Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is an extremely famous writer and IS the first great detective writer; he has become most famous from the Sherlock Holmes Master Detective Stories, these Sherlock Holmes stories were written at the end of the eighteen hundreds and were very popular. Each story consisted of Sherlock getting approached by a person needing his help to solve a crime; Sherlock would solve crimes by analysis the crime scene and also collecting clues and piecing events together from other important locations.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle has also written books like the Hound of the Baskervilles. Plot Summary: The Speckled Band Sherlock was approached by a lady called Helen Stoner at his office in Baker Street and she explains her situation: she explains to Sherlock about her sisters suspicious death two weeks before she was to get married and how her sisters last word were speckled band, and also that her mum; who has passed away, left money with her step dad Dr Grimesly Roylett which was to be given to them when they get married.
She also explains that now she is in the same situation; she explains how she has been moved into her sister’s room after her step dad has made a hole in her wall for no reason, and further more she is getting married soon. To gather a bigger picture Sherlock goes to the decaying mansion and searches Helen, Julia and Royletts rooms, Sherlock gathers clues and comes to the conclusion but will not share with Helen. Sherlock sets up a plan for that night and asks Helen to signal when her step dad is in bed and asleep and to leave the window to her sister’s room open so he is able to climb in.
Holmes and Watson sit in the room and soon Roylett is awake and is sending a snake through the vent and down the dummy bell rope by Helens bed, but Sherlock strikes a match and hits the snake which retreats back through the vent and bites Roylett. Sherlock rushed into Royletts room and finds him dead with a speckled band around his head. In this essay I will be writing about how Sir Arthur Conan Doyle builds up suspense in the story “The Speckled Band”.
The dictionary explains suspense as ‘a state or feeling of anxious uncertainty while awaiting news or event. ‘ In a story there are five different elements which can be used to build up suspense; these elements are: The Creation Of An Environment Of Danger, this is where the writer place characters from his story in dangerous situations, for example the character maybe placed in a dark creepy mansion with only the flashes of lightning from the storm to find there way around.
