Professor Moriarty

Professor James Moriarty is a fictional character and criminal mastermind created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to be a formidable enemy for the author's fictional detective Sherlock Holmes. He was created primarily as a device by which Doyle could kill Holmes and end the hero's stories. Professor Moriarty first appears in the short story "The Adventure of the Final Problem", first published in The Strand Magazine in December 1893. He also plays a role in the final Sherlock Holmes novel The Valley of Fear, but without a direct appearance. Holmes mentions Moriarty in five other stories: "The Adventure of the Empty House", "The Adventure of the Norwood Builder", "The Adventure of the Missing Three-Quarter", "The Adventure of the Illustrious Client", and "His Last Bow". Moriarty is a criminal mastermind who uses his intelligence and resources to provide criminals with crime strategies and sometimes protection from the law, all in exchange for a fee or a cut of profit. Holmes likens Moriarty to a spider at the centre of a web and calls him the "Napoleon of crime", a phrase Doyle lifted from a Scotland Yard inspector referring to Adam Worth, a real-life criminal mastermind and one of the individuals upon whom the character of Moriarty was based. Despite appearing only twice in Doyle's original stories, later adaptations and pastiches have often given Moriarty greater prominence and treated him as Sherlock Holmes' archenemy. Appearances in works Professor Moriarty's first appearance occurred in the 1893 short story "The Adventure of the Final Problem" (set in 1891). The story features consulting detective Sherlock Holmes revealing to his friend and biographer Doctor Watson that for years now he has suspected many seemingly isolated crimes to actually all be the machinations of a single, vast, and subtle criminal organisation. After investigation, he has uncovered Professor Moriarty as a mastermind who provides strategy and protection to criminals in exchange for obedience and a share in their profits. Moriarty realizes Holmes is aware of his operation and confronts him in person, threatening death if further interference is done. Holmes describes Moriarty's physical appearance to Watson, saying the professor is extremely tall and thin, clean-shaven, pale, and ascetic-looking. He has a forehead that "domes out in a white curve", deeply sunken eyes, and shoulders that are "rounded from much study".