‘The Sign of the Four’ is the thrilling follow-up to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s premiere novel, ‘A Study in Scarlet’ in which he introduced the world’s first consulting detective, the legendary and brilliant Sherlock Holmes.
In this tale, young Mary Marston seeks out Holmes’ assistance in unraveling a strange mystery: ten years earlier, her father – a Captain in the army – went missing after arriving back in London after a long overseas posting. Four years after her father’s disappearance, Mary received a gift via post: a large and valuable pearl, a bequest that would be repeated annually for six years. The last pearl, however, arrived with an invitation for Mary to meet with her mysterious benefactor, claiming that Mary had somehow been ‘wronged, ‘ prompting Mary to seek Holmes’ advice.
Holmes takes the case and embarks on an adventure involving hidden treasure, betrayal, revenge…and a miniature, poison-dart shooting assassin! (This is also the story wherein Dr. Watson, Holmes’ faithful companion, falls in love with Ms. Morstan and they agree to marry, much to Holmes’ chagrin.)
‘The Sign of the Four’ is one of the most revered and exciting tales in the Holmes canon and is presented here in its original and unabridged format.
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Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle was a British author and physician best known for his creation of the characters of Sherlock Holmes and John Watson, penning four novels and fifty-six short stories about the crime-fighting duo. Born in 1859 in Edinburgh, Doyle was the son of a confirmed alcoholic and his family was often scattered among different houses as young Arthur grew up. Thankfully, Doyle had rich uncles to support him and he was given a fine education and, after receiving his medical degree, he was hired on as a ship’s surgeon aboard the SS Mayumba. Returning to England, he set up a medical practice and continued to study various subjects including botany, ophthalmology and?fiction writing. He penned a number of short stories during this time and, after his medical practice failed, Doyle had even more free time to write. In 1886, Doyle created the characters of Holmes and Watson for the short story A Study in Scarlet. His new hero proved to be enormously successful and he began publishing Holmes stories in The Strand magazine on a regular basis. Doyle soon tired of Holmes, however, and he famously killed off Holmes and his arch nemesis Professor Moriarty by having them both plunge to their deaths off the Reichenbach Falls. Holmes fans across the world were devastated by the loss of their favorite detective and pestered Doyle to return to Baker Street and create more stories. Doyle finally relented, writing The Hound of the Baskervilles in 1901 and, in 1903, resuming the Holmes series of short stories with The Adventure of the Empty House, in which it is revealed that only Moriarty was actually killed at the Falls. He would continue to write Holmes and Watson stories until the late 1920’s. Apart from the Holmes fiction, Doyle was enormously prolific as a writer, penning an entire science fiction series about Professor Challenger as well as plays, romances, historical novels, poetry and non-fiction as well. Doyle died of a heart attack at the age of 71 on July 17, 1930 in Sussex.
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