He is also the impoverished last survivor of what was once an extremely wealthy but violent, ill-tempered and amoral Anglo-Saxon aristocratic family of Surrey, and has already served a jail sentence for killing his Indian butler in a rage. Roylott is a doctor who practiced in Calcutta, India, and was married to Helen's late mother 30 years before when she was a wealthy widow living there. In April 1883 Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson rise early one morning to meet a young woman named Helen Stoner who fears that her stepfather, Dr Grimesby Roylott, is threatening her life. Doyle famously clashed with Harding over several details of the script, but later reconciled with him after the universal success of the play.

The role of Sherlock Holmes was played by H. The theatrical adaptation was written and produced by Doyle himself, directed by and starring Lyn Harding as Grimesby Roylott. It is also part of the exhibit at the Sherlock Holmes Museum. It has been adapted for television, film, theatre, radio, and a video game. The story, alongside the rest of the Sherlock Holmes canon, has become a defining part of detective fiction. Tinged with Gothic elements, it is considered by many to be one of Doyle's finest works, with the author himself calling it his best story. 'The Speckled Band' is a classic locked-room mystery that deals with the themes of parental greed, inheritance and freedom.

It was originally published in Strand Magazine in February 1892. ' The Adventure of the Speckled Band' is one of 56 short Sherlock Holmes stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the eighth story of twelve in the collection The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.

The Adventure of the Speckled Band at Wikisource Roylott (left) confronts Holmes and Watson.

The speckled band book