List of fictional detectives

<p>Fictional detectives are characters in <a href="/facts/Detective_fiction/yL6DFnqd">detective fiction</a>. These individuals have long been a staple of <a href="/facts/Detective_fiction/yL6DFnqd">detective</a> <a href="/facts/Mystery_fiction/6GX6KBYy">mystery</a> <a href="/facts/Crime_fiction/90QN5FtE">crime fiction</a>, particularly in <a href="/facts/Detective_fiction/yL6DFnqd">detective novels and short stories</a>. Much of early detective fiction was written during the "<a href="/facts/Golden_Age_of_Detective_Fiction/zNFkbIEK">Golden Age of Detective Fiction</a>" (1920s–1930s). These detectives include amateurs, <a href="/facts/Private_investigator/vw7V7frM">private investigators</a> and professional <a href="/facts/Police/rrdGISgt">policemen</a>. They are often popularized as individual characters rather than parts of the fictional work in which they appear. Stories involving individual detectives are well-suited to dramatic presentation, resulting in many popular theatre, television, and film characters.
</p><p>The first famous detective in fiction was <a href="/facts/Edgar_Allan_Poe/BwBzd1sG">Edgar Allan Poe</a>'s <a href="/facts/C._Auguste_Dupin/VHgfl049">C. Auguste Dupin</a>. Later, Sir <a href="/facts/Arthur_Conan_Doyle/52dvrHvc">Arthur Conan Doyle</a>'s <a href="/facts/Sherlock_Holmes/fhN0w3Jv">Sherlock Holmes</a> became the most famous example and remains so to this day. The detectives are often accompanied by a <a href="/facts/Dr._Watson/YTkMddnx">Dr. Watson</a>–like assistant or narrator.
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List of fictional detectives open-in-new

List of fictional detectives