The Hound of the Baskervilles
Ratings403
Average rating4.2
The most awaited story, the comeback of everyone's favorite detective Holmes, a gothic representation of a village in Victorian England, an exciting detective game, a thrilling adventure. This classic by Sir Doyle is an all-time favorite. The story may have become a little backdated, but its appeal has not diminished.
‘'It is not my intention to be fulsome, but I confess that I covet your skull.''
The task of safeguarding a family estate has been bestowed on a young heir. But there is a problem,. A dark curse has been plaguing the Baskerville House for centuries as a result of the actions of a vile ancestor and Hell has found a face in the presence of a black hound with glowing red eyes. Sir Henry Baskerville has come to the one man who knows where to look when everyone else is blind. Sherlock Holmes.
What darkness has covered Dartmoor? What is the source of those strange screams and howls? A light appears and disappears on a window and Dr. Watson sees a tall man standing on a rock, illuminated by the moonlight. And the hound is still at large. This is how Sir Arthur Conan Doyle created the most fascinating adventure of Sherlock Holmes and one of the finest mysteries in Literature.
‘‘'It may be that you are not yourself luminous, but you are a conductor of light.''
Conan Doyle used the unique landscape of Dartmoor with the bogs and the rocks and the inspiration provided by hundreds of dark myths related to elves, apparitions and the Devil himself to compose a mystery where the past presents a heavy burden to the kind-hearted Sir Henry. Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson try to decipher an enigma that defies the laws of science, a riddle that lies within the actions of a cursed family and a supernatural threat. Through a haunting adventure and in a story that presents us with some of the best moments of Conan Doyle's writing, the tradition of the British folklore and the impact of the landscape challenges our favourite detective.
‘‘'A strong wind sang sadly as it bent the trees in front of the Hall. A half moon shone through the dark, flying clouds on to the wild and empty moor.''
‘‘'It came with the wind through the silence of the night, a long, deep matter, then a rising howl, and then the sad moan in which it died away. Again and again it sounded, the whole air throbbing with it, strident, wild and menacing.''
I read The Hound of the Baskervilles when I was nine and this was how my love for Sherlock Holmes was born. The mystery of Dartmoor, the folklore and one of the greatest literary characters have provided the best material for countless adaptations in cinema, TV, and Theatre. My personal favourite remains the BBC Sherlock 2012 episode with the title The Hounds of Baskerville, a fabulous modern adaptation of Sherlock's most popular adventure. A mystery for Halloween and a cold winter's night.
‘‘'The devil's agents may be of flesh and blood, may they not?''
My reviews can also be found on https://theopinionatedreaderblog.wordpress.com/
The story still holds up very well, with excellent gothic worldbuilding and characters and well maintained mystery.
The Victorian writing style, though, slow and protracted, with half the book made up from letters and diary entries and the dialogues few, short and far apart, is not that captivating any more for the modern reader, to be honest.
This book was by no means bad, I just read this book at a young age so parts of it were hard for me to understand. This book uses vocabulary from older times, so children won’t understand all the words. But this book is great for early middle schoolers or late elementary schoolers, especially if they love a mystery.
I read this in my teens. Barely remembered the story. Then this winter we bought this book for our students to read and a bunch of English (ESL) teachers decided to read it over the Christmas holidays.
I enjoyed rereading it. It's a nice little mystery.
Format read: paperbackReading time: 4-5 hoursTags:detective fiction, murder mystery, classic, Victorian, high-pacedOwn a copy: yesReread likelihood: 8/10SummaryIn this Sherlock Holmes novel, our heroes work on a mysterious case about an ancient murder, a family curse, and a supernatural hound. Despite Holmes' steadfast opinion that there is no such thing as the supernatural, all things in this case point towards the opposite. Sir Charles Baskervilles, the owner of a large estate, is found dead one morning under suspicious circumstances. His friend, Dr Mortimer, seeks out Holmes to discuss Sir Charles' death. Here, Dr Mortimer produces an old document about the Baskervilles family that talks about a generational curse brought on by Sir Hugo Baskervilles, Sir Charles' ancestor, and the first victim of the Hound. Since Sir Charles' death, Sir Henry, his only living relative and heir, inherits the family fortune and moves back to England to claim his birthright. As one can expect, Sir Henry's life is in danger as someone–or something–is haunting the Baskervilles.ReviewIn true Holmes fashion, he decides to take on the case, but he doesn't work on it directly, sending Watson instead to Devonshire to investigate the murder. During the better part of the book, Watson is our eyes and hears in this case, and he is the ‘lead detective' because Holmes is completely absent. This is rather unusual for Sherlock Holmes stories in which Holmes is always at the forefront of the narrative. I like the fact that Watson takes charge and investigates several leads about the case. He befriends people in the region, talks to several key witnesses (and suspects), travels to other nearby towns, and keeps Holmes informed at all times via wires, letters, and his personal diary.The use of the epistolary in this novel is also interesting. It reminded me of Bram Stoker's [b:Dracula 17245 Dracula Bram Stoker https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1387151694l/17245.SY75.jpg 3165724] and how the bulk of the story is told through letters. Readers of Sherlock Holmes are used to ‘hearing' Watson's voice as he is the narrator for all of Holmes' adventures. However, having his thoughts in the written form, especially in his diary, offers a more intimate view into his mind.This novel plays with a few different genres, chief of which is the gothic. The Hound, the mansion, and even the location are all described in a very gothic fashion. However, there is also an element of the romantic here, especially with Watson's personal musings about the place, its people, and its history. Watson shows us in this novel how clever he is and how sensitive and entuned he is with his environment and the people around him. As always, he serves as a great juxtaposition to Holmes' much more practical and clinical character.Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. It is high-paced and engrossing, which makes it a pleasure to read. It's also always nice to dive back into Holmes and Watson's world. All of their adventures are true comfort reads.
Thanks to Phoebe reading me a mystery, I have ‘read' this one.
I liked this story better than I like most Agatha Christie books I have read. It's very interesting to see cutting edge tech of yesteryear applied to the solving of mysteries.
This one was fun but not my favorite of the Sherlock stories. I feel like the plot got a little too convoluted and my suspension of disbelief took a hit. That being said, I think it's a really nice change of pace to get a mostly Watson-only story where he can't lean on Sherlock's brilliance. Watson's sleuthing is definitely clunkier, but he's relatable that way.
Coming from BBC Sherlock, I was surprised to find that the hound is really just a hound. I really thought there would be more of a twist to it than that. I liked seeing Sherlock and Watson in a spooky scenario though, especially with both of them being horrified when the hound finally appears. Sherlock is either smug or cool/nonchalant so it's always fun to read about him getting flustered. I was also legitimately shocked when he showed up in the hut. I really enjoyed his appearance in that scene where he tells Watson to be careful his gun. It was also cute how they were both really excited to see each other and Sherlock was apologetic of his ruse.
Now that I've read the original novel, I'd really like to see the other adaptations of it. The BBC plot was pretty much completely different so I wouldn't mind watching one that's more faithful.
I've seen just about all the Movies and TV Specials of “Hound of the Baskervilles” and thought I would try the books out for my 2nd Classic Book this month. As I was reading I had a picture of Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce(Homes & Watson in the 1040's Movie Series). The book is great and describes the dreary Moors and landscape very well. Read the book and if not able to get the 1939
film with Rathbone and Bruce or else the 1959 version with Cushing and Lee, both movies follow the book very well!! - David
This book starts slowly and very suddenly in the latter third of it, the pace quickens. I have heard others be critical of the slow pacing, but I feel like it was a deliberate choice to give the reader a sense of how a city person like Watson experiences rural life.
Perhaps the best written Holmes novel I read so far. It contains beautiful descriptions of Dartmoor, made all the more wonderful to me having just been walking on the moors not too far from Princetown, watching the ponies in the mist and pointing out the bright green mire to my darling wife as not the best place for a stroll.So far my joint favourite Holmes story - a joint 1st with the excellent [b:The Sign of Four 608474 The Sign of Four Arthur Conan Doyle https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1299346921s/608474.jpg 21539872].
A fun short read! Sherlock Holmes never ceases to be exciting, and I'm glad this particular story was recommended to me. For those of you who are hooked on the BBC show - remember that the book is set around 1900, so you don't have any spoilers.
❖ Review Quickie
Re-read of one of my all-time favorite Sherlock novels. A masterpiece.
❖ Category: Mystery
❖Rating: 5/5
I listened to this as an audiobook and it was much fun. The narrator was wonderful with all his different voices and there was so much dialogue I felt I could easily tell who was who.
C'est un classique d'Arthur Conan Doyle, mettant en scène Sherlock Holmes et son fidèles compagnon le Docteur Watson. Je l'ai lu il y a longtemps mais je me souviens que j'avais été déçu par la fin de ce roman.
This is the most “real” Sherlock Holmes story so far. It has no side stories taking up almost half of the book, it is not just a telling of facts made up to seem like a story.
This is a proper mystery novel, although still very dry. It is told mostly from Watson's perspective, as Holmes is seemly occupied with other matters at the moment.
The story begins in London, when the doctor of the late Charles Baskervilles the help of Holmes to solve his strange death that appears to have supernatural causes. The doctor praises himself for being a man of science, but even he cannot think of any other possibility other then a devil hound came from hell to take the life of his patient and friend.
Holmes of course is unmoved by the supernatural appeal, but he finds the details of the case interesting enough, and starts investigating right away. There is an urgency in the matter because the new heir of the Baskervilles is coming from America to live in the old mansion.
The plot already begins to unfold in London, when Sir Henry Baskervilles appears to be followed by someone. Holmes looses track of the suspect, but when Sir Henry is to travel to his state, Holmes designates Watson to go along to be his eyes while he is not there and also to protect the man. Holmes himself is otherwise busy with more pressing matters, and Watson is to send him detailed reports of his findings.
Watson tries his best to do what Holmes would in the situation, and investigates the case to the best of his abilities. This is probably what makes this book more compelling then the previous ones, because Watson is unsure of himself, and he has many doubts about the possible suspects and even to what should be his course of action.
Sherlock himself is mostly unhelpful in his letters to Watson, so he is left to his own devices investigating the crime.
There is some interesting revelations along the story, and Holmes and Watson's first meeting after weeks of being apart is very a very interesting one. They exchange notes and it i apparent that Holmes already solved the case.
Una narrazione che trasporta immediatamente nel suo strato più esaltante. Letto tutto d'un fiato in un periodo della vita in cui probabilmente avevo bisogno di un po' d'azione al di là dei libri universitari. Un'ottima compagnia, anche se avrei voluto che durasse di più!
In ogni caso, Sherlock Holmes rimane uno dei personaggi più interessanti ed entusiasmanti di sempre! ♥
“The world is full of obvious things which nobody by any chance ever observes.”
This was super fun to read and I loved the writing style. I'm going to aim to read some more Sherlock Holmes books soon. Well, when I get through some of the other books on my list, which make take a while.
Ah, Holmes. Classic. Baskerville, arguably the classic of the classics. What can I say that hasn't already been said? Holmes and Watson go off to a country estate at the behest of Sir Henry Baskerville, determined to find a rational explanation to the legend of a demonic hellhound, and to the death of an uncle that is being explained as the hound's work.