In the short story, “The Adventure of the Speckled Band” by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes and his partner Dr. Watson met a woman by the name of Helen Stoner. Helen’s story occurred in the spring of April 1883 at the Roylott family estate, Stoke Moran. Helen visited Holmes and Watson to secure their assistance in investigating the mysterious death of her twin sister Julia. Helen Stoner traveled a great distance, without her step-father Dr. Roylott’s knowledge, to convince Holmes to take on the task of identifying the cause of Julia’s death. Julia had died on the eve of her own wedding. Holmes noticed bruises on Helen’s wrist that he determined were from her step-father. Helen told them of how her step-father, Dr. Roylott, treated her and her sister poorly after the death of their mother, who was a wealthy widow. Dr. Roylott had a reputation of being a recluse …show more content…
Roylott came from a formerly wealthy family that had squandered its fortune over time. Dr. Roylott attended school and practiced medicine in India where he killed his butler over robberies in his home. After being imprisoned for this crime, Dr. Roylott was forced to return to his family estate, Stoke Moran, a poor man. While they lived comfortably off of Mrs. Stoner’s money, Mrs. Stoner bequeathed a portion of her wealth to her daughters upon her own death. Helen and Julia were to receive a one third of her money upon each of their marriages. Helen told Holmes that Julia thought she heard whistling during the night and that just moments before her death, Julia spoke of a “speckled band.” Holmes committed to meeting Helen at Stoke Moran to gather more information. Holmes became exceedingly suspicious of Dr. Roylott’s involvement in the death of Helen’s sister after Dr. Roylott threatened Holmes to stay out of their family’s business. This serious set of circumstances led Holmes and Watson to investigate Julia’s mysterious death, relieving Helen’s anxiety regarding the