The Sign of Four
This was the book I knew I had to power through because I knew it was not going to be a smooth ride. Luckily I have had some warning to the events of this book when I had watched the Jeremy Brett TV adaptation and the first thing that appeared was a warning for blackface and extreme racism. So it has to be acknowledged first and foremost: victorian racism and the british empire is entrenched throughout this plot. Additionally, there is a stream of misogyny through interactions with Mary Morstan. It makes reading this an odd experience, you want to enjoy it but every fun interaction is tainted by the issues of the case.
Essentially, there are small slice of life moments that are incredible fun, whilst the case itself is a trudge.
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So let's start with what I liked.
Through Watson, Arthur Conan Doyle's descriptions of London are so vivid that it feels like stepping into an impressionist painting with an air of melancholy. He describes the hole in your chest as you pass people in public transport, seeing all sorts of lives and expressions breeze past you, and the 'depression' that comes from it. It's something that I experience today (especially if I'm listening to Hozier on the bus: he's now banned) which offered an odd sense of connection. That connection continues further with the fact that London as a city has not truly changed, the roads through a chase scene can be ones I've walked down, it has an almost intimate nature to it.
There is a scene where Watson is dropping Mary home to Mrs Forrester, and there is no need to include a description of the home, but including it on top of the previous descriptions of life show Watson to be fascinated with the warmth of living. 'It was soothing to catch even that passing glimpse of a tranquil English home in the midst of the wild, dark business which had absorbed us', it offers a longing for the domestic, adding to the blossoming relationship between Watson and Mary.
This book also has some incredible descriptions of Sherlock (I think I just like how Doyle describes things) often likening him to an animal. My favourite, which absolutely delighted me, 'by the time I had got out into the grounds Sherlock Holmes was on the roof, and I could see him like an enormous glow worm crawling very slowly along the ridge', out of all the animals available to me, I would never have gone for glow worm. It's such vivid imagery with an element of humour and reminds me of the 'would you still love me if I were a worm' meme, which it seems is answered here.
Another fascinating thing that I noticed Doyle doing was that whenever he wished to continue the plot, he would have Sherlock discuss a theorist he'd been reading and then mid explantion he'd go 'oh wait, the plot's happening'. It got a giggle out of me every time. What it does though, as well as the german quotes Sherlock mentions, it provides an intellectual environment. We are given, especially as a modern audience, a glimpse into what Sherlock had read, his thoughts on the theories and how this builds his overall mindset: since he is incredibly critical of what knowledge he fits into his mind. It's the sort of thing intellectual historians would love to analyse.
At some point I do want to engage in how Doyle dabbles in horror but I fear I shall save that for the future.
Lastly, the sweet domestic moments between John and Sherlock really highlight the moments to breathe throughout the case. I've tried not to go too much into the Johnlock angle, staying focused on critical thought but these three moments were just so gentle in revealing their relationship. At one point of the case, where Toby is taking them on a walk, they stop for a moment to look at the morning sun, 'how sweet the morning air is! See how that one little cloud flares like a pink feather from some gigantic flamingo.'. Another came shortly after, when Toby's trail had gone cold, 'Sherlock Holmes and I looked blankly at eachother and then burst simultaneously into an uncontrollable fit of laughter'. These both are moments of such joy, even when the case had gotten quite dark, that they're still able to find humour in eachother in such a human manner. Sometimes when things go stupidly wrong, you do look at your friend and the only response available is to laugh. What really striked me was, ''look here, Watson; you are regularly done. Lie down there on the sofa and see if I can put you to sleep' He took up his violin from the corner, and as I stretched myself out he began to play some low, dreamy, melodious air - his own, no doubt, for he had a remarkable gift of improvisation.' this scene is so gentle and domestic to the point of tender. So many adaptations show Sherlock to be the awful but excentric roommate who Watson begrudgingly lives with, yet in these three moment they are close companions and best friends. These are men who like eachother's presence.
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Now let's finally discuss the case.
Reading the book made me understand why BBC Sherlock went the route they did for the Sign of Three, because adapting this case is an absolute minefield. Sherlock and Co took an interesting approach, sadly it's been over a year since I listened to the 10-parts so my memory of it isn't the best, but it still included fascets of the story that at least connected it to the canon. Granada Holmes adapted it nearly page by page and pays the price for it. This causes Mary Mortan's character to be skewed by adaptations, depending how they approach this, all are... choices, which I will elaborate on.
The case has a wonderful moment of horror once the characters reach Pondicherry, where Bartholomew Sholto is revealed to be poisoned in his chair. The way Conan Doyle describes the corpse with a rictus grin and twisted limbs is something I haven't seen in any adaptation and am slightly glad for missing the body horror that would come with it. That is the only thing good about the case... Besides the boat chase.
The boat chase is a scene tainted by the racist nature of the case, as one of the people being chased was an indigenous inhabitant of an island where his partner in crime was imprisoned. Any mention of him was just awfully described, showcasing the ideals of the period. Even Sherlock was happy to assume that it was this man who led Johnathan Small astray.
Jonathan Small is also a horrible man, who watched over plantations in India whilst it was under British Colonisation. The book tries to frame him as a victim of Sholto and Morsten but all it does is make them all out to be terrible people. It's most likely why it's so hard to adapt this story as there is no way of modernising any aspect of this without it going horribly wrong.
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Please stop killing Mary please and thank you.
It was done in BBC Sherlock and it was done in Sherlock and Co. I haven't read the later books but I understand we most likely never see her again, instead having Watson make vague references to married life but that is no excuse for modern adaptations to simply kill her.
The one in Sherlock and Co was especially annoying because it had made an effort to establish Mary's character in a fascinating way, but since the writers don't want to have an overarching romance plot, they removed her from the equation permanently. They could have simply decided Not To Do That and it would not have influenced the plot of the case at all. As well as this, John then spends the next real life calendar year grieving her, even mentioning it in the Hounds of Baskerville case. Yet the writers are perfectly happy to bring back Victor Trevor for Sherlock. It's such an odd choice with the podcast, additionally to how they treat Mariana as they sideline her in nearly every case, it just feels like misogyny.
In BBC Sherlock, Mary's character was heavily impacted by how Stephen Moffat writes women, making her into a gun weilding secret agent. The few times she gets to be involved in cases, she's actually a delightful addition to the cast and I enjoy her a lot. But then season 4 happens and she dies, but the writers must have realised she was the most interesting character they have so they introduce Ghost Mary. Only to reveal John cheated on her whilst she was alive. I'm not even going to mention the abominable bride, it doesn't even deserve capitalisation.
All I ask is for an adaptation to treat Mary normally. She is a person who is important to John, they don't have to get married, especially in modern adaptations but please just keep her alive. You don't have to kill off a woman just because you don't know how to write her. Genuinley the best treatment of her character is in Watson's Diary, letting her have a lavendar marriage with John and acknowledging that she has her own life.
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To conclude, I'm glad that book is over and I don't have to deal with it ever again. Whilst it had some lovely character moments, even introducing the famous 'when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth' line that is considered a staple in adaptations, the rest of the story has aged like milk. It should not be swept under the rug, as it offers insight into Victorian views of the occupation of India and orientalism, it should be handled with care. If there are any academic articles regarding this story's racism I'd be happy to link them in the comments as they would be far more researched and eloquent than my mad rambles. Lastly there is no illustration as I tried and failed, look out for it in the future!
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| 1.5/5 smoking pipes and it should thank me for it |
My next book is The Adventures of Sherlock Homes which I'm deeply looking forward to. I want to meet Irene Adler properly, as she is yet another woman butchered by adaptations. The review, then, will most likely be split into sections so I can tackle cases as they come.
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