Conan Doyle's 'The Speckled Band'

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930) was a doctor, spiritualist, campaigner for justice (the Edalji case) and author. His Professor Challoner novels gave rise to a category in speculative fiction. He thought his Sir Nigel novels about medieval chivalry were his best work. However, he is best remembered for his Sherlock Holmes stories, which continue to be dramatized. His own favourite story, which we shall be reading at this meeting, was ‘The Adventure of the Speckled Band’ (1892), a locked-room mystery with Gothic undertones. Like stories such as ‘The Copper Beeches’ and ‘The Solitary Cyclist’ it concerns a young woman in danger who is resident in a country house (by contrast young men get into trouble in country houses because of their professional work, as in ‘The Norwood Builder’, ‘The Greek Interpreter’ and ‘The Engineer’s Thumb’).
The text can be found here https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1661/1661-h/1661-h.htm#chap08 ( number 8 among the stories of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes ). A TV adaptation with Jeremy Brett can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mwR2y966D0 An audio version in three parts with Hugh Bonneville can be found here: https://www.noiser.com/sherlock-holmes-short-stories/the-adventure-of-the-speckled-band-part-1 https://www.noiser.com/sherlock-holmes-short-stories/the-adventure-of-the-speckled-band-part-2 https://www.noiser.com/sherlock-holmes-short-stories/the-adventure-of-the-speckled-band-part-3 All are welcome. Feel free to take part by joining in discussion or simply by listening to the proceedings.
All are welcome. Feel free to take part by joining in discussion or simply by listening to the proceedings.