Her mother, killed eight years ago, left Helen and her twin sister with a healthy inheritance and a violent stepfather. The dying woman's words were: "The band!

They seal themselves inside with a gun, a cane, and a candle, but no lamp because Roylott would see the light glow through the ventilator. The Adventure of the Speckled Band Summary & Study Guide includes comprehensive information and analysis to Through Watson's eyes, the reader is able to get inside the mind of the great Holmes and to learn to think like a master detective. Get The Adventure of the Speckled Band from Amazon.com. In a sense, Conan Doyle is able to use the detective genre as a template in which he can engage with other genres. He is certified medical doctor and joined the British Army as an assistant surgeon after receiving his... One gets more detail as well as interpret the clues much better than the first read. In "The Adventure of the Speckled Band" Arthur Conan Doyle presents, for the reader's consideration, one of the most unusual cases in the long, illustrious career of Sherlock Holmes.

He indulges his violent nature frequently with his stepdaughters and with the surrounding villagers, who all fear the dreaded Roylott. Holmes laughs off the encounter and bends the steel poker back in place. Relieved, Helen leaves, and Holmes discusses the case with Watson. Since the death of Helen's mother, Dr. Roylott has been content to live off his dead wife's income. The Adventure of the Speckled Band: A Summary Early one morning, Miss Helen Stoner arrives at Sherlock Holmes’ homes to discuss with him the mysterious case of her twin sister Julia’s death. However, she has absolutely no proof, and even her fiancé thinks her fears are groundless. Helen Stoner's explanation of her case sets this tone: "'It is not cold which makes me shiver… It is fear, Mr. Holmes. Holmes warns Watson that the speckled band is a swamp adder from India, and that its venom kills in ten seconds. Helen also tells them that Roylott let a gypsy camp stay nearby. Her features and figure were those of a woman of thirty, but her hair was shot with premature gray, and her expression was weary and haggard" (177-8). GradeSaver "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes “The Adventure of the Speckled Band” Summary and Analysis". He gives Helen some instructions, then he and Watson high-tail it out of there before Roylott gets back. The narrator, Holmes' friend and right hand man, Dr. Watson, fills us in on Holmes' legendary detective abilities, for the benefit of those readers who have not yet heard of the famous sleuth. One night, after conversing with her twin sister about her upcoming wedding day, Julia screamed and came to the hallway where Helen came out to see her, in Julia's dying words she said "it was the band, the speckled band!" resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel. everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of The Adventure of the Speckled Band. Just then Roylott bursts through the door. This Study Guide consists of approximately 43 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more - John H. Watson known as Dr. Watson. Holmes goes off to research his theory that morning; in the process he reviews Helen's mother's will. After she leaves, Roylott himself appears and threatens Holmes to stay out of his business. Holmes explains how he solved the case, and admits that he felt completely responsible for Roylott's death; but that he is unlikely to feel much guilt over the death. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes essays are academic essays for citation. The play starred Liam Tims and Alan Elms. This detailed literature summary also contains Related Titles and a Free Quiz on The Adventure of the Speckled Band by Arthur Conan Doyle.

His only friends are a band of gypsies who frequent Roylott's family home at Stoke Moran, as well as a cheetah and a baboon that are allowed to roam freely over the grounds. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Order our The Adventure of the Speckled Band Study Guide, teaching or studying The Adventure of the Speckled Band.

Holmes and Watson travel through the English countryside, first by train and then by carriage to reach Roylott's house. The Roylott family wealth has been squandered over time by the reckless and violent male heirs of the Roylott line. He threatens Holmes by bending a steel poker in half. A new one-off radio adaptation of the story was aired in May 2016 by Indian radio broadcaster Radio Mirchi, as part of their. They make a good observation of everything in Roylott's bedroom, and Helen's bedroom. This case is brought to Holmes' attention by a distraught young woman named Helen Stoner. The story was adapted for radio three times during the late 1940s. That night, Holmes and Watson find a swamp adder snake (the speckled band) trying to kill Helen, at which point Holmes attacks. "The Adventure of the Engineer's Thumb" Summary and Analysis, "The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle" Summary and Analysis. It is terror.' A new British stage adaptation premiered in August 2013 at Treasurer's House in Ripley, North Yorkshire. Baker Street Wiki is a FANDOM TV Community. Helen Stoner begs Holmes for help with a strange situation that gives her cause to fear for her own life at her stepfather's house at Stoke Moran. She explains that her mother met Roylott in India when she and her sister Julia were only two, but on their way back to England, her mother was killed in a railway accident.

Hours later, they see light through the ventilator shaft and then hear a soft hissing. Later, Holmes and Watson journey to Stoke Moran and investigate. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes Summary A Scandal in Bohemia.

Holmes' initial theory is that Roylott has hired a gypsy friend to break into the bedroom and in some way cause his stepdaughters' deaths. The same night she told Helen about the whistle, Julia died mysteriously in her locked room. This study guide contains the following sections: This detailed literature summary also contains Related Titles and a Free Quiz on Finally, late last night while Helen was lying in bed, she heard it - the sound of a low whistle in the dead of night. The stepfather, Dr. Grimesby Roylott, comes from a noble but tragic bloodline.

During the trip, Holmes tells Watson that the provisions of the will give Roylott a very good motive for murder indeed. Holmes exams the shuttered bars on the windows and immediately realizes his gypsy theory is wrong; the windows are impassable. Holmes and Watson keep watch from an inn across the way that has a clear view of the house. They hear a low whistle from the next room. Her stepfather, Dr. Grimesby Roylott, had married Helen's mother in India and gained from her a substantial amount of money before her death, after which he moved with Helen and her twin sister Julia to his ancestral home and gave the two girls little opportunity to enjoy the society of others. Nowadays he continues to cause trouble and terrorize the neighbors with his violence. BBC Radio 4 adapted the short story under the same name in 1991, as part of a long-term series of BBC radio adaptations of the whole Sherlock Holmes Canon, directed by playwright and radio drama director Bert Coules. American broadcaster NBC Television aired a half-hour adaptatin of the story in March 1949, as part of the anthology series. "The Adventure of the Speckled Band" is one of the most famous short stories of the Sherlock Holmes adventures written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Inside Julia's old room, he finds a fake bell-pull next to the bed attached to a tiny ventilator shaft which leads, not to the outside air, but straight to Dr. Roylott's bedroom next door. The Adventure of the Speckled Band by Arthur Conan Doyle. Holmes and the faithful Watson, always eager to hear an interesting mystery, invite her to share her problem.

Helen has wasted considerable money paying off the villagers after each one of these incidents. Most of the short stories in this compilation are told in a first-person narrative from his point of view. In the present story, the plot and narrative style of the mystery are highly reminiscent of Gothic novels such as Charlotte Brönte's Wuthering Heights, with the isolation of women in a mysterious mansion whose workings they do not completely comprehend, and a man with dark secrets. In her urgency, she wakes up the entire household because she must speak to Holmes right away.

Miss Stoner seeks out Holmes in the early hours of the morning on a fine spring day in 1883. Helen fears for her life because her twin sister, Julia, died mysteriously two years ago at the family home in Stoke Moran some two weeks before her wedding. Holmes then says that he has solved the case, and tells Helen that he and Watson will be at an inn nearby to catch the killer in the act. Despite this, they came to live in Stoke Moran. Helen insists to Holmes that her room was never in need of repair at all and believes it's a ploy to move her into Julia's room. Sherlock Holmes wakes Dr. John Watson up early one morning, telling him that the housekeeper, Mrs. Hudson, roused him because a client has arrived, a young woman. Holmes explains, for Watson's benefit, the scientific method which led him to suspect the murder weapon was a swamp adder, and he fills in all the details we might have missed about Dr. Roylott's wicked plan. Helen's current agitation stems from the fact that her stepfather has begun repairs on Helen's bedroom, which has forced Helen to move into her dead sister's bedroom until the repairs are completed. Helen reveals that her stepfather moved her to Julia's room after her death, which is now her bedroom. Copyright © 1999 - 2020 GradeSaver LLC. Holmes, always the gentleman, puts her mind at ease about his fee and agrees to meet her at Stoke Moran later that afternoon. Watson gets dressed, and they find their client waiting in Holmes' waiting room. When they arrive at Stokes Moran, Helen shows them the rooms where she and Dr. Roylott sleep. Helen's wedding date is now approaching, and as she relates the story of Julia's death, we see similarities to Helen's current situation. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes study guide contains a biography of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. As usual with a Sherlock Holmes story, the villain is apparent from the beginning. A young woman named Helen Stoner consults the detective Sherlock Holmes about the suspicious death of her sister, Julia. Holmes lights the candle and attacks the bell-rope with his cane. The head band moves, it hisses at them.

Julia's last words referred to a "speckled band." Holmes has seen enough, but he needs to prove his theory. They watch as Roylott returns, and they are still watching several hours later as Helen gives the all-clear signal. Watson can only watch helplessly; he has no idea what's going on.

Holmes warns Watson not to make a sound, and the men wait in silence.

The adder attacks the first person it sees, which just so happens to be the mastermind behind the case: Roylott.

Helen appeals to Holmes to help her because she fears her stepfather is plotting against her life. A young woman named Helen Stoner contacts Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson for aid in foiling the villainous plans of her stepfather, Grimesby Roylott.