The Man Who Became Sherlock Holmes: The Tortured Mind of Jeremy Brett

The Man Who Became Sherlock Holmes: The Tortured Mind of Jeremy Brett by Manners, Terry. hardcover edition. ISBN: 9781852276164.

For more than a decade, Jeremy Brett was the face of Sherlock Holmes. He fascinated television audiences with his portrayal of Conan Doyles moody master of disguise and brought a brooding concentration and disturbing power to the role. But Brett had never wanted to play the Victorian detective. To enter into the spirit of Sherlock Holmes was to travel to a dark and morbidly fascinating place. This is the story of a talented actor whose finest role eventually overcame him. From the beginning of his career with Lawrence Olivier and Robert Stephens at the National Theatre he was much loved and admired by the theatrical world. However he was devastated by the death of his wife and stuggled with manic depression. As his health deteriorated, playing Sherlock Holmes became a terrifying addiction. Terry Manners talked to friends and colleagues of Jeremy Brett to build up a complete portrait of this talented man whose identity eventually merged with his final role.