"The Sign of Four, Arthur Conan Doyle's second novel about the exploits of Sherlock Holmes, first appeared in England and the U.S. in "Lippincott Magazinein February 1890. "The Sign of Fourbrings Mary Morstan, a beautiful young governess, to the home of consulting detective Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson. Mary's father, an officer in the British Forces who had served as a prison guard in India, disappeared the day he returned to England six years earlier - while en route to meet his daughter. One year to the day after Captain Morstan's disappearance, Miss Morstan received a small box containing a lustrous pearl. No return address, no note, just the jewel. On each successive anniversary over the next several years another pearl arrived from her unknown benefactor. Determined to uncover the story behind the elder Morstan's disappearance, and the meaning behind the mysterious jewels, the trio set out on an exotic adventure laced with stolen treasure, secret oaths and murder, culminating in a breath-taking chase down the Thames.
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"In this erudite and provocative edition, Shafquat Towheed offers fans of both Sherlock Holmes and Arthur Conan Doyle an intricate account of the intertextual histories at the heart of The Sign of Four. Arguing for the inextricability of its colonial plots with its work as detective fiction, Towheed builds a persuasive case for The Sign of Four as Mutiny fiction, positioning it as pivotal to the imperial career of 'British' fiction per se. Readers of this edition will be gripped by the colonial pathways Towheed reveals, the politics of citation he uncovers, and the entanglement of home and empire he tracks in the making of the novel. This is postcolonial interpretation at its very best." (Antoinette Burton )
--This text refers to the
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Arthur Conan Doyle's second Sherlock Holmes novel is both a detective story and an imperial romance. Ostensibly the story of Mary Morstan, a beautiful young woman enlisting the help of Holmes to find her vanished father and solve the mystery of her receipt of a perfect pearl on the same date each year, it gradually uncovers a tale of treachery and human greed. The action audaciously ranges from penal settlements on the Andaman Islands to the suburban comfort of South London, and from the opium-fuelled violence of Agra Fort during the Indian 'Mutiny' to the cocaine-induced contemplation of Holmes' own Baker Street. This Broadview Edition places Doyle's tale in the cultural, political, and social contexts of late nineteenth-century colonialism and imperialism. The appendices provide a wealth of relevant extracts from hard-to-find sources, including official reports, memoirs, newspaper editorials, and anthropological studies.
--This text refers to the
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Sherlock Holmes took his bottle from the corner of the mantelpiece and his hypodermic syringe from its neat morocco case. Read the first page
Front Cover | Table of Contents | Excerpt
Sherlock Holmes took his bottle from the corner of the mantelpiece and his hypodermic syringe from its neat morocco case. Read the first page
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Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
By ninefly
Format:Paperback
review of: audio book read by John Telfer
I'm glad that Mr. Doyle has understood that audiences did not much enjoy the 5 chapters of criminal exposition (from the first book) as much when Holmes is not there to deduce the hell out of stuff. This second novel of the Sherlock Holmes series delves further into the personal lives of both Holmes and Watson, yet maintains the quality of plot and pacing that the first book had offered.
for a more in-depth review, please visit my blog (linked in profile)
I'm glad that Mr. Doyle has understood that audiences did not much enjoy the 5 chapters of criminal exposition (from the first book) as much when Holmes is not there to deduce the hell out of stuff. This second novel of the Sherlock Holmes series delves further into the personal lives of both Holmes and Watson, yet maintains the quality of plot and pacing that the first book had offered.
for a more in-depth review, please visit my blog (linked in profile)
By Kurt A. Johnson
TOP 1000 REVIEWER
Format:Audio Cassette
In this, the second Sherlock Holmes story written by Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes is called upon by a young lady who needs the great detective's help with a mystery. However, when this mystery leads to murder, Holmes must seek to uncover secrets that have lain hidden for many years, and have their roots in treacheries upon treacheries in far-off India. There's a one-legged man who is at the center of this mystery, and he has a murderous friend who may just be the end of Sherlock Holmes!
As I said, this is the second ever Sherlock Holmes story, written in 1890. As with the very best of the Holmes story, this one is absolutely gripping, carrying a fascinating story with mysteries wrapped up in mysteries that only Mr. Holmes can possibly conquer. As an added bonus, in this story, we get to learn about Dr. Watson's meeting of his true love, and his eventual marriage - which should end some rumors that people spread.
Yep, this is a great story, one that is sure to please any fan of mysteries, and is certain to delight any Sherlock Holmes fan!
By Roger Long
Format:Paperback
The first two-thirds of this short novel are ripe with the foggy atmosphere of Victorian London, as Holmes and Watson seek to help the pretty young client secure her legacy, a trunk filled with stolen jewels. But the thief-murderer duo are apprehended long before the end, and the last part is his rather mundane account of how the jewels were stolen in India and life at the prison on the Andaman Islands. There's actually very little "mystery" or detection to it, since we know who the thief-murderer are early on. The boat chase on the Thames is not especially interesting or convincing, nor is the romance between Dr. Watson and the pretty client. What saves this is the almost palpable atmosphere of London in the time of Jack the Ripper, plus the outrageous conclusions drawn by Sherlock Holmes.
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4.5 out of 5 stars
Most recent customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
The science of deduction embodied in one man.
Published in 1890, "The Sign of Four" was Doyle's second work, featuring the legendary detective Sherlock Holmes. Read more
Published on Aug 5 2003 by Godly Gadfly
5.0 out of 5 stars
The second sherlock holmes's novel
In this second novel of Sherlock Holmes's Dr John Watson continues introducing the world to the singular methods of his strange friend, Mr. Sherlock Holmes. Read more
Published on April 5 2003 by Khalifa Alhazaa
5.0 out of 5 stars
Murder, Mystery and Treasure!
A classic Holmes novel, this book is perhaps one of Sherlock's most puzzling mysteries. As told by Dr. Watson, this mystery may have been one of Holmes's toughest cases yet. Read more
Published on May 1 2002 by Peter Tevis
5.0 out of 5 stars
Murder, Mystery and Treasure!
A classic Holmes novel, this book is perhaps one of Sherlock's most puzzling mysteries. As told by Dr. Watson, this mystery may have been one of Holmes's toughest cases yet. Read more
Published on April 29 2002 by Peter Tevis
5.0 out of 5 stars
Loyalty, Betrayal, Revenge, and Romance
A fabulous treasure dogged by murder. A trans-racial oath of loyalty. A greedy major, a cannibal pigmy, and a peg-legged convict. Read more
Published on May 20 2001 by George R Dekle
5.0 out of 5 stars
What an awsome story of suspense and mystery
This is a story of a mystery which seemed impossible to solve. I really enjoyed the language and vocabulary. I enjoyed this book from the first chapter to the last. Read more
Published on Nov 11 1998
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