The Hound of the Baskervilles

(1902)

We owe this novel to Arthur Conan Doyle's good friend Fletcher "Bobbles" Robinson, who took him to visit some scary English moors and prehistoric ruins, and told him marvelous local legends about escaped prisoners and a 17th-century aristocrat who fell afoul of the family dog. Doyle transmogrified the legend: generations ago, a hound of hell tore out the throat of devilish Hugo Baskerville on the moonlit moor. Poor, accursed Baskerville Hall now has another mysterious death: that of Sir Charles Baskerville. Could the culprit somehow be mixed up with secretive servant Barrymore, history-obsessed Dr. Frankland, butterfly-chasing Stapleton, or Selden, the Notting Hill murderer at large? Someone's been signaling with candles from the mansion's windows. Nor can supernatural forces be ruled out. Can Dr. Watson--left alone by Sherlock Holmes to sleuth in fear for much of the novel--save the next Baskerville, Sir Henry, from the hound's fangs?

First serialized in The Strand Magazine between 1901 and 1902, Arthur Conan Doyle's The Hound of the Baskervilles is possibly the most famous and well-loved of the Sherlock Holmes Canon. Based off an old legend, brought to Conan Doyle by a friend, Bertram Fletcher Robinson, nicknamed "Bobbles". It tells the story of an old family with a terrible curse: generations ago, one of the progenitors of the Baskerville family, a wicked man named Hugo, was punished for his sins by a hellhound. The same hound is now thought to be the killer of the late Sir Charles Baskerville, an entirely respectable descendant of Hugo Baskerville. His nephew, the only remaining Baskerville, Henry, has returned to take his place at the family home on the moor, but will he too be hunted down by the hound? Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson are called in to investigate the mysterious occurrences around the death of Sir Charles, but the evidence is not straightforward and it will take all their wits to take down the culprit behind the man's death. Is the guilty party only a man with a motive, or perhaps something deadlier from the fiery bowels of the earth? None of the colorful characters of The Hound are above suspicion, not even the long-time servant of the Baskervilles, Barrymore, or his wife. Nor is Dr. Frankland, an obsessive lawsuit fanatic, or the highly dangerous Selden, escaped murderer, out on the moor. The same of Dr. Stapleton, a seemingly harmless naturalist, and his sister? Even Mortimer, a scientist, family friend of the Baskervilles, and the man who brings the case to Holmes, cannot be overlooked. And what of a mysterious stranger, observed by Watson in the long absence of Holmes, who is back in London? The moor is dark and treacherous, while strange noises echo across. Is anyone safe? And will Holmes and his faithful Watson discover the truth, whether earthly or supernatural, behind the mystery surrounding the Baskervilles in time to prevent another tragedy?--Submitted by August Potato.

Fan of this book? Help us introduce it to others by writing a better introduction for it. It's quick and easy, click here.

• Related Links:

  • Quizzes on The Hound of the Baskervilles

    No quizzes available to take yet.

  Please submit a quiz here.

Recent Forum Posts on The Hound of the Baskervilles

Post a New Comment/Question on The Hound of the Baskervilles