The Sign of the Four

"The Sign of the Four" is a novel written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and was published in 1890. The novel features the famous detective, Sherlock Holmes, and his sidekick, Dr. John Watson, as they investigate a complex case involving a treasure hunt, a murder, and a mysterious woman.

The novel begins with Dr. Watson visiting Sherlock Holmes in his apartment in Baker Street. Watson finds Holmes in a drug-induced state and is worried about his friend's health. Holmes explains that he has been bored lately and has turned to drugs to fill his time.

However, when a young woman named Mary Morstan arrives at their apartment with an intriguing case, Holmes snaps back to his usual self and eagerly takes on the case.

Mary Morstan explains to Holmes and Watson that her father disappeared ten years ago, leaving her mother and herself in a state of poverty. However, she has recently received a mysterious letter, signed by "A. Sholto," which promises to reveal the truth about her father's disappearance.

The letter instructs her to meet with the sender at 10:00 pm at the Lyceum Theatre. Mary wants Holmes and Watson to accompany her to the meeting.

Holmes and Watson agree to help Mary, and they meet with "A. Sholto" at the Lyceum Theatre. "A. Sholto" turns out to be Thaddeus Sholto, the son of a man who was a close friend of Mary's father. Thaddeus explains that his father, Bartholomew Sholto, had been haunted by guilt over a valuable treasure that he and Mary's father had found while serving in India.

Bartholomew had divided the treasure into four parts and kept it hidden in his house, but he was murdered before he could reveal its location. Thaddeus and his twin brother, Bartholomew Jr., had inherited the house and had been searching for the treasure ever since.

Thaddeus shows Mary, Holmes, and Watson a treasure map that he has found, which indicates the location of the treasure. Thaddeus agrees to split the treasure with Mary if she helps him find it.

Holmes and Watson accompany Mary and Thaddeus to the house where the treasure is hidden, but they find that the treasure has already been stolen. The police arrive and arrest Thaddeus and Bartholomew Jr. on suspicion of theft.

While Thaddeus and Bartholomew Jr. are in prison, Mary receives another mysterious letter, this time inviting her to a meeting at the Langham Hotel. When Mary, Holmes, and Watson arrive at the hotel, they find that the letter was a trap, and they are attacked by a group of armed men.

However, they manage to fight off their attackers and escape with their lives.

Holmes deduces that the mastermind behind the attacks is Jonathan Small, a member of the crew that originally stole the treasure. Small has been seeking revenge on the Sholto brothers for stealing the treasure from him.

Holmes tracks down Small, who confesses to the murder of Bartholomew Sholto and reveals that the treasure is hidden in a chest at a wharf in London.

Holmes and Watson go to the wharf and find the chest, but they are ambushed by Small and his accomplices. In the ensuing fight, Small is killed, and the treasure is recovered.

In the end, Thaddeus and Bartholomew Jr. are cleared of any wrongdoing, and Mary receives her share of the treasure.

Holmes and Watson reflect on the case, with Holmes admitting that it had been one of his more interesting and challenging cases.

Overall, "The Sign of the Four" is a thrilling and complex mystery

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2020 Reprint of the 1890 Edition. The Sign of Four is the second novel featuring Sherlock Holmes written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

Doyle would eventually write four novels and 56 short stories featuring the fictional detective. The story is set in 1888. The novel has a complex plot involving service in India, the Indian Rebellion of 1857, a stolen treasure, and a secret pact among four convicts ("the Four" of the title) and two corrupt prison guards.

It presents the detective's drug habit and humanizes him in a way that had not been done in the preceding novel, A Study in Scarlet (1887). It also introduces Doctor Watson's future wife, Mary Morstan.

It is an entangled story of greed and revenge in which Holmes and Watson accompany a beautiful young woman on a mission that leads to a horrific, one-legged man in the dark heart of London.

A thrilling early introduction to Holmes and his methods.

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