Pamela J. Greene
Arthur Conan Doyle was born in Scotland in 1859. He was interested in medicine and after finishing medical training set up his own practice. Among his favorite authors were Edgar Allan Poe, the first detective story writer, and Wilkie Collins. Collins was the father of the English horror story.
To please his wife, Doyle began to think about writing a detective story. He remembered the writings of Poe and Collins and set himself to follow in their footsteps. Doyle wanted his master detective to be striking in appearance. The detective would have to be absolutely fearless and have an unusual manner. Above all, he must be a man with a special charm of his own. But Doyle felt he also needed someone to tell the stories. And he decided it should be a doctor, like himself. And so Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson were born.
When Arthur Conan Doyle’s first short stories appeared in the
Strand Magazine
, there were no great books on criminology. Doyle had to depend on his own powers of deduction and observation to solve the problems he created for Holmes.
By 1890, Doyle had given up medicine to devote himself to writing. Soon he was famous. The tall lean figure with the peaked cap and pipe, answering to the name of Sherlock Holmes, was known almost everywhere. Doyle had intended to write only six stories, but the public would not let him drop Holmes and Watson. But drop Holmes he did. When people read of the supposed death of Holmes and his enemy at the foot of Reichenbach Falls, they were stunned. But Doyle remained firm. Later Doyle wrote a play called
Sherlock Holmes
. The play was a huge success both in England and America.
In 1899, England was at war in South Africa. Doyle decided to enlist. He got an appointment as an army doctor. The king wanted to reward Conan Doyle by making him a knight. At first Doyle refused. But eventually he became Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. At the age of 43 he was the world’s most popular writer. Still he refused to bring Holmes back to life.
Finally, in the spring of 1903, he gave in. Doyle wrote “The Adventure of the Empty House” and Holmes returned.
In 1907, Doyle married again. To please his new wife, he wrote several more Holmes stories. When World War I broke out Doyle again volunteered. After the war, Arthur Conan Doyle began to study spiritualism. He continued to write and went on several speaking tours. In July, 1930, Arthur Conan Doyle died. His memory will live forever in the immortal characters of Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson.
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These questions are to be used with the lesson for “The Adventure of the Speckled Band.”
Finding the Main Idea
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1. This story is mostly about
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(A) a gypsy band
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(B) a young woman’s strange death
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(C) the theft of a necklace
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(D) a railroad accident
Remembering Detail
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2. What did Julia Stoner hear several nights before she died?
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(A) Animal cries
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(B) A song
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(C) A whistle
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(D) Laughter
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3. Julia was killed in
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(A) her bedroom
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(B) the yard
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(C) the village
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(D) her aunt’s house
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4. What was suspicious about Julia’s bedroom?
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(A) It had strange fingerprints.
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(B) It had no fireplace.
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(C) The door had no lock.
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(D) The bed was nailed to the floor.
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5. Julia Stoner was killed by a
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(A) snake
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(B) baboon
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(C) cheetah
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(D) spider
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6. Holmes trapped Doctor Roylott by
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(A) following him to London
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(B) waiting for his next attack
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(C) opening his safe
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(D) sending him a fake message
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7. How did Doctor Roylott die?
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(A) Holmes shot him.
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(B) The cheetah attacked him.
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(C) His snake bit him.
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(D) A gypsy killed him.
Drawing Conclusions
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8. Doctor Roylott didn’t want his stepdaughters to get married because he
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(A) didn’t like their boyfriends
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(B) didn’t want to live alone
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(C) was not told of their engagements
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(D) would have to give them large sums of money
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9. Helen herself was in danger when she finally went to Holmes because she
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(A) was going to be married
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(B) knew what killed Julia
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(C) threatened her stepfather
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(D) moved out of the house
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10. What clues made Holmes think that Doctor Roylott had a snake?
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(A) Hissing noises in the safe
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(B) Marks in the soil
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(C) A dish of milk and a dog leash
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(D) Dead mice on the bed
Using Your Reason
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11. Holmes says that he is probably responsible for the death of the doctor, “but I cannot say that it is likely to weigh very heavily upon my conscience.” He would have meant the same thing if he had said that he
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(A) feels very guilty
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(B) is not going to worry about it
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(C) should have tried to stop it
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(D) planned it that way
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12. If Julia struck a match before she died, you can figure out that she might have seen
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(A) a “speckled band”
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(B) Doctor Roylott
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(C) a ghost
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(D) the gypsies
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13. When Helen told Holmes that she heard a whistle while staying in her sisters bedroom, it seemed likely that
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(A) she had been dreaming
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(B) the gypsy band had been breaking in
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(C) the snake had been in the bedroom
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(D) she had been lying
Thinking It Over
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1. Explain Holmes’ statement that “doctors make the greatest criminals.” Why do you think he came to that conclusion? Do you agree or disagree?
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2. What was Doctor Roylott’s biggest mistake as a murderer? Do you think he was careless? Why or why not?
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3. Do you think the Stoner sisters were foolish to live with their stepfather for so long? Was there anything else they could have done? Explain your answers.