THE SIGN OF FOUR

He was born in Edinburgh, Scotland in He decided to pursue a medical degree at the University of Edinburgh. His first paying job as a doctor was aboard the steamship Mayumba. Later, he settled in Portsmouth and opened his first practice. It was difficult for him to work as a doctor and a writer at the same time and finally he decided to give up medicine. He married twice and he had two daughters and three sons. In 1888 he published the first mystery novel of Sherlock Holmes: A Study in Scarlet. It was the first of 60 stories about Sherlock Holmes. Four of the most famous Sherlock Holmes books were written between 1890 and early years of 1900s: The Sign of Four (1890), The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1892), The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes (1894) and The Hounds of Baskervilles (1901). In 1893 he killed his Sherlock Holmes character but eight years later he reintroduced him. Besides his Sherlock Homes books, he wrote science fiction stories, historical novels, poetry and theatre plays. He died in 1930 in Crowborough. Arthur Conan Doyle

Doctor Watson: the narrator of Sherlock Holmes stories. He had been a doctor in the army and he lives with Holmes. Holmes: a famous detective who lives in Baker Street with Doctor Watson. He is able to deduce facts, paying attention to small details. He likes playing violin and disguising. Miss Morstan: a young and small woman with fair hair and blue eyes. She is working as a governess. She asked Sherlock Holmes to help her to find her missing father ( an officer in the army called Captain Morstan) Character Analysis

Lestrade: detective inspector who works in New Scotland Yard. Sherlock Holmes helps him a lot in this case. He is surprised several times by Sherlock Holmes´ methods and actions. Thaddeus Sholto: a very ugly little man with bad teeth and thin lips. His father was Major Sholto, who served in the army with Captain Morstan. He has a twin brother called Bartholomew Sholto. He wants to tell Mary Morstan what happened to her father.

Mordecai Smith: he has got a business renting boats. He took a green steam launch called Aurora and went across the River Thames with Jonathan Small. His wife was worried because he only had enough coal to travel a very short way. Jonathan Small: a peg-legged man who has an accomplice called Tonga. He was born in the west of England. He joined the army, and served in India. During that time, when he was crossing a river, a crocodile bit off his leg, making him crippled. He spent five months in hospital and when he came out, the army didn´t want him any more. Then, a man called Abel White gave him work but the natives killed him so he went to Agra where he stole the famous treasure of the map: “ The Sign of Four ”

The story takes place in London in the nineteenth century. It starts at Baker Street where Holmes and Watson are living. Throughout the story the characters take us to the poorest parts of south London. After, we see Pondichery Lodge which is Major Sholto´s house. It stood in a very large garden. There was a high wall garden around the house with broken wall on the top. There was only one door in the wall and this was heavy and made of dark wood. Later we go to a neighborhood by the River Thames where you can rent boats to cross the river. Finally we make a trip across the river. Setting

Mystery. Disappearance and possible murder of Captain Morstan (an officer of the army) ten years ago. His daughter asks for help to the famous detective Sherlock Holmes. Theme

Mary Morstan asks Sherlock Holmes to help her to find out what happened to her father, Captain Morstan, who has been missing for ten years. Six years ago she saw an advertisement in The Times which informed her that there were good news about her father. She replied to the advertisement and that same day she received a small box in the post. Since then, every year on the same day she has received a pearl in the post. The day she goes to Holmes she has been sent a letter that made an appointment for that evening if she wanted to know about Captain Morstan. She was told that she could bring two persons with her, but they couldn´t be policemen. Sherlock Holmes and Watson agreed to go with her. That night Miss Morstan showed them a map that she found in her father´s desk: it is signed by four men who called themselves “The Sign of Four”. Later, the three of them are taken to a poor part of London where they meet Thaddeus Sholto, who tells them that Major Sholto and Captain Morstan had found a treasure when they were in the army in India. Captain Morstan died before they could split it. Major Sholto died too without having told his sons where the treasure was hidden. They only know it is somewhere in Pondichery Lodge. They go there and they find that Bartholomew Sholto ( Thaddeus’ twin) was murdered and the treasure is missing. From this point, we follow Holmes while he investigates who is the murderer, how he is related with “ The Sign of Four” and where the treasure is. Plot

In my opinion the book is good. The only problem I see is that there is a lot of plot in few pages, so it was difficult to me to resume it without repeating the whole story. I recommend it to people who like mystery. With this story I learnt a lot of English. Opinion