'Sign of Four' versus 'Sign of the Four'

The text is called "The Sign of Four' however the references to this group in the text all call it "The Sign of the Four".

Wanted to point this out because the main article on this text on the site is mis-named "The Sign of the Four", an easy mistake to make!

The copy I own is 'The Sign of the Four' so I'm not sure it's completely wrong.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by JeanieEM

The text is called "The Sign of Four' however the references to this group in the text all call it "The Sign of the Four".

Wanted to point this out because the main article on this text on the site is mis-named "The Sign of the Four", an easy mistake to make!

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[accidental double post; see below]

Quote:

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Originally Posted by JeanieEM

The text is called "The Sign of Four' however the references to this group in the text all call it "The Sign of the Four".

Wanted to point this out because the main article on this text on the site is mis-named "The Sign of the Four", an easy mistake to make!

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It's not a mistake. When the story was originally published in serial form and when it was first published as a novel, it was titled "The Sign of the Four." When it was later re-serialized, the second "the" was dropped, perhaps in error, and subsequent republications in novel form used the shorter title. At any rate, the original title was indeed "The Sign of the Four" and it's the title I prefer, partly because it is the original and partly because it makes better sense. There's no "sign of four" in the story, only the "sign of the four."