Released over a course of nine months in the first decade of the twentieth century, The Hound of the Baskervilles was the third of four novels featuring mastermind detective Sherlock Holmes. Written by Arthur Conan Doyle of Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom, the novel features the sudden death of Sir Charles Baskerville. Suspected in the death is an extravagantly large ghostly hound said to have haunted the Baskerville family for generations. Holmes is presented as the detective to answer to this mystery.
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Location and timing feature in the story, with the supposed curse of a demonic hound haunting Dartmoor, England dating back to the English Civil Wars of 1642-1651. Dr. James Mortimer brings Sherlock Holmes to London to inform him of this haunting, in that Charles Baskerville of Dartmoor had taken the legend seriously prior to his, Baskerville’s, death. While Baskerville’s death ostensibly looks to have been a heart attack, the look of horror on the man’s face coupled with gigantic hound footprints found near the scene of the philanthropist’s death brought forth the question.
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Serving as executor to his friend’s estate, Mortimer is concerned over passing the estate over to Charles Baskerville’s nephew, Henry. While Holmes dismisses the notion of the legend as nonsense, seems eager to stay at Baskerville Hall in spite of receiving an anonymous note warning him to stay away. Henry is returning to the Dartmoor region from Canada, standing to inherit a considerable financial sum in addition to the property. Sherlock Holmes has Dr. Watson travel with Henry and Mortimer when Holmes finds that Charles Baskerville’s nephew is being followed.
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An interesting cast of characters are found at the estate upon arrival, with Watson sharing investigation details to Holmes after the larger party recognize strange happenings at the Dartmoor property. Hidden familial relationships among people that Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson encounter give rise to suspicions of guilt among allowing detective Holmes to bait a trap to kill the howling hound while pointing to the guilty party for Inspector Lestrade of Scotland Yard. The truth is revealed in the end with the underlying motivations revealed satisfactorily for all to see.
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The correct interpretation of who had been acting in self-interest to cause the underlying mysteries eluded me, though I was at least on the proper track for the motivations that were in play. These points contributed to my enjoyment of the mystery overall. Thus, I give The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle 4.0-stars on a scale of 1-to-5.
Matt – Wednesday, December 27, 2023