This could be called The Adventure of the £1million Sherlock Holmes Manuscript Meant To Break America, as a document signed by Arthur Conan Doyle is up for sale.
The author crafted the handwritten text for The Sign of Four, his second novel about the legendary detective, written in 1889 and specially adapted for US readers.
The pages covered in crossing-out lines and corrections were originally sent to J.M Stoddart, an American businessman and editor of Lippincott’s Monthly Magazine, who wanted to publish the book in the US.
Stoddart had suggested the concept behind the book at a dinner hosted at London's Langham Hotel also attended by fellow writer.
And now the original manuscript has emerged for sale at auctioners Sotherby's New York, with an eye-catching estimate of $1.2million, or £960,000.
A rare manuscript of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's 1890 Sherlock Holmes novel The Sign of Four has emerged under auction and has been given an estimated price of almost £1million
Actor Jeremy Brett (right) is seen in one of the 41 TV adaptations between 1984 and 1994 in which he played Sherlock Holmes - here alongside Michael Culver as Sir Reginald Musgrave
Author Sir Conan Doyle's character was given a new lease of life between 2010 and 2017 with the BBC's modern-day rewrite Sherlock, with Benedict Cumberbatch (pictured) in the title role
Other rare versions of classic novels which will also go under the hammer this Wednesday is a first edition from 1925 of The Great Gatsby - inscribed by author F Scott Fitzgerald to his wife's sister and her husband and now valued at £200,000.
A presentation copy of L Frank Baum's 1900 children's fantasy novel The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz could sell for £144,000.
And an equivalent edition of 1843's A Christmas Carol - inscribed and signed by author Charles Dickens for his 'affectionate friend' Walter Savage Landor is estimated at £240,000.
But it is the document signed twice by Conan Doyle which is the star attraction - featuring some US words and phrases replacing British equivalent in a bid to boost the novel's appeal and sales prospects across the Atlantic.
Conan Doyle's second novel was originally officially named The Sign of the Four but TV and film adaptations have tended to go with The Sign of Four instead.
An episode of modern-day Sherlock TV series starring Benedict Cumberbatch in 2014 was titled The Sign of Three.
The book begins begins with Holmes and his friend Dr James Watson visited at their home 221B Baker Street in central London by Miss Mary Morstan - who would later go on to become Dr Watson's future wife, to Holmes' initial irritation.
She explains how her father has disappeared while she has been receiving unexplained gifts of pearls in the post - setting off a narrative which inevitably finds Holmes lending his detection skills to a murder mystery.
This manuscript was written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle for J.M Stoddart, an American businessman and editor of Lippincott’s Monthly Magazine, who wanted to publish it in the US
Wednesday's sale at Sotheby's New York also features a signed presentation copy of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol
An edition of L Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz has been valued at £144,000
The children's fantasy novel later inspired the classic Judy Garland movie The Wizard Of Oz
A first edition from 1925 of The Great Gatsby as been given of auction estimate of £200,000
The Great Gatsby's author F Scott Fitzgerald inscribed it to his wife's sister and her husband
Sotheby's New York says the sale showcases 'the rich tapestry of 20th century literature'
The Sign of the Four was first published in the UK in 1890, two years after Conan Doyle's debut Sherlock Holmes novel A Study In Scarlet.
Its first appearance was in Lippincott's Monthly Magazine in February 1890 - in a British edition costing a shilling and an American one costing 25 cents.
This manuscript has been passed to the auctioneers from the Library of Dr Rodney P Swantko, a private collection of rare 19th and 20th century titles.
Richard Austin, Sotheby’s global head of books and manuscripts, said: 'While any collection will bear the personal imprint of its collector, the library of Rodney Swantko is curated with an exceptional level of detail and dedication, celebrating the rich tapestry of 20th century literature.
'Known in literary circles as a meticulous collector, the full scope of Swantko’s library is now fully revealed for the first time, showcasing the totality of his collecting vision and the taste and curiosity that drove his passion for decades.'
Last week a flat in Cardiff where the BBC filmed an episode of their hit series Sherlock emerged on the market for £160,000.
The one-bedroom property, located in Grangetown, was used in the show as the home of journalist Kitty Riley who hounded Sherlock during an episode in the second series called The Reichenbach Fall.
Meanwhile, historian Lucy Worsley broadcast a three-part BBC TV series last December called Killing Sherlock in which she explored Conan Doyle's life - including how he had a little-known sideline as a footballer for Portsmouth AFC.
A history of mystery man Sherlock Holmes on page, stage and screen
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle introduced the world to the character of Sherlock Holmes - and his sidekick Dr Watson - in debut novel A Study In Scarlet, written by the trained doctor in three weeks aged 27 and published in 1887.
Holmes refers to himself as a 'consulting detective' who takes up cases which interest him and invariably solves them with his idiosyncratic intelligence and methods - often to the embarrassment of bumbling police.
Conan Doyle, born in Edinburgh in 1859, published three Holmes novels - following up with The Sign of Four and The Hound of the Baskervilles, as well as 56 short stories - many of them published for an avid readership in the Strand Magazine.
The tales have remained a favourite with audiences ever since - not only in Conan Doyle's writing but regular and often diverse adaptations on stage, radio, TV and silver screen.
Many fans' favoured actor play the role was Jeremy Brett, an imperturbable Holmes in 41 Granada Television episodes between 1984 and 1994 - he also played the part on the West End stage.
Earlier incarnations included Sir Basil Rathbone as Holmes, opposite Nigel Bruce as Dr Watson, in 14 movies between 1939 and 1946.
And Holmes has been hurtled into the 21st century, most famously played as a cerebral modern-day oddball by Benedict Cumberbatch in BBC TV series Sherlock between 2010 and 2017 and as a witty action hero in two Hollywood movies in 2009 and 2011 starring Robert Downey Jr as the detective and Jude Law as Watson.
CBS TV series Elementary, which ran from 2012 to 2019, was set in modern-day New York with Jonny Lee Miller as Holmes and Lucy Liu as Dr Joan Watson.
Comic portrayals include Peter Cook as Holmes to Dudley Moore's Watson in critically-panned 1978 film adaptation of The Hound of the Baskervilles.
And since 2002 there has been a series of Sherlock Holmes video games for consoles including Nintendo DS, Sony Playstation 4 and Wii and Xbox 360.
