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Inspector Lestrade

Inspector Lestrade (pronounced l'estrade "less-TRAHD") is a fictional character, a Scotland Yard detective appearing in several of the Sherlock Holmes stories by Arthur Conan Doyle. Doyle used the name of an acquaintance from his days at the University of Edinburgh, a St. Lucian whom Doyle disliked. In "The Adventure of the Cardboard Box", Lestrade's first initial is revealed to be G.

It is observed by Holmes in A Study in Scarlet that Lestrade and another detective, Tobias Gregson, have an ongoing rivalry. In The Hound of the Baskervilles, Holmes comments to Dr. Watson that Lestrade "is the best of the professionals, I think," meaning the professional detectives employed by Scotland Yard as opposed to himself. Lestrade is described as "a lean, ferret-like man, furtive and sly-looking," in The Boscombe Valley Mystery.

Lestrade is frequently exasperated by Holmes's unconventional methods. "I am a practical man," he says in "The Boscombe Valley Mystery". However, in time he does come to appreciate and respect the unofficial detective's record of success. "We're not jealous of you down at Scotland Yard," he says in "The Adventure of the Six Napoleons". "No, sir, we are damned proud of you,and if you come down to-morrow there's not a man, from the oldest inspector to the youngest constable, who wouldn't be glad to shake you by the hand." Watson notes in passing that this little comment is one of the few instances where Holmes is visibly moved.

In the popular London media, Lestrade is depicted as one of the best detectives at Scotland Yard. Holmes once remarked in "The Adventure of the Cardboard Box" that although Lestrade had almost no skill at actual crime-solving, his tenacity and determination are what brought him to the highest ranks in the official police force. On the other hand, in "The Adventure of the Second Stain" it is Lestrade who correctly identifies the victim's jealous lover as the murderer, while Holmes wrongly believes the killing to be a professional assassination connected to the theft of some secret documents.

The author M J Trow wrote a series of sixteen books using Lestrade as the central character, beginning with The Adventures of Inspector Lestrade in 1985. In these stories, Trow shows Lestrade to be a more than capable detective. He is given a first name, Sholto, a young daughter whom he seldom sees, and a series of adventures set against an historical backdrop. In one book Lestrade meets G. K. Chesterton and in another he suffers a broken leg in a fall from the gangplank of the RMS Titanic.

Lestrade's lack of ability is frequently exaggerated in adaptations, which often characterise him as a bumbling idiot. Notably, Dennis Hoey played Lestrade in most of the Sherlock Holmes films from Universal Pictures starring Basil Rathbone as Holmes. This version had the Yard man as a well-meaning fool patronised by the detective, whose help he greatly appreciated, rather in the manner of that series' version of Doctor Watson (Nigel Bruce).

Colin Jeavons played Lestrade throughout the Granada Television adaptation of the Sherlock Holmes stories, starting with The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. The character was here portrayed faithfully as a capable, if slightly vain, career policeman with a prickly but ultimately affectionate relationship with Holmes – as evidenced in the dramatisation of the aforementioned "We're proud of you" scene. So familiar did the actor become in the part that when he was unavailable, Lestrade was replaced by another of the literary Yard men for at least one story's adaptation, while the character was added in the expansion of another to feature-film length.

Other fictional portrayals

Archie Duncan played Lestrade in the 1954–55 French-made series Sherlock Holmes.
Borislav Brondukov played him in all of the Russian Sherlock Holmes TV series starring Vasily Livanov.
Frank Finlay played him twice, in A Study in Terror and Murder by Decree.
Jeffrey Jones played Lestrade in Without a Clue.
Kenaway Baker made a brief appearance as Lestrade in Incident at Victoria Falls
Lestrade was played by Peter Madden opposite Peter Cushing as Sherlock Holmes in the 1960s BBC series.

Other appearances

In the alternate history novel Anno Dracula, Lestrade becomes one of the new-born during the reign of the Prince Consort, and is one of the investigators assigned to the murderer known as "Silver Knife" (who is actually John Seward).

Lestrade is briefly mentioned in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume I.

In the TV show Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century one of the main characters was Inspector Beth Lestrade, a descendent of Lestrade.

In the pilot-episode to Monk (TV series), the first two letters of the given and surnames of SFPD-officers Ct.Leland Stottlemeyer and Lt. Randy Disher (unnamed in the episode, but credited as Lt. Deacon) form "Lestrade".