The Sign of the Four facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
The Sign of the Four

One of the coversheets to the original serial publication of the novel in Lippincott’s Monthly Magazine.
Author	Arthur Conan Doyle
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Series	Sherlock Holmes
Genre	Mystery
Publisher	Lippincott's Monthly Magazine Spencer Blackett (book)
Publication date	February 1890
Media type	Print (Magazine, Hardback & Paperback)
Preceded by	A Study in Scarlet
Followed by	The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

The Sign of the Four (1890) is a famous mystery novel by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. It's the second book to feature the brilliant detective Sherlock Holmes. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote four novels and 56 short stories about Holmes.

The Mystery Begins

The story takes place in 1888. Dr. Watson, Holmes's friend and helper, finds Holmes feeling bored. Holmes says his mind needs a challenge, a new puzzle to solve.

Soon, a young woman named Miss Mary Morstan arrives with a strange case. She explains that in 1878, her father, Captain Arthur Morstan, came to London. He was a guard in the Andaman Islands. He asked her to meet him at a hotel, but he never showed up.

Mary then contacted Major John Sholto, her father's only friend in London. But Major Sholto said he hadn't seen Captain Morstan. No one ever heard from her father again.

The Mysterious Pearls

Four years later, Mary saw a strange ad in the newspaper. It said it would be "to her advantage" if she shared where she lived. After she replied, she started getting a valuable pearl in the mail every year for six years.

With the sixth pearl, she got a letter. It asked her to meet someone and said she was a "wronged woman." This made the mystery even deeper!

Holmes Takes the Case

Sherlock Holmes agrees to help Mary. He quickly finds out that Major Sholto died in 1882. Mary received her first pearl just a week after his death.

Mary's only other clue is a map of a fortress. It was found in her father's desk. On the map were the words "The Sign of the Four: Jonathan Small, Mahomet Singh, Abdullah Khan, Dost Akbar." There were also four small cross symbols.

Meeting Thaddeus Sholto

Following the letter's instructions, Holmes, Watson, and Mary go to the Lyceum Theatre. A coachman takes them to the house of Major Sholto's son, Thaddeus. He was the one sending the pearls.

Thaddeus explains that Captain Morstan did visit his father. Captain Morstan wanted his share of a treasure that Major Sholto had brought from India. During an argument, Captain Morstan had a heart attack and died. He hit his head on the treasure box as he fell.

Major Sholto was scared he would be blamed for murder. So, he buried the body and hid the treasure. He only kept a small gold headpiece with twelve pearls.

The Secret Revealed

Thaddeus and his twin brother, Bartholomew, didn't know about this. Then, a letter from India made their father faint and become very ill. On his deathbed, he told them the truth.

He was about to tell them where the treasure was hidden. But then, a bearded man appeared at the window, and the Major died from fear. The brothers tried to catch the intruder but failed. Later, they found a note pinned to the Major's body. It read "The Sign of Four."

Thaddeus started sending Mary the pearls to try and make things right. The brothers searched for the treasure for years. Six years later, Bartholomew found it but kept it for himself. Thaddeus then contacted Mary so they could both confront Bartholomew and get their shares.

A Shocking Discovery

The group, now with Thaddeus, goes to Bartholomew's house, Pondicherry Lodge. The worried housekeeper says Bartholomew has locked himself in his lab.

Mary stays downstairs to comfort the housekeeper. Holmes, Watson, and Thaddeus rush to the lab door. Through the keyhole, they see Bartholomew slumped in his chair, with a strange smile on his face.

Holmes and Watson break down the door. They find Bartholomew dead. Holmes inspects the body and finds a poisonous thorn above Bartholomew's ear. The treasure box is gone, and there's a hole in the ceiling where it used to be.

The Chase Begins

The police wrongly arrest Thaddeus. But Holmes uses clues like footprints to figure out there are two people involved in the murder. One is a white man with one leg named Jonathan Small. The other is a small helper from the Andaman Islands. This helper accidentally stepped in creosote, leaving a distinct trail.

Holmes borrows a trained dog named Toby. Toby helps them track the two men to a boat landing. Holmes learns that Small has rented a steam launch called the Aurora.

With help from the Baker Street Irregulars (a group of street kids who help Holmes) and his own disguises, Holmes finds the boat at a repair yard. Holmes and Watson chase the Aurora in a police boat. The islander tries to shoot a dart at Holmes but is shot and killed. Small tries to escape by running the Aurora aground, but he is captured.

However, the treasure box is empty! Small didn't want to give up the gems. He threw them into the Thames River during the chase.

Jonathan Small's Story

Small confesses his story. He was once a soldier in India. He lost his right leg to a crocodile while swimming in the Ganges River. He then worked on an indigo farm.

During the 1857 rebellion, he had to flee to the Agra fortress. One night, while on guard, he was captured by Sikh soldiers. They gave him a choice: die or help them rob Achmet. Achmet was a servant of a powerful ruler, carrying a box of jewels to the British for safekeeping.

The robbery and murder happened, but the crime was discovered. The hidden jewels were not found. Small and his partners were sent to prison on the Andaman Islands.

The Stolen Treasure

Years later, Small learned that Major Sholto and Captain Morstan, who were guards at the prison, had lost money playing cards. Small saw his chance. He made a deal with them: Sholto would get the treasure, and in return, he would send a boat to pick up Morstan, Small, and the Sikhs. They would all meet and divide the treasure.

But Sholto stole the treasure for himself. He returned to England after getting money from his uncle. Morstan went after Sholto but never came back. Small swore to get revenge on Sholto.

Four years later, Small escaped prison with the help of Tonga, an islander whose life he had saved. News of this escape shocked Sholto and made him fatally ill. Small arrived too late to learn where the treasure was. But he left the note in the room anyway, as revenge.

When Bartholomew finally found the treasure, Small only planned to steal it. But a misunderstanding led Tonga to kill Bartholomew before Small could stop him. Small believes the treasure brings bad luck to everyone who has it: death to Achmet and Bartholomew, fear and guilt to Major Sholto, and a life sentence in prison for himself.

Mary is left with no treasure, except for the pearls. However, she and Watson have fallen in love during the adventure. The loss of the treasure removed any differences that might have been between them. Watson tells Holmes that he has asked Mary to marry him, and she said yes. Holmes is not very happy about this, as he prefers to focus on cases!

How the Book Was Made

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle explained how he was asked to write this story. He had dinner with Joseph Marshall Stoddart, an editor for an American magazine called Lippincott's Monthly Magazine. This dinner happened at the Langham Hotel in London in August 1889.

Stoddart wanted to create an English version of his magazine with British writers. Another famous writer, Oscar Wilde, was also at the dinner. Wilde later wrote The Picture of Dorian Gray for the same magazine. Doyle called this a "golden evening" in his book about his life.

First Publication

The novel first appeared in the February 1890 issue of Lippincott's Monthly Magazine. It was called The Sign of the Four; or The Problem of the Sholtos. It was published in both London and Philadelphia.

The British magazine cost one shilling, and the American one cost 25 cents. Today, old copies are worth thousands of dollars!

Over the next few months, the story was printed again in other British newspapers. These versions were called The Sign of Four. The book was then published in October 1890 by Spencer Blackett, also titled The Sign of Four.

Different editions of the book have used both titles over the years. Most prefer the shorter title, The Sign of Four. However, in the story itself, the symbol is almost always called "the Sign of the Four."

Like the first Sherlock Holmes story, A Study in Scarlet, The Sign of the Four wasn't a huge hit at first. It was the shorter stories, published from 1891 onwards in Strand Magazine, that made Sherlock Holmes and his creator, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, household names.

Movie and TV Shows

The Sign of the Four has been made into many films and TV shows. Here are some of them:

Radio Shows

The story has also been adapted for radio many times:

• A radio version was broadcast in New York in 1922.
• A six-part radio series called The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes aired in 1932.
• The BBC Light Programme broadcast an adaptation in 1959.
• The BBC Home Service had a version in 1963.
• CBS Radio Mystery Theater aired a radio play in 1977.
• BBC Radio 4 created a version in 1989 as part of their complete Sherlock Holmes series.
• The Classic Adventures of Sherlock Holmes adapted the story in 2016.

Stage Plays

A play called The Crucifer of Blood (1978) is based on the novel. It was performed on Broadway and in London.

Images for kids

• 

  The 1892 cloth-bound cover of The Sign of Four after it was compiled as a single book.