          Another thing which makes the two works popular is that they have a content which people of any age can enjoy. Both books avoid the use of inappropriate words and sexual contents, which may be considered “too early” for young children. For example, in Harry Potter, the author writes that the character says a “bad” or a “mean” word, instead of making the character say the actual word. The sexual contents are avoided as much as possible and even if there is one, it is not obvious for it is cleverly hidden within the text. The same goes for The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes, where the characters do not say much of an inappropriate word and the sexual content is avoided. In a way the two works can be said as child-friendly novel, allowing not only adults but also children to read them. In addition to this, both novels have a twist in their story, which always catch the readers by surprise. The mystery or the secrets are revealed and explained in simple words, which allows anyone of any age to understand and enjoy the story easily. 

 

British culture and society reflected in the work 

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Both novels are set in the UK and the British cultures and the society reflected in the work is what makes the two novels successful. The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes takes place in London and Holmes lives in a fictional street, 221B Baker Street. In the novel, the objects which the characters use reflect the British society of the 19th century. For example, the pocket watch, the stick, and the pipe which many of the characters carry shows how the three items acted as a symbol of gentleman in the British society. The newspapers and books which Watson read provide us with the popular entertainment of the British middle class in that era. In Harry Potter, when Hogwarts is on break, Harry stays in the Privet Drive of Little Whining, a fictional place set in the UK. Here, we can learn the trend through Dudley, as he begs his parents for the most up-to-date toys and clothings. We are also provided with a detailed description of UK’s famous places throughout the book. Kings Cross Station, an actual station existing in London is one of its example, as Platform 9 3/4, an entrance to the wizard world exist in it. For British readers, these reflections of the British cultures, trend, and society, stirs up their feeling of affinity. Their fascinating cultures appeal to the foreign readers as well, and this is one of the reason why the two works are popular around the world.