How to be a Literary Detective‘The Adventure of the Speckled Band’ by Arthur Conan Doyle and ‘The Cay’ by T
Sherlock Holmes and how to be a literary detective! Look carefully through Helen Stoner’s account and spot the important clues she gives about the events that
night. There are at least 10 to find. Then fill in what you can work out from each clue (deduction).
Clue (what happened that night)
Deduction (why this might be important to either the story or to Holmes)
1. Feeling of impending misfortune
2. Stormy night
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
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How to be a Literary Detective
‘The Adventure of the Speckled Band’ by Arthur Conan Doyle and ‘The
Cay’ by Theodore Taylor
Helen Stoner’s account of the night her sister died
"I could not sleep that night. A vague feeling of impending misfortune impressed me. My
sister and I, you will recollect, were twins, and you know how subtle are the links which bind
two souls which are so closely allied. It was a wild night. The wind was howling outside, and
the rain was beating and splashing against the windows. Suddenly, amid all the hubbub of
the gale, there burst forth the wild scream of a terrified woman. I knew that it was my
sister's voice. I sprang from my bed, wrapped a shawl round me, and rushed into the
corridor. As I opened my door I seemed to hear a low whistle, such as my sister described,
and a few moments later a clanging sound, as if a mass of metal had fallen. As I ran down
the passage, my sister's door was unlocked, and revolved slowly upon its hinges. I stared
at it horror-stricken, not knowing what was about to issue from it. By the light of the corridorlamp 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, but at that moment her knees seemed to give way and she fell to
the ground. She writhed as one who is in terrible pain, and her limbs were dreadfully
convulsed. At first I thought that she had not recognized me, but as I bent over her she
suddenly shrieked out in a voice which I shall never forget, 'Oh, my God! Helen! It was the
band! The speckled band!' There was something else which she would fain have said, and
she stabbed with her finger into the air in the direction of the doctor's room, but a fresh
convulsion seized her and choked her words. I rushed out, calling loudly for my stepfather,
and I met him hastening from his room in his dressing-gown. When he reached my sister's
side she was unconscious, and though he poured brandy down her throat and sent for
medical aid from the village, all efforts were in vain, for she slowly sank and died without
having recovered her consciousness. Such was the dreadful end of my beloved sister."
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How to be a Literary Detective
‘The Adventure of the Speckled Band’ by Arthur Conan Doyle and ‘The
Cay’ by Theodore Taylor
The Literary detective!
So far you have, like Sherlock Holmes, learnt how to make deductions about
characters and situations by finding small details and writing what these details
suggest.
When you do your literary detective work, you need to be able to present your
findings well. To do this you need a system.
When you are faced with a literary mystery to solve in the form of a question, the first
thing you must do is your detective work. We have filled in tables, and if you were
under pressure to get the mystery solved (let’s say in an examination!) you would
need to work quickly.
You then need to present your evidence clearly. Here is how you should do it:
1. Introduce the evidence.
When Helen Stoner tells us about what happened that night, she tells us of how her sister’s face had
turned white.
2. Write the evidence down exactly. To do this you will need to use quotation
marks.
We are told that “she saw my sister appear at the opening, her face blanched with terror.”
3. The important bit! Write what you have deduced or worked out from this clue.
Use expressions like:






This might suggest that…
The impression we are given is that…
This shows that…
This indicates that…
This implies that…
This hints at the fact that…
You get the idea!
This might suggest that her sister has had a terrible fright or is in shock from some kind of injury.
Of course, when you are doing your detective work, you need to take an intelligent guess. As long as you
do that, you have passed the test – you are a good literary detective.
“Elementary, my dear Watson.”
Now let’s do some detective work on another short text!
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How to be a Literary Detective
‘The Adventure of the Speckled Band’ by Arthur Conan Doyle and ‘The
Cay’ by Theodore Taylor
Solving the mystery (1)
A good literary detective will listen to/read all the known facts first before making her/his deductions.
Here they are:
It is the 1940s. Timothy is an old black man who is stranded on an island in the West Indies with a
young white boy, Phillip, who is telling the story. The white boy has not been used to black people
and Timothy has been used to doing what white people have told him to do all his life. Phillip has
just asked if it is 10 o’clock at night, even though it is the middle of the day.
The mystery to solve is:
Why did Timothy react to Phillip in such a contradictory fashion in this extract?
There was puzzlement in his voice. "'Tis day."
I put my hand in front of my face. Even in the very blackest night, you can see your own hand.
But I could not see mine.
I screamed to Timothy, "I'm blind, I'm blind."
"What?" His voice was a frightened roar.
Then I knew he was bending over me. I felt his breath in my face. He said, "Young bahss, you
cannot be blin'." He pulled me roughly from the shelter.
"Look at d'sun," he ordered. His hands pointed my face. I felt the strong warmth against it, but
everything was black.
The silence seemed to last forever as he held my face toward the sun. Then a long, shuddering
sigh came from his great body. He said, very gently, "Now, young bahss, you mus' lie downg an'
rest. What 'as happen will go 'way. 'Tis all natural temporary." But his voice was hollow.
The Cay copyright © Theodore Taylor
So, you need to do your detective work by writing down each reaction. These are the clues. Then you must
write what each one suggests about Timothy.
Timothy’s reaction (clue)
What this might suggest
There was puzzlement in his He can’t believe it. Thinks Phillip is having a joke. Annoyed?
voice.
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How to be a Literary Detective
‘The Adventure of the Speckled Band’ by Arthur Conan Doyle and ‘The
Cay’ by Theodore Taylor
Solving the mystery (2)
A good literary detective will listen to/read all the known facts first before making her/his deductions.
Here they are:
It is the 1940s. Timothy is an old black man who is stranded on an island in the West Indies with a
young white boy, Phillip, who is telling the story. The white boy has not been used to black people
and Timothy has been used to doing what white people have told him to do all his life. Phillip has
just asked if it is 10 o’clock at night, even though it is the middle of the day.
The mystery to solve is:
Why did Timothy react to Phillip in such a contradictory fashion in this extract?
There was puzzlement in his voice. "'Tis day."
I put my hand in front of my face. Even in the very blackest night, you can see your own hand.
But I could not see mine.
I screamed to Timothy, "I'm blind, I'm blind."
"What?" His voice was a frightened roar.
Then I knew he was bending over me. I felt his breath in my face. He said, "Young bahss, you
cannot be blin'." He pulled me roughly from the shelter.
"Look at d'sun," he ordered. His hands pointed my face. I felt the strong warmth against it, but
everything was black.
The silence seemed to last forever as he held my face toward the sun. Then a long, shuddering
sigh came from his great body. He said, very gently, "Now, young bahss, you mus' lie downg an'
rest. What 'as happen will go 'way. 'Tis all natural temporary." But his voice was hollow.
The Cay copyright © Theodore Taylor
So, you need to do your detective work by writing down each reaction. These are the clues. Then you must
write what each one suggests about Timothy.
Timothy’s reaction (clue)
What this might suggest
1. There was puzzlement in
his voice.
He can’t believe it. Thinks Phillip is having a joke.
Annoyed?
2.
Feels very angry and scared now.
3. I felt his breath on my
face.
4. “Young bahss, you cannot
be blin’.”
5.
6. But his voice was hollow.
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He accepts that Phillip is telling the truth after all and he is
sad about it.
He believes that Phillip will not regain his sight and is not
hopeful.
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