Sherlock Holmes:
“The Adventure of
the Speckled Band”
By Arthur Conan Doyle
Frame Story
• “The Adventure of the Speckled
Band” is a frame story, meaning a
“story within a story.”
• Who is narrating the story? At what
point in the plot do we find out?
Opening Sentence
On glancing over my notes of the seventy
odd cases in which I have during the last eight
years studied the methods of my friend Sherlock
Holmes, I find many tragic, some comic, a large
number merely strange, but none commonplace;
for, working as he did rather for the love of his
art than for the acquirement of wealth, he
refused to associate himself with any
investigation which did not tend towards the
unusual, and even the fantastic.
Baker Street
Mysteries and “The Truth”
• What do we readers do as we read mysteries?
• Watson: “It is perhaps as well that the facts
should now come to light, for I have reasons to
know that there are widespread rumors as to
the death of Dr. Grimesby Roylott which tend
to make the matter even more terrible than
the truth.” What is the specific purpose of
this passage? What do we know from the
beginning? How does this passage connect to
the BQ?
Foreshadowing:
Hints or clues as to what will happen
later in a narrative.
What do we know will happen?
In a mystery, clues are used as
foreshadowing to help readers solve
the mystery.
Description of Sherlock
Holmes
I had no keener pleasure than in following
Holmes in his professional investigations, and in
admiring the rapid deductions, as swift intuitions,
and yet always founded on a logical basis, with
which he unraveled the problems which were
submitted to him.
-duc- “to lead” or “bring”
What does deductions most likely mean?
Exposition
• What woman comes looking for help?
She raised her veil as she spoke, and we
could see that she was indeed in a pitiable
state of agitation, her face all drawn and
gray, with restless, frightened eyes, like those
of some hunted animal. What is the mood of
this passage?
• How does Holmes deduce that she road a
dogcart (horse-drawn carriage)?
Flashback
• A scene set earlier in time than the
main story.
• What do we discover in Helen
Stoner’s flashback?
What do we know about the
stepfather?
• He got a medical degree to pay for ________.
• He went to prison because he beat up his
______.
• He married Miss Stoner’s mother, who had a lot
of __________.
• After his wife died, he was known for ______
with people who crossed paths with him.
• What does Doyle most likely want us to think of
Dr. Roylott? What mystery term might be used
to describe him?
Prime Suspect?
• “He is a man of immense strength, and
absolutely uncontrollable in his anger.”
• His only friends are the wandering ______.
• He has a passion for Indian animals; he has
a _______ and a _______ on the estate
now.
Julia, the Victim
• She died ____ years ago.
• She was about to get ______.
• She would get _______ when she got married.
• Her bedroom was between _______’s and
_______’s.
• She complained of hearing _______ in the night.
• Helen heard a ______ sound when she rushed to
her sister’s bedroom the night of her death.
Mood? Clues?
By the light of the corridor lamp I saw my
sister appear at the opening, her face blanched
with terror, her hands groping for help, her whole
figure swaying to and fro like that of a drunkard. I
ran to her and threw my arms round her…She
writhed as one in terrible pain, and her limbs were
dreadfully convulsed… “Oh Helen! It was the band!
The speckled band!” …She stabbed with her finger
in the direction of the doctor’s room…
Clues
• The coroner ruled out violence, because she was
definitely ______ in the room.
• He also ruled out _______, because it was not
found in her system.
• Helen thinks that the “speckled band” could
refer to the _________ the gypsies wore.
• Most clues seem to be point to whom?
Helen’s Fear
• She is about to be ________.
• She is now sleeping in ________’s room.
• She heard a low __________ sound.
• There are fingerprint _______ on her hand
from her _______.
Who/what does she fear? What would be
the motive?
The Holmes “Wit”…Purpose?
“I am Dr. Grimesby Roylott, of Stoke Moran.”
“Indeed, Doctor,” said Holmes blandly. “Pray take
a seat.”
“I will do nothing of the kind. My stepdaughter
has been here. I have traced her. What has she been
saying to you?”
“It is a little cold for the time of the year,” said
Holmes.
“What has she been saying to you?” screamed
the old man furiously.
“But I have heard the crocuses promise well,”
continued my companion.
Before We Read: Dialogue Review,
Type 2
• Turn to page 138 in your textbook.
• Study the image: What mood do you
experience based on details you see?
• Create a short conversation among the 3
characters, setting us up for what we are
about to read.
• You will be assessed on your ability to convey
appropriate content and your ability to
punctuate correctly. BONUS points!
After You Read
How does Doyle use mood to achieve his
purpose in “The Adventure of the Speckled
Band”?
Use examples of mood, and be sure to state
clearly the author’s purpose. USE THE
TERMS!