Sherlock's “Brain-Attic”: Information Culture and the Liberal Professional Dilemma

Abstract

Situating Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories in the context of late Victorian information culture shows how Holmes's professionalism worries the line between information and knowledge, surveillance institutions and liberal society. Because of his information savvy, Holmes has often been considered a figure of surveillance. A closer look at the Holmes narratives, however, reveals that he occupies a more ambiguous place—while his surveillance techniques seem to align him with bureaucratic institutions, he asserts his independence from state institutions and acts as a liberal agent concerned with information sharing and the moral well-being of society. Holmes's cognitive process strikes a balance between data and narrative, allowing him to maintain a critical distance essential to his professionalism and liberalism.