''A Samba for Sherlock'' (Portuguese:''O Xangô de Baker Street'') is a novel by Brazilian comedian, writer and television presenter

Jô Soares José Eugênio Soares (16 January 1938 – 5 August 2022), known professionally as Jô Soares (Portuguese: /ˈʒo soˈaɾis, ˈswa-, -ɾiʃ/), or Jô, was a Brazilian comedian, talk show host, author, musician, actor and writer. Early life ...

Plot

In 1886, the French diva

Sarah Bernhardt Sarah Bernhardt (; born Henriette-Rosine Bernard; 22 or 23 October 1844 – 26 March 1923) was a French stage actress who starred in some of the most popular French plays of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including '' La Dame Aux Camel ...

came to Brazil to perform. The public bows to Sarah's talent, including Emperor Dom Pedro II, who tells her a secret: a valuable

Stradivarius violin A Stradivarius is one of the violins, violas, cellos and other string instruments built by members of the Italian family Stradivari, particularly Antonio Stradivari (Latin: Antonius Stradivarius), during the 17th and 18th centuries. They are co ...

, a gift from Baroness Maria Luiza, has mysteriously disappeared. Sarah then suggests that the emperor invite the famous detective

Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and ...

to investigate the case. Dom Pedro II accepts the advice and soon the English detective agrees to travel to Brazil to solve this mystery. At the same time, a murder shocks the city and leaves Chief Mello Pimenta in a panic. A prostitute had been murdered and had her ears severed and a violin string placed on her body by the killer. While the deputy searches for clues, Holmes and

Watson Watson may refer to: Companies * Actavis, a pharmaceutical company formerly known as Watson Pharmaceuticals * A.S. Watson Group, retail division of Hutchison Whampoa * Thomas J. Watson Research Center, IBM research center * Watson Systems, make ...

disembark. Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Watson and police chief Mello Pimenta walk the streets of the Brazilian capital looking for information to discover the mystery of the violin and find the perpetrator of the crimes that are shocking the city. Throughout the course of the story, the fashions and customs of the imperial capital in the 19th century are accompanied by some bolder assumptions, such as that Brazil was the birthplace of history's first serial killer. In turn, the text goes from the playfulness of the dialogues and the enjoyment of Brazilian Frenchism at the time to the hilarious of several scenes, with revelations about the food, pharmacological and sexual life of the famous detective on Baker Street.

Adaptation

The book was adapted into

a film A. Film Production A/S (previously A. Film A/S, A. Film ApS and A. Film I/S) is a Denmark, Danish animation studio currently based in Copenhagen, Denmark. Affiliated to the Copenhagen studio are A. Film Estonia located in Estonia and A. Film L ...

in 2001, directed by

Miguel Faria Jr Miguel Faria Jr. (born 28 September 1944) is a Brazilian film director and screenwriter. He directed 13 films between 1969 and 2005. Selected filmography * ''Mortal Sin (film), Mortal Sin'' (1970) * ''A Samba for Sherlock'' (2001) References ...

References

{{Reflist 1995 novels Brazilian mystery novels Brazilian historical novels Brazilian novels adapted into films Sherlock Holmes pastiches