Mystery? Adventure? Elementary, my dear Watson! Sherlock Holmes is perhaps the most famous literary character of the modern era, and now the Rosenbach's piece of Holmes history has embarked on its own adventure. Arthur Conan Doyle's manuscript of The Adventure of the Empty House, in the Rosenbach collection since 1929, is the first story in The Return of Sherlock Holmes series. It sees Holmes, after having presumably met his death at the hands of Professor Moriarty, make a startling reappearance disguised as an antiquarian bookseller.

The manuscript, from the Rosenbach collection, along with three leaves from the original 16-page manuscript of Edgar Allan Poe's story, Murders in Rue Morgue, also from the Free Library Rare Book Department's Poe Collection, are currently on display at the Museum of London as part of its exhibition, Sherlock Holmes: The Man Who Never Lived and Will Never Die. This major exhibition—London's first on the detective since 1951—will explore how Sherlock Holmes has transcended literature onto stage and screen and continues to attract huge audiences to this day. This exhibition will be on view through April 12, 2015.

DID YOU KNOW
The Guinness Book of World Records named Sherlock Holmes as the most portrayed literary character in film and television, beating Shakespeare's Hamlet for the title. Since his creation in 1887, the part has been played by more than 75 actors and has been depicted on screen an astounding 254 times.