(a) The Lyceum Theatre is important in the extract because the anonymous sender of the pearls requests Miss Mary Morstan to meet with him at the third pillar from the left outside the Lyceum Theatre. This is the place that promises to unfold the mystery of the anonymous sender and reveal the story of how Mary is a “wronged woman”. The writer has also used the sophisticated upper class of London that arrives in cabs and horsedrawn carriages outside the Lyceum Theatre as a symbol of wealth, to hint at the riches that the treasure has the potential to bestow upon Mary Morstan, about which she has no idea.

(b) Andaman Islands:  Jonathan Small was arrested and imprisoned on the Andaman Islands for the robbery of the Agra treasure. After 20 years, Small made a deal with John Sholto and Arthur Morstan, who were the prison guards. Sholto would recover the treasure and in return send a boat to pick up Small and the Sikhs. Sholto double-crossed both Morstan and Small and stole the treasure for himself. Small vowed vengeance and four years later escaped from the Andaman Islands with an islander named Tonga after they both killed a prison guard.