This November, Penguin is bringing out a new edition of its Complete Sherlock Holmes to coincide with Guy Ritchie's adaptation of Arthur Conan Doyle's beloved detective stories. "Sherlock Holmes," it is claimed on the promotional material, "is not only the most famous character in crime fiction, but arguably the most famous character in all fiction."
Is he? Conan Doyle's stories about the clever detective are undeniably timeless classics that will be read and loved by generations to come – but is Sherlock Holmes really first among fictional characters? Personally, I would have gone for Don Quixote, but this was instantly rubbished by my colleague.
A bit of investigative research (an email sent out to a dozen well-read friends) produced some interesting findings. Suggestions ranged from Odysseus to Harry Potter, via Hamlet and Mr Darcy. Some nominations were endearing ("Heathcliff and Cathy from Wuthering Heights should also get a shout out"); others made me realise that on a global scale, the most famous fictional characters today are probably those popularised by Disney films.
One of my friends, a huge Tintin fan, argued that "it would have to be a character who has pervaded the zeitgeist through other media," promptly listing his nominees in a neat time line, thus:
21st century: Harry Potter
20th century: James Bond
19th century: Sherlock Holmes (though other contenders may include Dickensian creations Oliver Twist and Scrooge and Peter Pan)
18th century: Robinson Crusoe or Gulliver
17th century: Hamlet (not easy to pick among the bard's strongest characters but the prince of Denmark probably pips Othello and Macbeth in the celebrity stakes).
How would you rate a fictional character's fame? Book sales alone aren't enough to go by, given that a novel's rise in popularity often follows a screen adaptation, and a fictional character can become a household name for reasons the author might not have foreseen (just ask PG Wodehouse – or ask Jeeves ...) The question of who really is the biggest fictional superstar of all time is clearly a tough one.
Nominations please.
