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The Hound of the Baskervilles
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The Hound of the Baskervilles is a crime novel by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle featuring the detective Sherlock Holmes. Originally serialized in the British Strand Magazine from August 1901 to April 1902, it is set mainly on Dartmoor in Devon in England's West Country. Conan Doyle wrote this story shortly after returning from South Africa where he had worked as a Volunteer Physician at The Langman Field Hospital in Bloemfontein. He was assisted with the plot by a 30-year-old Daily Express journalist called Bertram Fletcher Robinson (1870-1907).
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Encyclopedia
The Hound of the Baskervilles is a crime novel by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle featuring the detective Sherlock Holmes. Originally serialized in the British Strand Magazine from August 1901 to April 1902, it is set mainly on Dartmoor in Devon in England's West Country. Conan Doyle wrote this story shortly after returning from South Africa where he had worked as a Volunteer Physician at The Langman Field Hospital in Bloemfontein. He was assisted with the plot by a 30-year-old Daily Express journalist called Bertram Fletcher Robinson (1870-1907). His ideas came from the legend of Richard Cabell who was the inspiration of the Baskerville legend. His tomb can be seen in a town called Buckfastleigh. (see ).
Squire Richard Cabell lived during the 1600's and was the local squire at Buckfastleigh. He had a passion for hunting and was what in those days described as a 'monstrously evil man'. He gained this reputation for amongst other things immorality and having sold his soul to the Devil. There was also a rumour that he had murdered his wife. On the 5th of July 1677 he passed away and was laid to rest in 'the sepulchre' but that was only the beginning of the story. The night of his internment saw a phantom pack of hounds come baying across the moor to howl at his tomb. From that night onwards he could be found leading the phantom pack across the moor usually on the anniversary of his death. If the pack were not out hunting they could be found ranging around his grave howling and shrieking. In an attempt to lay the soul to rest the villagers built a large building around the tomb and to be doubly sure a huge slab was placed on top of the grave to stop the ghost of the squire escaping (see ).
Conan Doyle's description of Baskerville Hall was inspired by a visit to Cromer Hall in Norfolk. Some elements of the story were inspired by a stay at the Royal Links Hotel in Cromer, where Conan-Doyle first heard the story of Black Shuck, the ghost dog from the Cromer area, which is said to run between Overstrand in the east & East Runton in the West (see ).
Plot Summary
in Dartmoor. The swampy land that lies beneath it, Fox Tor Mires, is said to have been the inspiration for Grimpen Mire in the novel The Hound of the Baskervilles.|thumb|250px|left]]
The rich landowner Sir Charles Baskerville is found dead in the park of his manor, surrounded by the moorland of Dartmoor, in the county of Devon. He appears to have died from a heart attack, but the victim's best friend, Dr. Mortimer, is convinced that the strike was due to a supernatural creature, which haunts the moor in the shape of an enormous hound with blazing eyes and jaws. Fearing for the safety of Baskerville's heir, Sir Henry, coming to London from Canada, Dr. Mortimer appeals for help from Sherlock Holmes. He tells him of the so-called Baskervilles' curse that has, he believes, been killing the family males for centuries, in revenge for the misdeeds of one Sir Hugo Baskerville, who lived at the time of Oliver Cromwell. The doctor also reveals that he found the footprints of a gigantic hound near Sir Charles' dead body but did not report it, certain it would be dismissed by the police as a figment of his imagination.
Holmes soon discovers that Sir Charles had been waiting for someone. Although he was an elderly man, his footprints showed him running away from the house. It was known that his heart was not strong, and that he planned to go to London the next day. Intrigued by the case, Holmes meets with Sir Henry, who has arrived from Canada and is visibly upset to have received a note delivered to his hotel room, where no one knew he would be staying, warning him to stay away from the moor. Holmes recognizes the cut-out letters from the previous day’s Times. Only the word "moor" is handwritten. He marks the inferior quality of the ink. The fact the letters were cut with small nail scissors suggests a woman, as does the scent of perfume. The latter detail Holmes keeps to himself. Sir Henry has also had a new boot stolen.
Despite the note's warning, Sir Henry insists on visiting Baskerville Hall. Holmes and Dr Watson follow him and espy a man with a fake-looking black beard in a cab also following him. He escapes when chased but Holmes catches the cab number. Holmes then stops in at the messenger office and employs Cartwright to go around to the hotels, bribe the employees, and look through the wastepaper in search of a cut-up copy of the Times.
By the time they return to the hotel, Sir Henry has had another boot stolen, an old one now. When the first missing boot is discovered before the meeting is over, Holmes begins to realize they must be dealing with a real hound (hence the emphasis on the scent of the used boot). When conversation turns to the man in the cab, Dr. Mortimer says that Barrymore, the servant at Baskerville Hall, has a beard, and a telegram is sent to check on his whereabouts. The inheritance is also discussedwhile it is a sizable amount, the next in line is James Desmond, an older man with few interests in wealth.
At the end of the meeting, it is decided that, Holmes being tied up in London with other cases, Watson will accompany Sir Henry to the Hall and report back in detail. Later that evening, telegrams from Cartwright (who was unable to find the newspaper) and Baskerville Hall (where Barrymore apparently is) bring an end to those leads. Also, a visit from John Clayton, who was driving the cab with the black-bearded man, is of little help. He does say that the man told him that he was the detective Holmes, much to the surprise and amusement of the actual Holmes.
Dr. Mortimer, Watson, and Sir Henry set off for Baskerville Hall the next day. The baronet is excited to see it and his connection with the land is clear, but the mood is soon dampened. Soldiers are about the area, on the lookout for the escaped convict Selden. Barrymore and his wife tell the baronet that they want to depart from the area as soon as is convenient, and the Hall is, in general, a somber place. Watson has trouble sleeping that night, and hears a woman crying, though the next morning Barrymore denies that could have happened.
Watson checks with the postmaster and learns that the telegram was not actually delivered into the hands of Barrymore, so it is no longer certain that he was at the Hall, and not in London. On his way back, Watson meets Stapleton, a naturalist familiar with the moor even though he has only been in the area for two years. They hear a moan that the peasants attribute to the hound, but Stapleton attributes it to the cry of a bittern, or possibly the bog settling. He then runs off after a specimen, but Watson is not alone for long before Miss Stapleton approaches him. Mistaking him for Sir Henry, she urgently warns him to leave the area, but drops the subject when her brother returns. The three walk to Merripit House (the Stapleton’s home), and during the discussion, Watson learns that Stapleton used to run a school. Though he is offered lunch and a look at Stapleton’s collections, Watson departs for the Hall. Before he gets far along the path, Miss Stapleton overtakes him and dismisses her warning.
Sir Henry soon meets Miss Stapleton and becomes romantically interested, despite her brother’s intrusions. Watson meets another neighbor, Mr. Frankland, a harmless man whose primary focus is lawsuits. Barrymore draws increasing suspicion, as Watson sees him walk with a candle into an empty room, hold it up to the window, and then leave. Realizing that the room’s only advantage is its view out on the moor, Watson and Sir Henry are determined to figure out what is going on.
Meanwhile, during the day, Sir Henry continues to pursue Miss Stapleton until her brother runs up on them and yells angrily. He later explains to the disappointed baronet that it was not personal, he was just afraid of losing his only companion so quickly. To show there are no hard feelings, he invites Sir Henry to dine with him and his sister on Friday.
Sir Henry then becomes the person doing the surprising, when he and Watson walk in on Barrymore, catching him at night in the room with the candle. Barrymore refuses to answer their questions, since it is not his secret to tell, but Mrs. Barrymore’s. She tells them that the runaway Selden is her brother and the candle is a signal to allow him to get food. When the couple returns to their room, Sir Henry and Watson go off to find the convict, despite the poor weather and frightening sound of the hound. They see Selden by another candle, but are unable to catch him. Watson notices the outlined figure of another man standing on top of a tor with the moon behind him, but he likewise gets away.
Barrymore is upset when he finds out that they tried to capture Selden, but when an agreement is reached to allow Selden to escape out of the country, he is willing to repay the favor. He tells them about a mostly-burned letter asking Sir Charles to be at the gate at the time of his death. It was signed with the initials L.L. Dr. Mortimer tells Watson the next day that it could be Laura Lyons, Frankland’s daughter who lives in Coombe Tracey. When Watson goes to talk to her, she admits to writing the letter after Stapleton told her Sir Charles would be willing to help her, but says she never kept the appointment.
Frankland has just won two law cases and invites Watson in, as his carriage passes by, to help him celebrate. Barrymore had previously told Watson that another man lived out on the moor besides Selden, and Frankland unwittingly confirms this, when he shows Watson through his telescope the figure of a boy carrying food. Watson departs the house and goes in that direction. He finds the dwelling where the unknown man has been staying, goes in, sees a message reporting on his own activities, and waits.
Holmes turns out to be the unknown man, keeping his location a secret so that Watson would not be tempted to come out and so he would be able to appear on the scene of action at the critical moment. Watson’s reports have been of much help to him, and he then tells his friend some of the information he’s uncoveredStapleton is actually married to the woman passing as Miss Stapleton, and was also promising marriage to Laura Lyons to get her cooperation. As they bring their conversation to an end, they hear a scream and the sounds of a man being pursued by the hound.
They take off running and when they see the figure, they mistake it for Sir Henry. As their misery and regret grow, they realize it is actually Selden, dressed in the baronet’s old clothes (which had been given to Barrymore by way of further apology for distrusting him). Then Stapleton appears, and while he makes excuses for his presence, Holmes pretends to be returning to London.
Holmes and Watson return to Baskerville Hall, where over dinner, the detective realizes the similarity between Hugo Baskerville’s portrait and Stapleton. This provides the motive in the crimewith Sir Henry gone, Stapleton could claim the Baskerville fortune. When they return to Mrs. Lyons’s place, they get her to admit Stapleton’s role in the letter setup, and then they go to meet a police detective Lestrade at the station whom Holmes has called in by a telegram .
Under the threat of advancing fog, Watson, Holmes, and Lestrade lie in wait outside Merripit House, where Sir Henry has been dining. When the baronet leaves and sets off across the moor, the hound is soon let loose. It really is a terrible beast, but Holmes and Watson manage to shoot it before it can hurt Sir Henry, as well as discovering that its hellish appearance was acquired by means of phosphorus. They discover the beaten Mrs. Stapleton bound and gagged in the bedroom, and when she is freed, she tells them of Stapleton’s hideout deep in the Great Grimpen Mire. When they head out the next day to look for him, they are not able to find him, and he is presumed dead. An epilogue between Holmes and Watson tell that Stapleton is a son of Rodger Baskerville, the younger brother of Sir Charles (thus a cousin to Sir Henry) and with the same name as his father. After embezzling Public money in South America, Stapleton fled to England where he used the money to fund a Yorkshire school; unfortunately for Stapleton the tutor he had hired died of a consumption and after an epidemic killed three students the School went from being disreputable to infamous and had to be closed down;
forced to flee again to Dartmoor, he apparently supported himself by burglary, engaging in four large robberies and pistoling a page that had surprised him. In Holmes words: "..he has for years been a desperate and dangerous man.." His one trait he cannot control is a taste for entomology-in fact he turns the second floor of his house into a insect museum.
Film Adaptations
As of 2006, there are at least 24 film versions of The Hound of the Baskervilles. Some remain very close to the text of the original book, while others are notable for differences in plot or execution. Among these are some pastiches and one parody.
Related works
External links
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