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Arthur Conan Doyle, 1890
Conan Doyle's second Sherlock Holmes novel follows the detective and Dr Watson as they investigate a case brought to them by the mysterious Mary Morstan. A tale of stolen treasure, betrayal, and colonial violence, the novel explores themes of justice, empire, greed, and the tension between reason and emotion — all set against the backdrop of Victorian London and the legacy of the British Raj.
Watson finds Holmes injecting himself with a seven-per-cent solution of cocaine, a habit Watson disapproves of but cannot prevent. Holmes is bored without a case and demonstrates his deductive method by analysing Watson's pocket watch, correctly deducing details about Watson's late brother's life — his inheritance, alcoholism, and death. Watson is both amazed and distressed. This chapter establishes Holmes's brilliance, his drug dependency, and the central tension between reason and emotion that runs through the novel.
Mary Morstan arrives at Baker Street with a mysterious problem. Her father, Captain Arthur Morstan, disappeared ten years ago after returning from India. For the last six years she has received an anonymous gift of a large, lustrous pearl each year. Now she has received a letter inviting her to meet an unknown person, with permission to bring two companions. Holmes agrees to take the case and Watson is immediately struck by Mary's beauty and composure.
Holmes, Watson, and Mary travel by cab through the fog-bound streets of London to the mysterious rendezvous. They are taken to the home of Thaddeus Sholto, the son of Major John Sholto, who was a friend of Captain Morstan in India. The journey through London's labyrinthine streets creates an atmosphere of suspense and danger. Watson's protective feelings for Mary continue to grow.
Thaddeus Sholto reveals the truth. His father, Major Sholto, and Captain Morstan had discovered the Agra treasure in India. Major Sholto brought the treasure to England but betrayed Morstan, keeping it all. When Morstan came to confront him, the two argued and Morstan suffered a fatal heart attack. Major Sholto hid the body and kept the treasure, living in fear of a one-legged man (Jonathan Small) who also claimed the jewels. On his deathbed, Major Sholto tried to reveal the treasure's location to his sons but died before completing the message. Thaddeus, feeling guilt, sent Mary the pearls.
The group travels to Pondicherry Lodge, the Sholto family home, to find Bartholomew Sholto (Thaddeus's twin brother) dead in his locked room. His face is frozen in a terrible smile, and a poisoned thorn is embedded in his skin. The Agra treasure, which Bartholomew had found hidden in the house, has been stolen. On a piece of paper beside the body is written “The sign of the four.” Holmes discovers footprints: a wooden-legged man and a small, bare-footed companion who climbed through the roof.
Holmes demonstrates his deductive powers while the police detective Athelney Jones arrests the wrong man (Thaddeus). Holmes examines the crime scene methodically: the rope the wooden-legged man climbed, and the small naked footprints of his companion, who has trodden in spilt creosote. He sends Watson to fetch Toby, a tracker dog, to follow the creosote scent. This chapter showcases Holmes's scientific method in contrast to the police's incompetent, assumption-based approach.
Holmes and Watson follow the dog Toby through the streets of South London, tracking the creosote trail. Toby leads them on a winding chase through working-class neighbourhoods, timber yards, and along the Thames. The trail ends at a barrel of creosote in a timber-yard, a false lead, but Holmes is not discouraged. The chapter provides vivid descriptions of the poverty and industrial landscape of South London, highlighting the class divisions of Victorian society.
Toby follows the second trail to a wharf on the Thames, where Holmes learns that the fugitives have hired a steam launch called the Aurora. Holmes enlists his network of street urchins, the Baker Street Irregulars, to search the river for it. While they wait, Holmes reads from a gazetteer and identifies the small companion as an Andaman Islander, then plays his violin until Watson falls asleep, dreaming of Mary. The chapter shows Holmes's resourceful use of London's underclass as an intelligence network.
Watson visits Mary and Mrs Forrester in Camberwell to tell them what has happened, and his feelings for Mary deepen. Athelney Jones's investigation falters — he has arrested the wrong suspect and has no real leads. Holmes disguises himself as an old sailor and personally searches the docks for the Aurora, eventually locating it at Jacobson's Yard. He arranges for a police steam launch to pursue Small that evening. Holmes's willingness to go undercover and physically pursue leads contrasts with the official police approach. His disguise also highlights the theme of identity and appearance versus reality.
A dramatic chase along the Thames. Holmes, Watson, and the police pursue the Aurora, carrying Jonathan Small and his companion Tonga. Tonga fires a poisoned dart at the pursuers but Holmes and Watson shoot him dead. Small is captured, his wooden leg stuck in the mud of the riverbank, and the heavy iron treasure-chest is taken from the Aurora unopened, for there is no key. The death of Tonga is presented in strikingly dehumanising language that reflects Victorian racial attitudes.
Watson takes the chest to Mary at Mrs Forrester's house and forces it open with a poker: it is empty. Watson realises that the disappearance of the treasure means Mary will not become wealthy, which removes the class barrier between them. He tells her that he loves her, and she returns his love.
Back at Baker Street, Small admits that he scattered the treasure in the Thames during the chase, and then narrates his backstory. A former soldier, he lost his leg to a crocodile in India. During the Indian Rebellion of 1857, he was drawn into a plot by three Sikh men to murder a merchant, Achmet, and steal the Agra treasure; Small and those three men are the four of the title. The four were imprisoned in the Andaman Islands, where Small befriended the islander Tonga. Small made a deal with Major Sholto and Captain Morstan to share the treasure in return for his freedom, but Sholto betrayed them all. Small's narrative reveals the violence and exploitation at the heart of the British Empire, while complicating the reader's view of justice — Small is both criminal and victim. The novel ends with Watson engaged to Mary and Jones taking the credit, while Holmes reaches for the cocaine-bottle. The contrast between Watson's emotional fulfilment and Holmes's retreat into drugs powerfully illustrates the reason-versus-emotion duality.