In this classic mystery set in 19th-century England, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson are faced with discovering the truth behind the curse on the wealthy Baskerville family.
We owe The Hound of the Baskervilles (1902) 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 …
In this classic mystery set in 19th-century England, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson are faced with discovering the truth behind the curse on the wealthy Baskerville family.
We owe The Hound of the Baskervilles (1902) 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?
Many Holmes fans prefer Doyle's complete short stories, but their clockwork logic doesn't match the author's boast about this novel: it's "a real Creeper!" What distinguishes this particular Hound is its fulfillment of Doyle's great debt to Edgar Allan Poe--it's full of ancient woe, low moans, a Grimpen Mire that sucks ponies to Dostoyevskian deaths, and locals digging up Neolithic skulls without next-of-kins' consent. "The longer one stays here the more does the spirit of the moor sink into one's soul," Watson realizes. "Rank reeds and lush, slimy water-plants sent an odour of decay ... while a false step plunged us more than once thigh-deep into the dark, quivering mire, which shook for yards in soft undulations around our feet ... it was as if some malignant hand was tugging us down into those obscene depths." Read on--but, reader, watch your step! --Tim Appelo, Goodreads Review
Review of 'The Hound Of The Baskervilles [Hardcover] [Jan 01, 2014] Doyle, Arthur Conan' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
My good friend Tony put this on a list of "10 books that influenced" him. I'll have to ask him if this was a recent influence or if he, like me, read this many years ago. This is the 5th Sherlock Holmes I have read in the last month, and it did not disappoint. The descriptions were rich and vivid - from jaws burning with (phosphorus) flame to the rolling fog and pale moon on the moors. Watson took center stage in this story, and when Holmes set up the endgame, he involved Watson directly (unlike previous stories).
For Doyle, this book was a toe in the waters and a resounding success - the public still wanted more of Sherlock Holmes. I would rate this slightly better than The Sign of Four. Looking forward to the next collection of stories (The Return of Sherlock Holmes).
