Roald Dahl – “Lamb to the Slaughter” and Arthur Conan Doyle – “The Speckled Band”

Authors Avatar
English Coursework - Wider Reading.

Roald Dahl - "Lamb to the Slaughter"

Arthur Conan Doyle - "The Speckled Band"

Andrew Riley 11 I

"The Speckled Band" and "Lamb to the Slaughter" are two short stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Roald Dahl respectively. "The Speckled Band" appears to have been written before 1900, in the late 1800's, whilst "Lamb To the Slaughter" appears to have been written in the 1950's. The cultural differences and variation in language will definitely have played a part in setting these stories apart from each other, even though that they were both born into the detective story genre of writing. A detective story is typically when a member of the public approaches a private investigator or police detective to delve into the mystery surrounding the death of a relative or friend. These kinds of detectives often have special methods, or are often rather eccentric in their methods of exploring motives, and capturing the guilty party. These kinds of stories are usually told from a third person's perspective. The detective, more often than not with a sidekick, will probe all aspects of the story, and eventually find the murderer, bringing them to justice.

"The Speckled Band" is typical of this genre, and the usual signs are followed right through the story. Miss Helen Stoner comes to the renowned private detective, Mr. Sherlock Holmes, to discuss the great distress to her, since witnessing the death of her sister, Miss Julia Stoner. She requests Mr. Holmes' assistance in finding the cause of her sisters untimely demise in a totally secure room, where it was apparent that no-one could get in or out. This short story is longer than usual, as it would leave the reader confused, were it not to contain the detail surrounding Sherlock's solving of the mystery. In "Lamb to the Slaughter," however, the story details a very straight- forward, cold-blooded murder, and the murderesses successful attempt to avoid the finger of suspicion landing upon her. "Lamb to the Slaughter" is shorter than "The Speckled Band" because really there is no mystery to solve, as the reader feels that they have witnessed the murder as it happened, and so there is no real need to relive the events that happened earlier on that evening. What the reader really wants to know, I think, is what becomes of Mary Malone, the woman who murdered her husband, but didn't really deserve to go to prison, more like she needed help of some kind.

"The Speckled Band" begins as explained earlier on, when Miss Helen Stoner comes to Sherlock Holmes, a famous private detective, who lives in Baker Street, London, to seek help regarding her sister Julia Stoner's death. Although the story is written in a third persons perspective, that person is Dr. Watson, Sherlock's sidekick, as it were. From being woken that morning by Dr. Watson, Sherlock is consumed by a desire to solve this case that revolves around the death of a young woman, apparently killed by a speckled band. The reader is fully engaged in the story with the small clues, little snippets of information and red herrings dropped in to the plot by the author, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. For example, Mr. Holmes notices marks on the wrists of Helen Stoner, a sign of domestic violence, and this reads true, as her father, Dr. Grimesby-Roylott, a convicted murderer, does hit her. Arthur Conan Doyle drops red herrings in to make the reader think, and also to mislead, as if to give a sense of satisfaction to the readers who followed the correct clues to their final conclusion, and it also gives those who did not guess right the ideas that maybe they should concentrate an ponder some more when presented with clues to the final ending of the plot. Examples of red herrings are the Gypsies that were allowed to camp in the grounds of Stoke-Moran. Gypsies have a reputation as a very shifty and criminal race. Also, they wear a lot of needle-knitted jewellery, which the speckled band described by Helen Stoner could be. There are also the Baboon and Cheetah, two naturally aggressive and defensive animals, which could have killed Julia Stoner, but which was in fact a red herring, and designed to take the reader up the wrong path. There was a metallic clanging sound late at night which, prior to her death, Julia had reported hearing to her sister. In the bedroom where Julia was killed, there was a service bell, which didn't work, and air vents that didn't really work or a have a use either. A saucer of milk was also discovered in the house, but for what, the detectives wondered, as no cats were kept in the household. There was also Dr. Grimesby-Roylott's conviction of murder, which indicated that he could have killed again, but this notion can be dismissed by the reader's knowledge that the room was totally secure from anyone entering it with the intent to harm Miss Stoner. There was also the matter of the will that was left by the mother of the two girls, and the wife of Doctor Roylott. She was a rich woman, whereas the Doctor was very poor, and in her will, Mrs. Stoner had said that her estate would be split by a third to each daughter upon their marriage. Julia Stoner, before her death, had become betrothed to a half-pay major in the marines. The Doctor had feared his fall from grace altogether, were he to lose full control of his late wife's estate, and the money that would keep him in his precarious state of financial well-being. These red herrings help to add an awful lot of suspense, making the reader want to read on to find who committed the murder, and solve the mystery.
Join now!


The story ends with Sherlock staking out the house, hiding in a bedroom with Watson late at night, after the doctor had gone to bed. Sherlock notices the air vent, which he had seen previously yield light: the Doctor had lit a lantern, which soon dimmed out. Then they heard a hissing noise, and Watson jumped, mistaking the bell pull for something a little more sinister. They then hear a loud scream, and rush into the Doctors bedroom, to see him gasping for breath, with a speckled band around his neck, just like the one that had apparently ...

This is a preview of the whole essay