Study Guide for Sherlock Holmes Stories
Study Questions for “The Speckled
Band”
1. Describe the woman who has come
to consult Holmes and Watson early one morning. How is she dressed? What makes
Holmes think he should offer her coffee? What is odd about her hair?
2. Describe what Helen Stoner tells
Holmes about her stepfather. Why did he go to India? What forced him to leave?
3. What happened to Helen Stoner’s
mother and how did her stepfather change after her mother’s death?
4. Describe what Helen Stoner hears
just before her sister dies. What are her sister’s last words to her?
5. Describe Dr. Roylott as he
appears in Holmes’ room. Describe Dr.
Roylott’s behavior also. What does he do to try to frighten Holmes? What does
he want Holmes to do?
6. Holmes obtains a copy of Helen
Stoner’s mother’s will, and it provides a motive for Dr. Roylott’s not wishing
his stepdaughter ever to marry. Explain.
7. Holmes and Watson see Dr. Roylott
return home from their window at the Crown Inn. What do they witness that is
another example of his terrible temper?
8. Give details about exactly what
happens after Holmes and Watson hear the whistle.
9. Describe what they find when they
enter Dr. Roylott’s room after the dreadful shriek. What is the speckled band? How did the doctor
die?
10. Earlier in the story Holmes warned
Miss Stoner that if Dr. Roylott suspected he was nearby, his journey would be
in vain. What did he mean by that? How do you think the doctor might have
altered his plan if he had known Holmes was nearby
Study Questions for “The
Red-Headed League”
1. Watson finds Holmes with a
visitor, Mr. Jabez Wilson. Give details about his appearance.
2. Holmes lists the “obvious facts”
that he deduces from Mr. Wilson’s appearance. What are they and how did Homes
know?
3. What is the only requirement
needed to apply for a vacancy in the Red-Headed League? What are the benefits?
4. Mr. Wilson is a pawnbroker, one
who lends money at interest to people who give him items of personal property
in exchange. What is unusual about his assistant, Vincent Spaulding? Why does
he spend a lot of time in the cellar?
5. Describe the work Mr. Wilson must
do for the League. What exactly is it? When must he do it? What is supposedly
the purpose? What happens if he leaves the office during working hours?
6. 9. Holmes begins to question Mr.
Wilson about his assistant. List here some of the things that he learns.
7. What detail suggests that Holmes
already knows who this man is?
7.
8. Why does Holmes pretend to be
lost and ask the way of Mr. Wilson’s assistant? What other odd thing does he do
in front of Mr. Wilson’s place of business?
9. Who are Mr. Jones and Mr.
Merryweather? (Note: Scotland Yard is the home of the London police force.) Who
is John Clay?
10. Describe the two people who enter
the room from the hole in the floor.
Study Questions for “The
Adventure of the Engineer’s Thumb”
1. Paddington Station is a train
station in London. Two men from Paddington appear Dr. Watson’s consulting room,
a guard and Mr. Victor Hatherley. What brings them there in?
2. Describe Colonel Stark, the man
who comes to see Mr. Hatherley about the job.
3. What is the one condition of
employment that Colonel Stark insists on over and over?
4. What is the job he offers Mr.
Hatherley? At what time of the day will he perform this job?
5. According to Colonel Stark, what
has he been doing with his hydraulic press, and why does he wish to keep his
actions a secret? Is there anything suspicious about his explanation?
6. What is wrong with the machine?
7. Explain how Colonel Stark tries
to kill the engineer. How does he escape? Explain how he loses his thumb.
7.
8. Explain what Holmes guesses about
the fresh, glossy horse that helps him locate the house.
9. What was the real use of the
machine? What has happened to the house? How did it happen?
10. How did the unconscious engineer
end up near the train station? What evidence tells Holmes and Watson who helped
him?
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