ONE OF THE MOST astonishing elements of the Sherlock Holmes stories by Arthur Conan Doyle (1859–1930) is that, although written in the Victorian era, they lack the overwrought verbosity so prevalent in the prose of that time and remain as readable and fresh as anything produced in recent times. Equally astonishing is that Doyle believed that his most important fiction was such historical novels and short-story collections as Micah Clarke (1889), The White Company (1891), The Exploits of Brigadier Gerard (1896), and Sir Nigel (1906). He believed his most significant nonfiction work was in the spiritualism field, to which he devoted the last twenty years of his life, a considerable portion of his fortune, and prodigious energy, producing many major and not-so-major works on the subject.
He was deluded, of course, as Holmes was his supreme achievement, arguably the most famous fictional character ever created. The great detective’s first appearance was in the novel A Study in Scarlet (1887), followed by The Sign of Four (1890), neither of which changed the course of the detective story. This occurred when the first Holmes short story, “A Scandal in Bohemia,” was published in The Strand Magazine (July 1891), bringing the world’s first private detective to a huge readership. Monthly publication of new Holmes stories became so widely anticipated that eager readers queued up at news stalls awaiting each new issue.
One of the most famous Holmes axioms was that when the impossible was eliminated, whatever remained must be the truth. This theory is in great evidence in the present story.
“The Adventure of the Speckled Band” was first published in the February 1892 issue of The Strand Magazine; it was first collected in book form in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (London, Newnes, 1892).