The Sign of Four
Encyclopedia
The Sign of the Four (1890), also called The Sign of Four, is the second novel
featuring Sherlock Holmes
written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
. Doyle wrote four novels and 56 stories starring the fictional detective.
The story is set in 1887. The Sign of the Four has a complex plot involving service in East India Company
, India, the Indian Rebellion of 1857
, a stolen treasure
, and a secret pact among four convict
s ("the Four" of the title) and two corrupt prison guards. It presents the detective's drug habit and humanizes him in a way that had not been done in A Study in Scarlet
. It also introduces Doctor Watson's future wife, Mary Morstan.
described how he was commissioned to write the story over a dinner with Joseph M. Stoddart, managing editor of Lippincott's Monthly Magazine, at the Langham Hotel
in London on 30 August 1889. Stoddart wanted to produce an English version of Lippincott’s with a British editor and British contributors. The dinner was also attended by Oscar Wilde
, who eventually contributed The Picture of Dorian Gray
to the July 1890 issue. Doyle discussed what he called this "golden evening" in his 1924 autobiography
Memories and Adventures.
The novel first appeared in the February 1890 edition of Lippincott's Monthly Magazine as The Sign of the Four (five-word title), appearing in both London and Philadelphia. The British edition of the magazine originally sold for a shilling
, and the American for 25 cent
s. Surviving copies are now worth several thousand dollar
s.
Over the following few months in the same year, the novel was then re-published in several regional British journals. These re-serialisations gave the title as The Sign of Four. The novel was published in book form in October 1890 by Spencer Blackett, again using the title The Sign of Four. The title of both the British and American editions of this first book edition omitted the second "the" of the original title.
Different editions over the years have varied between the two forms of the title, with most editions favouring the four-word form. The actual text in the novel nearly always uses "the Sign of the Four" (the five-word form) to describe the symbol in the story, although the four-word form is used twice by Jonathan Small in his narrative at the end of the story.
As with the first story, A Study in Scarlet, produced two years previously, The Sign of the Four was not particularly successful to start with. It was the short stories, published from 1891 onwards in Strand Magazine
, that made household names of Sherlock Holmes and his creator.
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
featuring Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fantastic London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to take almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve...
written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Arthur Conan Doyle
Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle DL was a Scottish physician and writer, most noted for his stories about the detective Sherlock Holmes, generally considered a milestone in the field of crime fiction, and for the adventures of Professor Challenger...
. Doyle wrote four novels and 56 stories starring the fictional detective.
The story is set in 1887. The Sign of the Four has a complex plot involving service in East India Company
East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
, India, the Indian Rebellion of 1857
Indian Rebellion of 1857
The Indian Rebellion of 1857 began as a mutiny of sepoys of the British East India Company's army on 10 May 1857, in the town of Meerut, and soon escalated into other mutinies and civilian rebellions largely in the upper Gangetic plain and central India, with the major hostilities confined to...
, a stolen treasure
Treasure
Treasure is a concentration of riches, often one which is considered lost or forgotten until being rediscovered...
, and a secret pact among four convict
Convict
A convict is "a person found guilty of a crime and sentenced by a court" or "a person serving a sentence in prison", sometimes referred to in slang as simply a "con". Convicts are often called prisoners or inmates. Persons convicted and sentenced to non-custodial sentences often are not termed...
s ("the Four" of the title) and two corrupt prison guards. It presents the detective's drug habit and humanizes him in a way that had not been done in A Study in Scarlet
A Study in Scarlet
A Study in Scarlet is a detective mystery novel written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, introducing his new character of Sherlock Holmes, who later became one of the most famous literary detective characters. He wrote the story in 1886, and it was published the next year...
. It also introduces Doctor Watson's future wife, Mary Morstan.
Publishing history
Sir Arthur Conan DoyleArthur Conan Doyle
Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle DL was a Scottish physician and writer, most noted for his stories about the detective Sherlock Holmes, generally considered a milestone in the field of crime fiction, and for the adventures of Professor Challenger...
described how he was commissioned to write the story over a dinner with Joseph M. Stoddart, managing editor of Lippincott's Monthly Magazine, at the Langham Hotel
Langham Hotel, London
The Langham, London is one of the largest and best known traditional style grand hotels in London. It is in the district of Marylebone on Langham Place and faces up Portland Place towards Regent's Park. It is a member of the Leading Hotels of the World marketing consortium.- History :The Langham,...
in London on 30 August 1889. Stoddart wanted to produce an English version of Lippincott’s with a British editor and British contributors. The dinner was also attended by Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s...
, who eventually contributed The Picture of Dorian Gray
The Picture of Dorian Gray
The Picture of Dorian Gray is the only published novel by Oscar Wilde, appearing as the lead story in Lippincott's Monthly Magazine on 20 June 1890, printed as the July 1890 issue of this magazine...
to the July 1890 issue. Doyle discussed what he called this "golden evening" in his 1924 autobiography
Autobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
Memories and Adventures.
The novel first appeared in the February 1890 edition of Lippincott's Monthly Magazine as The Sign of the Four (five-word title), appearing in both London and Philadelphia. The British edition of the magazine originally sold for a shilling
Shilling
The shilling is a unit of currency used in some current and former British Commonwealth countries. The word shilling comes from scilling, an accounting term that dates back to Anglo-Saxon times where it was deemed to be the value of a cow in Kent or a sheep elsewhere. The word is thought to derive...
, and the American for 25 cent
Cent (currency)
In many national currencies, the cent is a monetary unit that equals 1⁄100 of the basic monetary unit. Etymologically, the word cent derives from the Latin word "centum" meaning hundred. Cent also refers to a coin which is worth one cent....
s. Surviving copies are now worth several thousand dollar
Dollar
The dollar is the name of the official currency of many countries, including Australia, Belize, Canada, Ecuador, El Salvador, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Singapore, Taiwan, and the United States.-Etymology:...
s.
Over the following few months in the same year, the novel was then re-published in several regional British journals. These re-serialisations gave the title as The Sign of Four. The novel was published in book form in October 1890 by Spencer Blackett, again using the title The Sign of Four. The title of both the British and American editions of this first book edition omitted the second "the" of the original title.
Different editions over the years have varied between the two forms of the title, with most editions favouring the four-word form. The actual text in the novel nearly always uses "the Sign of the Four" (the five-word form) to describe the symbol in the story, although the four-word form is used twice by Jonathan Small in his narrative at the end of the story.
As with the first story, A Study in Scarlet, produced two years previously, The Sign of the Four was not particularly successful to start with. It was the short stories, published from 1891 onwards in Strand Magazine
Strand Magazine
The Strand Magazine was a monthly magazine composed of fictional stories and factual articles founded by George Newnes. It was first published in the United Kingdom from January 1891 to March 1950 running to 711 issues, though the first issue was on sale well before Christmas 1890.Its immediate...
, that made household names of Sherlock Holmes and his creator.
Dramatic adaptations
There are at least twelve adaptations based on this book:| Year | Title | Country | Director | Holmes | Watson |
| 1913 | Sherlock Holmes Solves the Sign of the Four | USA | unknown | Harry Benham Harry Benham Harry Benham was an American silent film actor.-Background:Born in Valparaiso, Indiana, as a child Benham and his family moved to Chicago, where he was raised and attended school... |
x |
| 1923 | The Sign of Four The Sign of Four (1923 film) The Sign of Four is a 1923 British silent mystery film directed by Maurice Elvey and starring Eille Norwood, Isobel Elsom and Fred Raynham. It was based on the novel The Sign of the Four by Arthur Conan Doyle. It was one of a series of Sherlock Holmes films starring Norwood... |
UK | Maurice Elvey Maurice Elvey Maurice Elvey was the most prolific film director in British history. He directed nearly 200 films between 1913 and 1957. During the silent film era he directed as many as twenty films per year.... |
Eille Norwood Eille Norwood Eille Norwood was a British actor who spent most of his screen career playing Sherlock Holmes. He was born Anthony Edward Brett in York, England. He apparently took his stage name from his lady friend Eileen and the town of Norwood... |
Arthur Cullin Arthur Cullin Arthur Cullin was a British actor of the silent era. He is often credited as Arthur M. Cullin.-Selected filmography:* The Answer * The Valley of Fear * Whoso Is Without Sin * Disraeli * A Smart Set... |
| 1932 | The Sign of Four The Sign of Four (1932 film) The Sign of Four is a 1932 British crime film directed by Graham Cutts and starring Arthur Wontner, Ian Hunter and Graham Soutten. The film is based on Arthur Conan Doyle's second Sherlock Holmes story The Sign of the Four and was made at Ealing Studios.The film is also known as The Sign of Four:... |
UK | Graham Cutts Graham Cutts Graham Cutts was a British film director who was one of the leading British directors in the 1920s. His fellow director A. V. Bramble believed that Gainsborough Pictures had been built on the back of his work. His daughter was actress Patricia Cutts... |
Arthur Wontner Arthur Wontner Arthur Wontner was a British actor best known for playing Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's master detective Sherlock Holmes in five films from 1931 to 1937... |
Ian Hunter Ian Hunter (actor) Ian Hunter was a British character actor.Among dozens of film roles, his best-remembered appearances include That Certain Woman with Bette Davis, The Adventures of Robin Hood , The Little Princess and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde... |
| 1968 | The Sign of the Four | UK | unknown/BBC | Peter Cushing Peter Cushing Peter Wilton Cushing, OBE was an English actor, known for his many appearances in Hammer Films, in which he played the handsome but sinister scientist Baron Frankenstein and the vampire hunter Dr. Van Helsing, amongst many other roles, often appearing opposite Christopher Lee, and occasionally... |
Nigel Stock |
| 1974 | Das Zeichen der Vier | France/West Germany | Jean-Pierre Decourt | Rolf Becker | Roger Lumont |
| 1983 | The Sign of the Four The Sign of Four (1983 film) The Sign of Four is a British television film directed by Desmond Davis and starring Ian Richardson and David Healy. The movie is based on Arthur Conan Doyle's second Sherlock Holmes story.-Production:... |
UK | Desmond Davis Desmond Davis Desmond Davis is a British film and television director.-Early career:After serving a long apprenticeship as a clapper boy in the 1940s, with Britain's Army Film Unit, Davis eventually worked his way up to focus puller and camera operator in low-budget British films of the 1950s... |
Ian Richardson Ian Richardson Ian William Richardson CBE was a Scottish actor best known for his portrayal of the Machiavellian Tory politician Francis Urquhart in the BBC's House of Cards trilogy. He was also a leading Shakespearean stage actor.... |
David Healy |
| 1983 | Sherlock Holmes and the Sign of Four (animated) | Australia | Ian Mackenzie, Alex Nicholas | Peter O'Toole Peter O'Toole Peter Seamus Lorcan O'Toole is an Irish actor of stage and screen. O'Toole achieved stardom in 1962 playing T. E. Lawrence in Lawrence of Arabia, and then went on to become a highly-honoured film and stage actor. He has been nominated for eight Academy Awards, and holds the record for most... (voice) |
Earle Cross (voice) |
| 1983 | Priklyucheniya Sherloka Kholmsa i doktora Vatsona: Sokrovishcha Agry The Treasures of Agra The Treasures of Agra is part of a series of television films made by Soviet television. They were directed by Igor Maslennikov.It starred Vasily Livanov as Sherlock Holmes and Vitaly Solomin as Dr... (The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson: The Treasures of Agra) |
USSR | Igor Maslennikov Igor Maslennikov Igor Fyodorovich Maslennikov is a Russian film director.He was born in Gorky. In 1954 Maslennikov completed his education in the department of journalism of the Leningrad University and worked as an editor, script writer, and cameraman on Leningrad television... |
Vasilij Livanov Vasily Livanov Vasily Borisovich Livanov MBE is a Soviet and Russian film actor, and screenwriter.-Biography:His father Boris Livanov was a prominent actor of the Moscow Art Theatre... |
Vitali Solomin Vitaly Solomin Vitaly Mefodievich Solomin was a Soviet and Russian actor, director and screenwriter. He was the younger brother of Yury Solomin.... |
| 1987 | The Sign of Four The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (TV series) The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes is the name given to the TV series of Sherlock Holmes adaptations produced by British television company Granada Television between 1984 and 1994, although only the first two series bore that title on screen. The series was broadcast on the ITV network in the UK,... |
UK | Peter Hammond | Jeremy Brett Jeremy Brett Jeremy Brett , born Peter Jeremy William Huggins, was an English actor, most famous for his portrayal of Sherlock Holmes in four Granada TV series.-Early life:... |
Edward Hardwicke Edward Hardwicke Edward Hardwicke , sometimes credited as Edward Hardwick, was an English actor.-Early life and career:... |
| 2001 | The Sign of the Four The Sign of Four (2001 film) The Sign of Four is an Canadian television film directed by Rodney Gibbons and starring Matt Frewer and Kenneth Welsh. The movie is based on Arthur Conan Doyle's second Sherlock Holmes story.-Production:... |
Canada | Rodney Gibbons | Matt Frewer Matt Frewer Matthew "Matt" Frewer is a Canadian American stage, TV and film actor. Acting since 1983, he is known for portraying the 1980s icon Max Headroom and the retired villain Moloch in the film adaptation of Watchmen.-Life and career:... |
Kenneth Welsh Kenneth Welsh Kenneth Welsh, CM is a Canadian film and television actor . He is known to Twin Peaks fans as the multi-faceted villain Windom Earle, and has more recently played the father of Katharine Hepburn in Martin Scorsese's The Aviator.In 1984 he was nominated for a Genie Award as Best Actor for his... |
| 2005 | Neekkam (The Move) | India | Biju Viswanath Biju Viswanath Biju Viswanath is an Award-winning international Film Director and Director of Photography.Viswanath works in a wide range of genres: Thriller, Mystery, Horror and Romance... |
unknown | unknown |
Popular culture
- The Sign of Four is the title of an album by guitarists Derek Bailey and Pat MethenyPat MethenyPatrick Bruce "Pat" Metheny is an American jazz guitarist and composer.One of the most successful and critically acclaimed jazz musicians to come to prominence in the 1970s and '80s, he is the leader of the Pat Metheny Group and is also involved in duets, solo works and other side projects...
.
External links
- The Sign of the Four, online at Ye Olde Library
- The Sign of the Four - in easy to read HTML format.