"The Hound of the Baskerville," a tale of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, was first published in serial form in 1901, then in book form in 1902. It's the story of an age-old curse and it's deadly ramifications to the Baskerville family. The mystery goes back generations, but Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson are on the case.
The setting for the story came from Doyle's visit to the English moors. While there, he visited prehistoric ruins and heard tales about escaped prisoners and a local legend about a dog. From there, he developed the tale of the Baskerville hellhound, a terror that haunts the the family, and could mean the end of the Baskerville line.
The other day--Thursday, to be more exact--Dr. Mortimer lunched with us. He has been excavating a barrow at Long Down and has got a prehistoric skull which fills him with great joy. Never was there such a single-minded enthusiast as he! The Stapletons came in afterwards, and the good doctor took us all to the yew alley at Sir Henry's request to show us exactly how everything occurred upon that fatal night. It is a long, dismal walk, the yew alley, between two high walls of clipped hedge, with a narrow band of grass upon either side. At the far end is an old tumble- down summer-house. Halfway down is the moor-gate, where the old gentleman left his cigar-ash. It is a white wooden gate with latch. Beyond it lies the wide moor. I remembered your theory of the affair and tried to picture all that had occurred. As the old man stood there he saw something coming across the moor, something which terrified him so that he lost his wits and ran and ran until he died of sheer horror and exhaustion. There was the long, gloomy tunnel down which he fled. And from what? Asheep-dog of the moor? Or a spectral hound, black, silent, and monstrous? Was there a human agency in the matter? Did the pale, watchful Barrymore know more than he cared to say? It was all dim and vague, but always there is the dark shadow of crime behind it.
Synopsis
"The Hound of the Baskerville," a tale of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, was first published in serial form in 1901, then in book form in 1902. It's the story of an age-old curse and it's deadly ramifications to the Baskerville family. The mystery goes back generations, but Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson are on the case.
The setting for the story came from Doyle's visit to the English moors. While there, he visited prehistoric ruins and heard tales about escaped prisoners and a local legend about a dog. From there, he developed the tale of the Baskerville hellhound, a terror that haunts the the family, and could mean the end of the Baskerville line.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 Mr. Sherlock Holmes 2
Chapter 2 The Curse of the Baskervilles 7
Chapter 3 The Problem 14
Chapter 4 Sir Henry Baskerville 23
Chapter 5 Three Broken Threads 33
Chapter 6 Baskerville Hall 42
Chapter 7 The Stapletons of Merripit House 49
Chapter 8 First Report of Dr. Watson 60
Chapter 9 The Light upon the Moor [Second Report of Dr. Watson] 65
Chapter 10 Extract from the Diary of Dr. Watson 77
Chapter 11 The Man on the Tor 85
Chapter 12 Death on the Moor 95
Chapter 13 Fixing the Nets 105
Chapter 14 The Hound of the Baskervilles 115
Chapter 15 A Retrospection 123
About the Author
Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan , 1859-1930, English author and creator of Sherlock Holmes, b. Edinburgh. Educated at the Royal Infirmary in Edinburgh, he received a medical degree in 1881. In 1887 the first Sherlock Holmes story, A Study in Scarlet, appeared in Beeton's Christmas Annual. Doyle abandoned his medical practice in 1890 and devoted his time to writing. Other works that involve the sleuthing of the great detective include The Sign of the Four (1890), The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes (1894), The Hound of the Baskervilles (1902), The Return of Sherlock Holmes (1905), His Last Bow (1917), and The Case Book of Sherlock Holmes (1927). The brilliant and theatrical Holmes solves all his extraordinarily complex cases through ingenious deductive reasoning. His sober, credulous companion, Dr. Watson, narrates most of the Sherlock Holmes stories. The Holmes cult has given rise to several notable clubs, of which the Baker Street Irregulars is perhaps the most famous. Doyle also wrote historical romances, including Micah Clarke (1889) and The White Company (1891). His play A Story of Waterloo (1894) was one of Sir Henry Irving's notable successes. Doyle also wrote two political pamphlets justifying England's action in the Boer War. In his later years he became an ardent spiritualist and wrote a History of Spiritualism (1926). He was knighted in 1902.
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