Penguin Readers Factsheets level

T e a c h e r’s n o t e s 1

Sherlock Holmes and the

2

Mystery of Boscombe Pool 4

by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle 6

PRE-
INTERMEDIATE
S U M M A R Y
‘The Mystery of Boscombe Pool’ is one of over fifty free himself for new ideas - but each time he tried the
stories that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote about his most public begged him to bring the great detective back.
famous character, the detective Sherlock Holmes. It was Conan Doyle was an active man all his life, and was
the sixth Holmes story and first appeared, as ‘The never content simply to write. In 1900 he went to southern
Boscombe Valley Mystery’, in Strand, a London Africa to help the British forces in the Boer War (1899-

SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE MYSTERY OF BOSCOMBE POOL

magazine, in 1891. The following year it appeared in the 1902). He had a strong belief in justice and fought for
first collection of Holmes stories, The Adventures of many people who were wrongly convicted of crimes. This
Sherlock Holmes. and the extraordinary success of his books made him a
The story takes the great detective Sherlock Holmes to popular public figure in his time. When the horrific war in
the west of England, where he and his friend Doctor Europe started in 1914, he suggested ways of protecting
Watson investigate a murder case. The police are certain soldiers so that fewer were killed. His own son died after
that eighteen-year-old James McCarthy has killed his being wounded in the Battle of the Somme in 1916.
father, Charles. Holmes is not so sure. With his powers of Conan Doyle died in Sussex, England, at the age of
reasoning and observation, he realizes that the case is seventy-one. He is recognized now as one of the greatest
much deeper than anyone thinks. But can even he save story-tellers of his age.
James McCarthy’s life?

ABOUT SHERLOCK HOLMES

ABOUT SIR ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle did not invent the detective story.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Sir Arthur Conan However, he created some of the greatest detective
Doyle (1859-1930) was one of the most popular fiction stories and certainly, in Holmes himself, created their
writers in the English-speaking world. He was born in greatest character. Watson, who narrates all the Holmes
Edinburgh, Scotland, of an artistic Irish Catholic family, stories, describes Holmes as ‘the most perfect reasoning
attended strict Catholic schools, and went on to train as a and observing machine that the world has seen’. But
doctor at Edinburgh University. It was there that he Holmes was more than just a great detective - he was a
published his first short story, before serving for seven genius, with a mysterious, unusual personality. He played
months in the Arctic as a student doctor on a ship. His life the violin to concert standard, he had strange moods, and
was always to be a mixture of literature and adventure. he rarely talked about his personal life. All these details,
After 1882, Conan Doyle published many stories while recorded by Watson with such admiration, brought
working as a doctor in Portsmouth, England. However, he Holmes to life as almost a real person. Soon after the first
did not invent Sherlock Holmes until he wrote A Study in stories appeared, Strand’s editors began receiving letters
Scarlet, his first full-length book, in 1887. A Study in from people who wanted to know if Holmes really existed.
Scarlet did not attract a large readership but its reception The editors were clever enough never to say ‘yes’ or ‘no’.
was good enough for Conan Doyle to publish a second Even now, many people are unsure whether Holmes was
Holmes novel, The Sign of the Four (1889). This time the a historical person or not. The fact that he was not, but
story was published in a magazine. Conan Doyle started seems to be, shows the greatness of Sir Arthur Conan
writing short stories for magazine publication, and it was Doyle’s skills as a creator of characters.
this that really made Sherlock Holmes - and Conan Doyle Conan Doyle’s inspiration for Holmes came from many
- famous. Soon Conan Doyle gave up work as a doctor different sources. The works of the French writer, Emile
and became a professional writer. Gaboriau (1835-1873), the true father of the detective
Conan Doyle now began to publish other stories of novel, were being read in translation in Britain from 1881
adventure, and invented many other characters. Conan onwards. But Conan Doyle, like all detective writers since,
Doyle tried several times to stop writing Holmes stories, to also owed a great deal to Edgar Allan Poe (1809-49).

© Pearson Education 2000

 level
Penguin Readers Factsheets 3
T e a c h e r’s n o t e s
Conan Doyle also modelled some of Holmes’s methods of asks questions and James McCarthy tries to answer.
detection on those of a great scientist, Joseph Bell. They then change roles.
Conan Doyle studied medicine under Bell at Edinburgh. 2 Write on the board this list of people in the story.
Bell used to amaze his students with his ability to tell the Doctor Watson, Charles McCarthy, James McCarthy,
occupation of any of his patients from the tiniest John Turner, Miss Turner, Lestrade
observations he made of their appearance. Put students into pairs. One student says one or two
Sherlock Holmes was ‘born’ at a time when the tale of words connected with one of the characters, but
doesn’t say who it is. The other student guesses which
mystery was increasing in popularity. In 1860 Wilkie
character it is. They take turns to describe the person
Collins (1824-89) had published one of the first great and to guess.
novels of mystery, suspense and crime, The Woman in
White, and it was immediately successful. Other leading Pages 17-29
novelists of the day shared the new enthusiasm for Put students into pairs. Ask them to read the conversation
with Alice Turner on pages 13-14 again. Ask them to
mystery. Many of Charles Dickens’s (1812-70) later
discuss: What does she say that Sherlock Holmes thinks
novels, such as Bleak House (1852), Little Dorrit (1855) is important?
SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE MYSTERY OF BOSCOMBE POOL

and Great Expectations (1861), contain dark secrets at Holmes gets a map of Australia. In their pairs, students
their centre. The late Victorian love of mystery explains role-play a conversation between Holmes and Watson
some of the enthusiasm with which the Holmes stories after he looks at the map.
were greeted at the time - but it was only part of their
success. The stories were popular, and still are popular, Pages 30-37
Students now know the full story. Put them into pairs. Ask
because Conan Doyle was a great story-teller, and
them to look at pages 34 and 35 again and do the
because Holmes was a fascinating character. Over a following role play:
century after his first appearance, that fascination remains They are John Turner and Charles McCarthy. It is a week
- and, if anything, has grown. Modern readers have found before the murder. They talk about James and Alice, and
new interest in the atmosphere of the stories, and Conan have an argument.
Doyle’s exact descriptions of the times his detective lived
in. Holmes’s world was late nineteenth-century England, ACTIVITIES AFTER READING THE BOOK
mostly London. It is a world of gas lighting, fog and horse- In groups, ask students to discuss:
drawn carriages. 1 Did you like this book? Was it exciting? Was it easy or
difficult to guess who the murderer was? Would you
like to read more Sherlock Holmes stories?
Communicative activities 2 Are there any parts of the story that you found hard to
believe? List things: for example, John Turner smoked
The following teacher-led activities cover the same a cigar when he was hiding behind the tree.
sections of text as the exercises at the back of the reader, 3 When in the story did you know that John Turner was
and supplement those exercises. Further supplementary the murderer. How?
exercises, covering shorter sections of the book, can be
found on the photocopiable Student’s Activities pages of
this Factsheet. These are primarily for use with class
readers, but with the exception of pair/groupwork Glossary
questions, can also be used by students working alone in It will be useful for your students to know the following new words.
a self-access centre. They are practised in the ‘Before You Read’ sections of exercises at
the back of the book. (Definitions are based on the Longman Active
ACTIVITIES BEFORE READING THE BOOK Study Dictionary.)
1 Ask the class whether they have read any Sherlock Pages 1-16
Holmes books or seen stories about him in films or on alone (adv, adj) not with any other people
TV. If they have, ask them to tell other students in the carriage (n) before there were cars, people travelled in carriages;
they were pulled by horses
class as much as they can about him.
case (n) a question that is answered in a court of law
2 Ask the class what they like about detective stories. guilty (adj) when somebody breaks the law, they are guilty
Ask them what other famous detectives they know innocent (adj) when somebody doesn’t break the law, they are
about, for example Hercule Poirot in Agatha Christie innocent
books. Which ones do they like best, and why? mine (n) a deep hole in the ground, from which people dig out gold,
3 Ask students to work in groups and to discuss tin, etc
differences between detectives like Sherlock Holmes quarrel (n/v) when two or more people disagree and speak angrily
about it
and modern detectives they see on TV. Which do they
servant (n) a person who works for someone in their house
prefer?
telegram (n) a message sent by radio or electric lines
wound (n) a part of your body that has been cut or hurt
ACTIVITIES AFTER READING A SECTION
Pages 17-29
Pages 1-16 mark (n) a place which is there because somebody has done
1 Ask students to read pages 9-10 again. Then put them something there; for example, a footmark is where somebody has
walked and left a mark on the ground
into pairs. One student is the Questioner and the other
path (n) a narrow area through woods or fields for people to walk on
is James McCarthy. The Questioner can look at his/her
ash (n) if you burn a cigarette it turns to grey ash
book, but James McCarthy cannot. The Questioner
cigar (n) a thick brown stick which people smoke
magnifying glass (n) a piece of glass which people look through and
which makes things look bigger than they are

Published and distributed by Pearson Education

Factsheet written by David Penn and Tony Garside
© Pearson Education 2000 Factsheet series developed by Louise James
 Penguin Readers Factsheets level

Student’s activities 1
Sherlock Holmes and the 2

Photocopiable \Mystery of Boscombe Pool 3

Student can do these activiites alone or with one or more
4
other students. Pair/group-only activities are marked.

5
Activities before reading the book
6
Read the introduction and answer the following questions (ii) Compare your answers in groups or pairs. See if
about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. you agree.
(a) Who from his own life did Conan Doyle use in his
PRE-
3 What happened on the day of the murder? These INTERMEDIATE
stories for sentences are mixed up. Number them (1-9), so that
(i) Sherlock Holmes? (ii) Dr Watson? they tell the story of the murder.
(b) When did he write his first Sherlock Holmes book? (a) Patience Moran ran away and told her mother.
(c) How did he start to have real success with Sherlock (b) William Crowder saw James McCarthy. James
Holmes? was going the same way as his father, with a
gun.
(d) Why did he decide to ‘kill’ Sherlock Holmes?

SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE MYSTERY OF BOSCOMBE POOL

(e) Why did he ‘bring Sherlock Holmes back to life’? (c) Charles McCarthy went to Ross with his servant.
(d) James McCarthy ran to the Morans’ house and
told them his father was dead.
(e) Charles McCarthy told his servant he had a
Activities while reading the book meeting at 3 pm.
(f) Patience Moran saw Charles and James
PAGES 1 - 16 McCarthy by the lake. They were arguing.
Pages 1-6 (to ‘His case will come up in a few (g) Charles McCarthy and his servant drove back to
weeks’ time.’) the farm.
1 Who is telling the story? (h) An old woman and William Crowder saw Charles
McCarthy. He was walking alone.
2 (i) Make notes about John Turner, Charles McCarthy
and the murder. (i) Charles McCarthy left his house and walked to
Boscombe Pool.
The Case of the Boscombe Pool Murder
John Turner lives in (a) ............................. Valley. Pages 6-16 (to bottom of page)
Daughter’s age: about (b) .............................
1 On pages 8-10 James McCarthy tells his story of his
Turner made his money in (country): father’s death, and what happened before and after it.
(c) ............................. There is one important difference between his story
and the story Holmes told Watson on the train. What
Number of servants: (d) ............................. is it? Discuss the question with another student, and
Charles McCarthy lives in (e) ....................Valley. try to agree.
Name of farm: (f) ............................. 2 At the end of the first part of the book, you know
Owner of farm: (g) ............................. what different people think about James McCarthy.
(a) Draw a line between the person’s name and the
Son’s name: (h) .............................
sentence that describes what they think.
Son’s age: (i) .............................
Lestrade is sure that James is innocent.
Number of servants: (j) .............................
Sherlock Holmes thinks James is guilty.
The two men first met in (country):
Watson thinks James is probably
(k) .............................
innocent.
The Murder
Miss Turner at first thought James was
Day and date of murder: (l) ............................. guilty, but now thinks he is
Probable time of murder: (m) ............................. innocent.
Probable place: (n) ............................. (b) Compare your answers in groups or pairs.
Who said he found the body: (o) ............................. 3 What do you think? Did James kill his father?
The murderer possibly killed the man with the wooden If so, why did he do it? Why do you think that?
part of a (p).............................
If he didn’t kill him, who did? Why did he/she do it?
They found James McCarthy’s (q) ......................... by
the dead man.

© Pearson Education 2000

 level
Penguin Readers Factsheets 3
Student’s activities

PAGES 17 - 29 (c) he needs it to save James McCarthy’s life.

(d) the case goes against James McCarthy.
Pages 17-20 (to ‘...every movement had a
meaning.’)
Pages 31-37
1 Answer these questions using ‘so that’, ‘because’ or
1 These sentences are mixed up. Number them (1-14),
‘to’.
so that they tell John Turner and Charles McCarthy’s
(a) Why can’t James McCarthy marry Miss Turner? story.
(b) Why did James McCarthy go to Bristol? (a) John Turner’s wife died.
(c) Why is James McCarthy a lot happier now? (b) McCarthy wanted John Turner’s daughter to be
(d) Holmes thinks that Charles McCarthy went to the his son’s wife, and asked John Turner.
pool to meet someone else, not his son. Why (c) John Turner was working in the gold mines in
does he think this? Australia.
(e) Why does Holmes think Charles McCarthy’s (d) John Turner got married.
SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE MYSTERY OF BOSCOMBE POOL

friendliness to Turner was unusual?

(e) Turner saw Charles McCarthy and his son. They
(f) Holmes wants to see a pair of James McCarthy’s were arguing.
boots, and the boots that Charles McCarthy was
(f) During the robbery, Turner decided not to kill
wearing when he died. Why?
McCarthy.
2 Now who do you think killed Charles McCarthy? Do (g) McCarthy’s murder happened.
you have any new ideas?
(h) Turner left the gold mines and became a robber.
Pages 20-26 (to ‘I shall be with you again in ten (i) Turner gave McCarthy money and a house.
minutes.’) (j) The Ballarat Boys stopped a carriage which was
With another student, discuss questions 1 and 2 below. carrying gold.
Try to agree. You’ll find out all the answers when you (k) Turner went back to England.
read the next few pages.
(l) Turner met McCarthy in London.
1 On page 24, we read that Holmes ‘picked up
something small, which looked burned’. What do you (m) Turner bought the big house at Boscombe.
think this is? (n) McCarthy followed Turner to the West Country.
2 Why do you think the stone is interesting to Holmes?
2 Put 1-5 with (a)-(e), to show that the story has a
Pages 26-29 happy ending.
1 The court decides that James McCarthy...
1 What is the connection between Australia and these
two things: 2 Sherlock Holmes doesn’t have to tell...
(a) ‘Cooee’? 3 The mystery of Boscombe Pool will...
(b) a rat? 4 James and Alice will soon...
2 Now what do you think about the murderer? 5 James and Alice will never...
Have you got any new ideas? Who killed Charles (a) know about the past.
McCarthy? Why? Why do you think that? (b) become married.
Write your ideas or talk with another student. (c) John Turner’s story to the police.
(d) did not murder his father.
PAGES 30 - 37 (e) stay a mystery for ever.

Pages 30-31 (to ‘... I shall not use it until I

must.’)
Match the sentence halves 1-4 to (a)-(d). Then join them Activities after reading the book
with ‘if’.
Think about these questions and see if you agree. There
1 Sherlock Holmes thinks people will talk are no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ answers. Discuss them with
2 John Turner promises to tell the police everything another student or write your thoughts.
3 It will break Alice Turner’s heart 1 Was John Turner a bad man? Why do you think he
4 Sherlock Holmes will only use the true story was/he wasn’t?

(a) she hears that her father is a prisoner. 2 Was Holmes right not to tell the police the true story?
(b) they see him going to John Turner’s house.

Published and distributed by Pearson Education

Factsheet written by David Penn and Tony Garside
Factsheet series developed by Louise James
© Pearson Education 2000