Sign of Four

‘I find myself in a very strange and mysterious situation.’ When Miss Mary Morstan is invited to meet a secretive stranger, she asks Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson to help her. Captain Morstan has disappeared from his hotel without a trace. Should Miss Morstan dare to hope that her father is still alive? What horrible scene awaits the famous detective and his friend when they break down the door to Bartholomew Sholto’s attic room? Who is the man with the wooden leg, and why is he so full of bitterness and hatred? Will Toby, the cleverest tracker dog in London, help Holmes and Watson solve one of their most difficult cases?

Real Reads are accessible texts designed to support the literacy development of primary and lower secondary age children while introducing them to the riches of our international literary heritage. Each book is a retelling of a work of great literature from one of the world’s greatest cultures, fitted into a 64-page book, making classic stories, dramas and histories available to intelligent young readers as a bridge to the full texts, to language students wanting access to other cultures, and to adult readers who are unlikely ever to read the original versions.

Arthur Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a Scottish writer, responsible for creating the literary character, Sherlock Holmes.

FELIX BENNETT grew up in Bradford in northern England, and cut short a math and astronomy degree at University College, London, in order to spend more time as an illustrator. He trained at Bradford, then at the Camberwell School of Art. He now lives and works in London.

TONY EVANS started his career as a high school English teacher, and has a Masters Degree in Literary Research from Lancaster University. After working as a Deputy Headteacher in Bristol he became a school inspector and educational consultant, based in Leeds. He is now a full-time writer and lives with his wife in the Yorkshire Dales. Tony has a particular interest in Victorian literature and culture. His publications include a collection of detective stories set in late nineteenth century England, as well as co-authorship of a book on steam locomotives and several books in the Real Reads series of re-told classics.