Books

Orig. maroon vertical-grained cloth, blocked in black, white, & grey depicting a man and a woman opening a box & a letter pinned in the upper margin, lettered in orange, spine lettered in gilt & black & depicting a man reading a letter; boards a bit rubbed, corners sl. bumped, spine faded with some bubbling & worn at head & tail, leading e.ps cut at hinge & glued during old repair. A good-plus copy. Not in Glover & Greene who list the 1890 Spencer Blackett first edition and an 1893 George Newnes third edition. The second of Doyle's Sherlock Holmes novels, it was originally published in the American Lippincott's Magazine in the February 1890 issue. In his 1924 autobiography, Doyle discusses how he was commissioned to write the story by Joseph Marshall Stoddart - the managing editor of Lippincott's - at a dinner at the Langham Hotel in late August 1889. Stoddart was interested in producing an English version of the magazine with a British editor and featuring British writers, and he hosted the dinner in hopes of recruiting some well-known British authors. Oscar Wilde was also in attendance, and his The Picture of Dorian Gray would appear in the July 1890 issue of the magazine. Miss Mary Morstan seeks Holmes' help in discovering the fate of her father who has been missing for ten years, and the plot unfolds to include colonial intrigue and stolen treasure; Watson proposes to Mary when the case is solved. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, 1859-1930, physician and writer, was instrumental in popularising the detective and mystery genres in the late nineteenth century, though he also wrote fantasy, science fiction, plays, romances, poetry, historic fiction, and non fiction. He was a keen sportsman, playing football, cricket and golfing for regional teams, and also enjoyed boxing, skiing, billiards, and shooting. From 1916, Doyle became a devout follower of spiritualism and dedicated much of his time and writings to spreading and supporting spiritualist ideas.

The Sign of Four, also called The Sign of the Four, is the second novel featuring Sherlock Holmes written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. In this story, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson investigate a complex case involving treasure, murder, and a secret pact among four convicts. The novel is notable for introducing the character of Mary Morstan, Dr. Watson's future wife.