Publication
BBC Books (2012)
Original publication date
1890-02 ("The Sign of the Four, or The Problem of the Sholtos", Lippincott's Monthly Magazine)
1890-10 ("The Sign of Four", Book)
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Description
Classic Literature. Fiction. Literature. HTML: As a dense yellow fog swirls through the streets of London, a deep melancholy has descended on Sherlock Holmes, who sits in a cocaine-induced haze at 221B Baker Street. His mood is only lifted by a visit from a beautiful but distressed young woman-Mary Morstan, whose father vanished ten years before. Four years later she began to receive an exquisite gift every year: a large, lustrous pearl. Now she has had an intriguing invitation to meet her unknown benefactor and urges Holmes and Watson to accompany her. In the ensuing investigation-which involves a wronged woman, a stolen hoard of Indian treasure, a wooden-legged ruffian, a helpful dog, and a love affair-even the jaded Holmes is moved to exclaim, "Isn't it gorgeous!" This audiobook includes the bonus Sherlock Holmes story "The Red-Headed League.".… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member slpenney07
Summary: A young lady has been sent pearls. Sherlock and Watson investigate their origin, along with a cryptic letter that promises to explain all.
The Take-Away: My love of the classics is two-fold: I love stories that well told even by modern standards; I love seeing how the world has changed. For
I also love seeing how writing has changed. "Editing" the title helps me to think through what would need to be done to make it sell in today's market. Working out that muscle also helps my own writing.
Sherlock isn't nearly as interesting as Watson. Sherlock is cool and undistribed, always right whereas Watson is emotional and often overlooks what Sherlock considers a clue. Indulge me a bit here: Sherlock is always right, because the author makes sure he is. If Sherlock missed a clue, here and there, like Watson often does, would the books be considered as great? Is it because Sherlock is a larger than life character that they've carried through the years?
Recommendation: If you like classics, Sherlock is a great detective.
The Take-Away: My love of the classics is two-fold: I love stories that well told even by modern standards; I love seeing how the world has changed. For
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instance, Sherlock Holmes was a cocaine user. When he wasn't solving mysteries, he was so bored with life, that a 7% solution was one of the two things that made life tolerable -- the other being morphine.I also love seeing how writing has changed. "Editing" the title helps me to think through what would need to be done to make it sell in today's market. Working out that muscle also helps my own writing.
Sherlock isn't nearly as interesting as Watson. Sherlock is cool and undistribed, always right whereas Watson is emotional and often overlooks what Sherlock considers a clue. Indulge me a bit here: Sherlock is always right, because the author makes sure he is. If Sherlock missed a clue, here and there, like Watson often does, would the books be considered as great? Is it because Sherlock is a larger than life character that they've carried through the years?
Recommendation: If you like classics, Sherlock is a great detective.
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LibraryThing member LisaMaria_C
For me this second Sherlock Holmes novel is what defines a classic. By no means is Doyle the master stylist of a Thomas Hardy or Oscar Wilde, and I'm not going to claim there are profound insights into the human condition, but this novel wears its age very lightly indeed. There are books written
This is a fun, fast read--barely novel length, only 12 chapters and barely over 40 thousand words and along with its mystery and adventure even provides a soupçon of romance. I don't think this is as good as The Hound of the Baskervilles, the most famous Sherlock Holmes story and novel, but it's holds up well compared to the first, A Study in Scarlet and there's so much here that makes Holmes such an immortal character. There are his brilliant deductions such as his tour de force with Watson's watch, there's his sense of humor that ameliorates his sometimes cold ratiocination, his flare for the dramatic seen in his revelation of his disguises, and even his flaws like his addiction (or close to it) for cocaine, which is highlighted here at the beginning and end of the novel.
So much here made me smile. The Holmesian aphorism: "When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth." The Baker Street Irregulars. Toby the master tracker, a mongrel that's a mix of spaniel, collie and greyhound. The exotic mix of things from the height of the British Raj, which includes nothing less than hidden treasure to be found.
I don't know that I'd recommend this as an introduction to Sherlock Holmes. I'd point someone first perhaps to the collection of short stories The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes or the best Holmes novel, The Hound of the Baskervilles, or even the first novel, A Study in Scarlet. But certainly if you've already discovered you love Sherlock Holmes, you shouldn't be disappointed in The Sign of Four.
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decades later that feel far more dated, and the few times anything in it feel the slightest bit old fashioned, it lends it more the piquant flavor of the Victorian Age than anything that feels like a flaw. This is a fun, fast read--barely novel length, only 12 chapters and barely over 40 thousand words and along with its mystery and adventure even provides a soupçon of romance. I don't think this is as good as The Hound of the Baskervilles, the most famous Sherlock Holmes story and novel, but it's holds up well compared to the first, A Study in Scarlet and there's so much here that makes Holmes such an immortal character. There are his brilliant deductions such as his tour de force with Watson's watch, there's his sense of humor that ameliorates his sometimes cold ratiocination, his flare for the dramatic seen in his revelation of his disguises, and even his flaws like his addiction (or close to it) for cocaine, which is highlighted here at the beginning and end of the novel.
So much here made me smile. The Holmesian aphorism: "When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth." The Baker Street Irregulars. Toby the master tracker, a mongrel that's a mix of spaniel, collie and greyhound. The exotic mix of things from the height of the British Raj, which includes nothing less than hidden treasure to be found.
I don't know that I'd recommend this as an introduction to Sherlock Holmes. I'd point someone first perhaps to the collection of short stories The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes or the best Holmes novel, The Hound of the Baskervilles, or even the first novel, A Study in Scarlet. But certainly if you've already discovered you love Sherlock Holmes, you shouldn't be disappointed in The Sign of Four.
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LibraryThing member jwhenderson
Having already read The Hound of the Baskervilles, I turned to another one of the published Holmes novels, The Sign of Four, in part because it is available in a Penguin Classics edition. Felicitously, I found it to be one of the best detective novels of its time.
The story is wonderfully paced with
The mystery is somewhat bizarre with its use of exotic weapons and strange footprints, but not too outre as seemed to be the case in some of the later Holmes stories such as "The Creeping Man." As is often the case it involves a young woman, with the added attraction of a treasure making the case even more interesting.
I think that while in Study in Scarlet, we learned about Holmes, in this book we begin to see Holmes' personality: the genius who is so driven to avoid hum drum existence, who seeks problems and trouble to find some problem to keep his attention.
The novel is also noteworthy for its focus on Holmes' use of Cocaine in the beginning and end. Dr. Watson (and by extension Dr. Doyle) were concerned about the use of Cocaine in the late 19th Century and its negative effects. However, Doyle wasn't heavy handed in his approach, and so Watson's concern sounds more like a modern doctor's concern with any popular addiction. And Holmes is blaise about it, leading to some interactions and statement that may seem surreal or humorous to the modern reader.
The story is wonderfully paced with
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plenty of excitement, from chasing down the criminals through the use of a dog to another appearance by the Baker Street irregulars, and a thrilling boat chase for the climax of the story. More than a century after it was first written, the novel shows little sign of its age. The Sign of Four is well-paced, exciting, and even action packed story. It represents Doyle at his finest in many ways. The mystery is somewhat bizarre with its use of exotic weapons and strange footprints, but not too outre as seemed to be the case in some of the later Holmes stories such as "The Creeping Man." As is often the case it involves a young woman, with the added attraction of a treasure making the case even more interesting.
I think that while in Study in Scarlet, we learned about Holmes, in this book we begin to see Holmes' personality: the genius who is so driven to avoid hum drum existence, who seeks problems and trouble to find some problem to keep his attention.
The novel is also noteworthy for its focus on Holmes' use of Cocaine in the beginning and end. Dr. Watson (and by extension Dr. Doyle) were concerned about the use of Cocaine in the late 19th Century and its negative effects. However, Doyle wasn't heavy handed in his approach, and so Watson's concern sounds more like a modern doctor's concern with any popular addiction. And Holmes is blaise about it, leading to some interactions and statement that may seem surreal or humorous to the modern reader.
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LibraryThing member OscarWilde87
The Sign of the Four is the second novel featuring Sherlock Holmes and was published in 1890. It is actually not that easy to sum up the plot of this novel in a few words as it is very complex. The novel is about a stolen treasure, kept secret by a group of four convicts, and about the
What I found more exciting about The Sign of the Four than its plot, though, was the depiction of its main character, Sherlock Holmes. Compared to the first novel, there is a change in the depiction of Holmes right in the beginning of The Sign of the Four when the reader learns about Holmes using cocaine. While the first novel depicts Holmes as a great detective with a vast knowledge in various fields of study, and someone who perfected the art of deduction, the second novel makes him seem more human. He is less perfect than in the first novel and this makes him a rounder character.
While I liked the character development in this novel, the plot was not really too exciting and a little too complex at times. On the whole, the second Sherlock Holmes novel is still a fairly good read. 3 stars.
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disappearance of Captain Arthur Morstan, father of Mary Morstan, Sherlock Holmes' new client. Soon, the detective finds a connection between the treasure and Captain Morstan's disappearance. Thaddeus Sholto, the son of a former comrade of Arthur Morstan, reveals that Morstan died of a heart attack and that Sholto had come into possession of information about the stolen treasure. During the investigation, Dr. Watson falls in love with Mary Morstan, who is to become his wife.What I found more exciting about The Sign of the Four than its plot, though, was the depiction of its main character, Sherlock Holmes. Compared to the first novel, there is a change in the depiction of Holmes right in the beginning of The Sign of the Four when the reader learns about Holmes using cocaine. While the first novel depicts Holmes as a great detective with a vast knowledge in various fields of study, and someone who perfected the art of deduction, the second novel makes him seem more human. He is less perfect than in the first novel and this makes him a rounder character.
While I liked the character development in this novel, the plot was not really too exciting and a little too complex at times. On the whole, the second Sherlock Holmes novel is still a fairly good read. 3 stars.
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LibraryThing member ctpress
Watson: I fear that it may be the last investigation in which I shall have the chance of studying your methods. Miss Morstan has done me the honor to accept me as a husband in prospective.
Sherlock Holmes gave a most dismal groan. “I feared as much,” said he. “I cannot really congratulate
I was a little hurt. “Have you any reason to be dissatisfied with my choice?” I asked.
“Not at all. I think she is one of the most charming young ladies I ever met….But love is an emotional thing and whatever is emotional is opposed to that true cold reason which I place above all things. I should never marry myself, lest I bias my judgment.
"I trust,” said I, laughing, “that my judgment may survive the ordeal.”
Sorry for a lengthy quote but I couldn’t resist. I will remember this second novel in the Sherlock Holmes series for the blooming romance between our dear friend Dr. Watson and the woman in peril, Miss Mary Morstan. When you get romance in Sherlock Holmes you have to cherish it. And Holmes’ cold reaction towards it. There’s a guy who stays true to character.
Of other novelties in the novel one can mention the opening scene where Holmes with much indifference is sniffing cocaine out of boredom. Watson is shocked and warns Holmes of his dangerous cocain habit.
So we come to the mystery itself. Well, all I have to say: This is a short, fast-paced story that takes place all over London - about Miss Morstan and her missing father, a hidden treasure, treachery, murder and greed among the ingredients. Here’s the books concluding remark:
Watson to Holmes: You have done all the work in this business. I geet a wife out of it, Jones (the police investigator) gets the credit, pray what remains for you?
“For me,” said Sherlock Holmes, “there still remains the cocaine-bottle.” And he stretched his long white hand up for it.
Sherlock Holmes gave a most dismal groan. “I feared as much,” said he. “I cannot really congratulate
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you.”I was a little hurt. “Have you any reason to be dissatisfied with my choice?” I asked.
“Not at all. I think she is one of the most charming young ladies I ever met….But love is an emotional thing and whatever is emotional is opposed to that true cold reason which I place above all things. I should never marry myself, lest I bias my judgment.
"I trust,” said I, laughing, “that my judgment may survive the ordeal.”
Sorry for a lengthy quote but I couldn’t resist. I will remember this second novel in the Sherlock Holmes series for the blooming romance between our dear friend Dr. Watson and the woman in peril, Miss Mary Morstan. When you get romance in Sherlock Holmes you have to cherish it. And Holmes’ cold reaction towards it. There’s a guy who stays true to character.
Of other novelties in the novel one can mention the opening scene where Holmes with much indifference is sniffing cocaine out of boredom. Watson is shocked and warns Holmes of his dangerous cocain habit.
So we come to the mystery itself. Well, all I have to say: This is a short, fast-paced story that takes place all over London - about Miss Morstan and her missing father, a hidden treasure, treachery, murder and greed among the ingredients. Here’s the books concluding remark:
Watson to Holmes: You have done all the work in this business. I geet a wife out of it, Jones (the police investigator) gets the credit, pray what remains for you?
“For me,” said Sherlock Holmes, “there still remains the cocaine-bottle.” And he stretched his long white hand up for it.
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LibraryThing member vlcraven
Sherlock Holmes, the world’s first consulting detective, is bored. And when he’s bored he injects himself with one of two types of drugs–cocaine or morphine. His housemate and biographer, Dr Watson, hates to see the genius in such a state so when Mary Morstan turns up at 221B Baker Street
The young woman presents her story, which involves her long-missing father, pearls that began arriving mysteriously a few years ago and, now, a note promising to explain everything if only she meets a stranger that very evening and doesn’t bring any police. She may bring two friends, though. Holmes and Watson will do nicely and they’re certainly up for it.
Off they go and are soon mired in a story involving a locked-room murder and missing treasure and a boat race on the Thames.
And casual racism. Sakes alive, the casual racism. One has to be prepared for it in fiction from 100+ years ago–the Victorians in particular loved some anthropologically-based racism. They started stumbling across new races of people and immediately began ascribing all sorts of negative and offensive characteristics to them. This novel is particularly rife, though.
Story-wise I’d give this one a 4/5. Holmes is doing his typical deductive thing, which is why I like reading the stories and why I assume others do, too. If you’re a completest and want to read all of them then it’s a fine read, though if casual racism puts you off stories, this one is going for gold.
The Sign of Four is the second story featuring Sherlock Holmes. The first was A Study in Scarlet .
[Completely off-topic editorializing: Dang, white people are awful. Just because you own the world doesn’t mean you’re the barometer against what everything else should be measured. Reading it from the point of view of a person writing from the country that had the largest empire on Earth at the time is interesting in terms of getting a sense of ego. It’s a digression, but I kept thinking about it while reading the book so it became part of the experience of the novel for me.]
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with a puzzling case he is relieved. Relieved, and other things. Miss Morstan is rather fetching.The young woman presents her story, which involves her long-missing father, pearls that began arriving mysteriously a few years ago and, now, a note promising to explain everything if only she meets a stranger that very evening and doesn’t bring any police. She may bring two friends, though. Holmes and Watson will do nicely and they’re certainly up for it.
Off they go and are soon mired in a story involving a locked-room murder and missing treasure and a boat race on the Thames.
And casual racism. Sakes alive, the casual racism. One has to be prepared for it in fiction from 100+ years ago–the Victorians in particular loved some anthropologically-based racism. They started stumbling across new races of people and immediately began ascribing all sorts of negative and offensive characteristics to them. This novel is particularly rife, though.
Story-wise I’d give this one a 4/5. Holmes is doing his typical deductive thing, which is why I like reading the stories and why I assume others do, too. If you’re a completest and want to read all of them then it’s a fine read, though if casual racism puts you off stories, this one is going for gold.
The Sign of Four is the second story featuring Sherlock Holmes. The first was A Study in Scarlet .
[Completely off-topic editorializing: Dang, white people are awful. Just because you own the world doesn’t mean you’re the barometer against what everything else should be measured. Reading it from the point of view of a person writing from the country that had the largest empire on Earth at the time is interesting in terms of getting a sense of ego. It’s a digression, but I kept thinking about it while reading the book so it became part of the experience of the novel for me.]
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LibraryThing member bookworm12
Watson and Sherlock are back in this delicious mystery, one of only four full Sherlock novels. This one has it all and is my personal favorite. It opens with Sherlock shooting cocaine as a concerned Watson questions the addiction. Things just get better from there. We have a mysterious treasure
I love that this novel gives us the full range of Sherlock’s emotions. He is obviously troubled, both when he is bored and when he is frustrated by a case. At other times he is completely joyous and playful as his mind ticks at a rapid pace, miles ahead of everyone else as he connects the dots.
The relationship between Watson and Sherlock is at its best here. It’s still in its infancy in A Study in Scarlet and it’s almost completely missing in The Hound of the Baskervilles. This book captures the core of their friendship. They balance each other, Sherlock needs someone to think of the emotional side of things and Watson loves being involved in the thrill of a new case, though he wouldn’t pursue this line of work on his own.
We also have Sherlock’s fussy landlady, Mrs. Hudson, who worries about her tenant and the client, Miss Mary Morstan, who catches Watson’s eye. Then there’s the Baker Street Irregulars, a ragtag group of boys who occasionally help Sherlock with his cases. The novel also has a helpful dog named Toby and some of Sherlock’s most infamous lines. You can’t go wrong with this one.
BOTTOM LINE: This is definitely my favorite Sherlock Holmes novel so far. I also think it would be a great starting point for anyone who is new to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s work.
"My mind," he said, "rebels at stagnation. Give me problems, give me work, give me the most abstruse cryptogram or the most intricate analysis, and I am in my own proper atmosphere. I can dispense then with artificial stimulants. But I abhor the dull routine of existence. I crave for mental exaltation. That is why I have chosen my own particular profession, or rather created it, for I am the only one in the world."
"The chief proof of man's real greatness lies in his perception of his own smallness."
“No, I am not tired. I have a curious constitution. I never remember feeling tired by work, though idleness exhausts me completely."
“Miss Morstan and I stood together, and her hand was in mine. A wondrous subtle thing is love, for here were we two who had never seen each other before that day, between whom no word or even look of affection had ever passed, and yet now in an hour of trouble our hands instinctively sought for each other.”
“Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth.”
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from India passed down from father to son, murder, great disguises from Sherlock and even a bit of romance for Watson.I love that this novel gives us the full range of Sherlock’s emotions. He is obviously troubled, both when he is bored and when he is frustrated by a case. At other times he is completely joyous and playful as his mind ticks at a rapid pace, miles ahead of everyone else as he connects the dots.
The relationship between Watson and Sherlock is at its best here. It’s still in its infancy in A Study in Scarlet and it’s almost completely missing in The Hound of the Baskervilles. This book captures the core of their friendship. They balance each other, Sherlock needs someone to think of the emotional side of things and Watson loves being involved in the thrill of a new case, though he wouldn’t pursue this line of work on his own.
We also have Sherlock’s fussy landlady, Mrs. Hudson, who worries about her tenant and the client, Miss Mary Morstan, who catches Watson’s eye. Then there’s the Baker Street Irregulars, a ragtag group of boys who occasionally help Sherlock with his cases. The novel also has a helpful dog named Toby and some of Sherlock’s most infamous lines. You can’t go wrong with this one.
BOTTOM LINE: This is definitely my favorite Sherlock Holmes novel so far. I also think it would be a great starting point for anyone who is new to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s work.
"My mind," he said, "rebels at stagnation. Give me problems, give me work, give me the most abstruse cryptogram or the most intricate analysis, and I am in my own proper atmosphere. I can dispense then with artificial stimulants. But I abhor the dull routine of existence. I crave for mental exaltation. That is why I have chosen my own particular profession, or rather created it, for I am the only one in the world."
"The chief proof of man's real greatness lies in his perception of his own smallness."
“No, I am not tired. I have a curious constitution. I never remember feeling tired by work, though idleness exhausts me completely."
“Miss Morstan and I stood together, and her hand was in mine. A wondrous subtle thing is love, for here were we two who had never seen each other before that day, between whom no word or even look of affection had ever passed, and yet now in an hour of trouble our hands instinctively sought for each other.”
“Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth.”
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LibraryThing member CarsonKicklighter
Dr. Watson, maybe there are easier ways to pick up women than chasing pygmies and peg-legged people down the Thames.
LibraryThing member nwdavies
Been a while since I read even a short novel or novella in one day, but I did it with The Sign Of Four. Thoroughly enjoyed it and nice to read the original after seeing so many adaptations on tv. Great stuff.
LibraryThing member 391
The Sign of Four brings in a lot of character development and description - we get to see Watson and Holmes' famous friendship (such as when they are led to a complete dead-end by a dog who has gotten on the wrong track) as well as find out more of Watson's personal history. I also quite like the
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narrative voice, as Watson can be quite the charmer at times, though occasionally melodramatic, an opinion with which I'm sure Sherlock would agree. The long exposition at the end, though it didn't drag nearly as much as Jefferson Hope's, was still a bit tedious compared to the adventures leading up to it. Show Less
LibraryThing member marsap
The story is set in 1887. The Sign of Four has a complex plot involving service in East India Company, India, the Indian Rebellion of 1857, a stolen treasure, and a secret pact among four convicts and two corrupt prison guards. The "mystery" was interesting, but what I really enjoyed about this
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book is watching Holmes use his powers of deduction--always a pleasure! Highly recommended-4 1/2 out of 5 stars. Show Less
LibraryThing member tjsjohanna
What is an English story without a tie-in to India? I enjoyed watching Holmes unravel the mystery and seeing Watson fall in love with his future wife. Fun reading.
LibraryThing member KLmesoftly
I enjoyed this; though I probably laughed more - at the sexism, racism, and general ethnocentrism ingrained in the text - than Sir Arthur intended, it's an engaging, well-written little caper with some great chase scenes and iconic bits of dialogue.
LibraryThing member BooksForDinner
Never read this one before, same as with study in scarlet... i had only read the short stories when i was younger. This had the same kind of flashback sectioin, only it was a story told by a character as opposed to a full on flashback with a different narrator...
LibraryThing member Milda-TX
My first Sherlock Holmes read. The characters of Holmes and Watson were more fun than I imagined they'd be! But, the story got over-long, even tho the book itself is tiny.
LibraryThing member david7466
This book confused me with all of the characters running around. The conclusions made by Holmes at times seemed to be too much of a reach, but the boat chase was thrilling. Overall a good read.
LibraryThing member michaeldwebb
This is the second Sherlock Holmes novel, and it hasn't aged as well as other Sherlock books because of it's racial stereotyping. If you can accept that as a product of the time then the story is OK, again, not as clever as some of the shorter stories or more well known novels.
LibraryThing member Niecierpek
Interesting. This is one of Manguel’s books from A Reading Diary, and for me the first adult reading of unabridged Sherlock Holmes. I finished it with more appreciation for Conan Doyle as a writer, and a vague regret that the adult Sherlock Holmes turns out to be a cocaine addict.
LibraryThing member tronella
This was very weird compared to the previous Holmes book I read. Less Mormon-hating, more racism. Also, what with reading The Mad Ship and watching Muppet Treasure Island recently, I feel like everything I see is about how one-legged men are evil. :s
LibraryThing member port22
It seems that Holmes is an early discoverer ("I have chosen my own particular profession, or rather created it...") of a new didactic method of working out crimes: "Detection is, or ought to be, an exact science, and should be treated in the same cold and unemotional manner." Three qualities are
Holmes uses cocaine as a substitute of craved mental stimulant which detective's work provides to him: "My mind rebels at stagnation. Give me problems, give me work, give me the most abstruse cryptogram or the most intricate analysis, and I am in my own proper atmosphere." When confronted by Watson he is not irritated, "On the contrary, he put his finger-tips together and leaned his elbows on the arms of this chair, like one who has a relish for conversation."
And that morning, to Watson's astonishment, Holmes demonstrates that "For example, observation shows me that you have been to Wigmore Street Post-Office, but deduction lets me know that when there you dispatched a telegram."
The plot arch is uncovered in a straight forward story which Dr. Watson recounts in first person: A young lady, Mary Mortan, seeks the assistance of able men to accompany her to a meeting with a mysterious someone who promises to reveal to her how her father died and a commitment to relinquish her fair share of a supposed treasure she inherited. Then, the entire action is compressed into the following 3 days.
Reading Conan Doyle is also a bit of an archeological window into the language of the 19th century. For me, the smattering of quaint phraseology only adds an element of authenticity to the book.
The book excels in unfolding the detective story (the "what"). Tightly paced and compact. One mildly unsatisfactory element is the choice of a deus-ex-machina plot device in explaining the "why". An entire chapter of the book is filled by a guy who sits in a chair and tells a story that puts put the motives behind the crime that was investigated by Holmes and Watson. One defense to this decision could be that this way Conan Doyle preserves the consistency of the book of being entirely told from the point of view of Dr. Watson and written in the first person.
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necessary to make the ideal detective -- power of observation, deduction, and technical subjects; it is all a work of precision: "No, no: I never guess. It is a shocking habit, destructive to the logical faculty."Holmes uses cocaine as a substitute of craved mental stimulant which detective's work provides to him: "My mind rebels at stagnation. Give me problems, give me work, give me the most abstruse cryptogram or the most intricate analysis, and I am in my own proper atmosphere." When confronted by Watson he is not irritated, "On the contrary, he put his finger-tips together and leaned his elbows on the arms of this chair, like one who has a relish for conversation."
And that morning, to Watson's astonishment, Holmes demonstrates that "For example, observation shows me that you have been to Wigmore Street Post-Office, but deduction lets me know that when there you dispatched a telegram."
The plot arch is uncovered in a straight forward story which Dr. Watson recounts in first person: A young lady, Mary Mortan, seeks the assistance of able men to accompany her to a meeting with a mysterious someone who promises to reveal to her how her father died and a commitment to relinquish her fair share of a supposed treasure she inherited. Then, the entire action is compressed into the following 3 days.
Reading Conan Doyle is also a bit of an archeological window into the language of the 19th century. For me, the smattering of quaint phraseology only adds an element of authenticity to the book.
The book excels in unfolding the detective story (the "what"). Tightly paced and compact. One mildly unsatisfactory element is the choice of a deus-ex-machina plot device in explaining the "why". An entire chapter of the book is filled by a guy who sits in a chair and tells a story that puts put the motives behind the crime that was investigated by Holmes and Watson. One defense to this decision could be that this way Conan Doyle preserves the consistency of the book of being entirely told from the point of view of Dr. Watson and written in the first person.
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LibraryThing member meyben
Sherlock Holms and Dr. Watson are on the case. Miss Mary Morston recieves a pearlonce a year from someone she does not know. A death happens in conjubction with this, and a mystery unfolds.
LibraryThing member ragwaine
Drug use pretty daring, funny, original.
LibraryThing member jasonlf
Excellent for what it is, of course. This is the second Holmes novella, fits the formula perfectly, and is enjoyable from beginning to end. It features a locked room mystery (sort of), the usual mysteries that had their origin overseas, and even a little romantic interest for Watson. It is not
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quite as confounding and mysterious, nor is the solution quite as satisfying, as many of the later Holmes stories. But still excellent. Show Less
LibraryThing member dulac3
_The Sign of the Four_ isn't a bad mystery, but I didn't quite like it as much as _A Study in Scarlet_ or most of the stories in _The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes_. I'm starting to think, however, that these stories aren't always of interest because of the mystery itself (though sometimes they
This is also an important story for the genial Dr. Watson as he meets and falls in love with his future wife, Mary Morston. Good thing it turns out she was a client of Holmes' in these early days of their acquaintance since it helps to explain why she lets her husband go gallivanting around London with him all the time with nary a complaint. She owes him.
The central mystery revolves around a lost treasure and a missing soldier (Mary's father) who disappeared mysteriously years before. A man murdered in a locked room proves to pose a problem for the police, but not for Holmes of course. Along the way Watson discovers love and Holmes once again helps the police solve a mystery for which he receives no credit. As I said, not a bad story, but not one of my favourites thus far.
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certainly are), but more because of the revelations they disclose about the character of Sherlock Holmes himself. Did you know that he had fought a prize fighter and won? I didn't before, but now I do. We also get to see first hand what happens to Holmes when he has no work of sufficient interest to tax his incredible mind and he slumps into malaise and cocaine use to take the edge off.This is also an important story for the genial Dr. Watson as he meets and falls in love with his future wife, Mary Morston. Good thing it turns out she was a client of Holmes' in these early days of their acquaintance since it helps to explain why she lets her husband go gallivanting around London with him all the time with nary a complaint. She owes him.
The central mystery revolves around a lost treasure and a missing soldier (Mary's father) who disappeared mysteriously years before. A man murdered in a locked room proves to pose a problem for the police, but not for Holmes of course. Along the way Watson discovers love and Holmes once again helps the police solve a mystery for which he receives no credit. As I said, not a bad story, but not one of my favourites thus far.
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LibraryThing member ursula
What is there to say about Sherlock Holmes and Watson that everyone else hasn't already said? That won't stop me, though. I am reading them in order, so this is my second encounter with Holmes and Watson. Here you begin to see what would become the basis for endless film and tv representations of
We get a lot of brilliant deduction, followed by various methods employed by Holmes to fill in the gaps in his knowledge - the Baker Street irregulars (street urchins he employs from time to time), disguise, a chase, etc. Ultimately, once the villain is discovered and safely in custody, it's time for him to spill the entire back story so we can see how right Holmes was.
Recommended for: everyone (come on, it's Sherlock Holmes!).
Quote: "How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible whatever remains, HOWEVER IMPROBABLE, must be the truth?"
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their characters. Holmes is treating his boredom with cocaine; Watson is a bit of a nervous aunt as he inquires as to the wisdom of the treatment. But before we have to delve too deeply into Holmes' psyche, a case comes calling in the person of Mary Morstan. The case involves a death, and a hidden treasure from India. We get a lot of brilliant deduction, followed by various methods employed by Holmes to fill in the gaps in his knowledge - the Baker Street irregulars (street urchins he employs from time to time), disguise, a chase, etc. Ultimately, once the villain is discovered and safely in custody, it's time for him to spill the entire back story so we can see how right Holmes was.
Recommended for: everyone (come on, it's Sherlock Holmes!).
Quote: "How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible whatever remains, HOWEVER IMPROBABLE, must be the truth?"
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Language
Original language
English
ISBN
9781445830438
Physical description
1 p.; 5.5 inches
Other editions
The Sign of Four by Arthur Conan Doyle (Paperback)
Pages
1