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Perhaps the most famous of all characters to emerge from historical crime fiction is Sherlock Holmes. He was delivered to the public for the first time in 1887. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who was a physician as well as an author, developed the genius detective Holmes. Along with his sidekick, Dr. Watson, Holmes made his way through countless murder mysteries from 1887 to 1907. He solved his final case in 1914.

He was a detective who worked as a consultant for the police station in England named Scotland Yard. There were fifty-six short stories written. There were four full-length novels penned about this character as well. Conan Doyle said he based the character on a Dr. Joseph Bell who he considered to be an introspective genius. Conan Doyle had been his clerk at an Edinburgh Royal Infirmary during one period in his life.

But, there was a precursor to Sherlock Holmes. Edgar Allan Poe, who penned that memorable poem "The Raven", wrote three historical crime fiction stories in the 1840's. These Dupin stories were thought to be the first in the modern crime genre. Poe wrote many Gothic horror stories before the Dupin stories. He is the author of "The Tell Tale Heart."

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C. Auguste Dupin first hit the literary scene in "The Murders In The Rue Morgue" in 1841. This is considered by most authorities on the topic, to be the first fictional detective created. Dupin made his way through solving mysteries in "The Mystery of Marie Roget" and "The Purloined Letter." In the third, he circumvents the successful carrying out of a blackmail scheme.

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Men have been murdering each other since ancient Roman times. Brutus killed Caesar and there was no brilliant detective to determine who did it. If there had been, he would have deduced that the political system did it.

In Arabian Nights, Scheherazade (of ancient Persia) told the story of the Three Apples." The dismembered body of a young woman was found in a trunk. Shahryar ordered his subordinate, Ja'far to solve the crime in three days or face execution. The suspenseful story was a prototype of the later written murder mysteries, with one difference. The only motivation Jaf'ar had to solve the murder was saving his own life.

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Historical crime fiction should be an engrossing trip back to the time of the murder. You should inhale the essence of Scotland Yard in the Sherlock Holmes novels. You should feel Scheherazad's desperation as she makes up stories to maintain the curiosity of Shahryar to continue her own life. You will recall how he married virgins and had each of them beheaded the next day. Historical crime fiction should allow your own curiosity to be piqued at the start and take you into the historical time and place, keeping you there until the murder is resolved at the end.