The earliest known example of a detective story was The Three Apples from the Arabian Nights. Considered the archetype for detective fiction, it is the story of a man who, in order to prevent his own execution, manages to solve a case through reasoning. Since then, sleuths have evolved to a more systemized way of solving mysteries, deciphering hidden clues, and of course, a dress code which doesn’t include a wearing a kaftan while solving crime.
Over the years, each decade has been witness to detectives who have not only lived the most amazing lives in books and the minds of readers, but have also owned the age of their foray into the literary world. And whether it was Hitchcock’s The Three Investigators or Dan Brown’s Robert Langdon, every fictional detective has at some point or the other made the transition from minor to great by stepping on the path illuminated by the two greats – Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot – the two most famous names in whodunit mysteries.
Even after years of their respective authors’ deaths, the two have been reincarnated in books, films and every other form of media time and again. Refined, multi- talented, and always dapper, these two detectives possessed the sharpest set of skill and intellect fine tuned by years of experience. So here in a battle of wits, observation patterns and deductive powers, the two greats finally go head to head. Is it Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s enigmatic Sherlock Holmes or Agatha Christie’s fastidious Hercule Poirot who deserves to be named the better detective? You decide.
