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The Hound of Baskervilles

By Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Classic Book Review by Ayesha Fatimah Rasul

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is best known for his creation of the legendary
detective, Sherlock Holmes. We have seen Holmes and Dr. Watson deal with
countless criminal minds and geniuses that baffle the public but to Holmes,
they are mere trifles. Even when Holmes knows that his wits are being
matched, like in the case of his arch rival, Professor Moriarty, he still doesn't
give up and gives the public good reason to rejoice.
The Hound of Baskervilles is one of the four novels that feature the great
detective. The other three are, A Study in Scarlet , The Valley of Fear and A
Sign of Four . Although A Sign of Four is undoubtedly the best of these four
novels, The Hound of Baskervilles is not far behind in its wake. With its dark
legend and the myth behind it, this novel has all the ingredients for an
incredible thriller and mystery.

The story starts with the arrival of Sir Henry Baskerville in England after the
mysterious death of his uncle Sir Charles Baskerville. He has newly come into
the title and in about to take his residence in the home of his ancestors,

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Baskerville Hall. Sir Henry Baskerville has been away from England nearly all
his life and knows nothing of the legend if the spectral hound that haunts the
moor of Baskerville Hall.

The legend which makes the occupancy of the Hall so fear-inducing is that of
Sir Henry's ancestor Sir Hugo Baskerville, who resided in the Hall in the early
eighteenth century. Sir Hugo had an appalling character, the kind who indulges
freely in drink, and other activities that are disreputable. His one act that made
him meet his doom was when he had carried off a local maiden who refused to
have anything to do with him owing to his bad repute. The girl escaped from
his house and he followed her in a mad frenzy of drunkenness and rage. He set
his hounds upon the girl's scent and followed her track on horseback. In this
pursuit, he met his downfall. He had been killed by a huge hound that seemed
too large to be considered earthly.

This legend carried on in the Baskerville family, and although Sir Henry does
not believe in stories of supernatural beings, he is still advised to have a
companion with him on his residence of Baskerville Hall. A friend of Sir
Henry's, Dr. Mortimer, meets Mr. Sherlock Holmes and upon his counsel, Dr.
Watson accompanies Sir Henry to Baskerville Hall. Dr. Watson is given
instructions to give a complete account of the happenings and occurrences to
Holmes by means of post. Dr. Watson also keeps a diary in which he records
his experiences. Holmes has asked particularly for the descriptions of the local
people residing in the neighbourhood of Baskerville Hall. Of these neighbours,
the most significantly noticeable are the people called Stapleton; a brother and
sister who have lived in that area for some time.
Dr. Watson reported everything that he experienced during his stay in
Baskerville Hall. He also endeavoured to explore the vicinity for anything that
may provide clues to the strange circumstances of Sir Charles Baskerville's
death. Watson reports as best he can, although he later finds that Holmes has
been living in hiding very close to the village.

Slowly, they unfold the mystery behind the tragic death of Sir Charles
Baskerville. It turns out that the couple who call themselves Stapleton are
actually named Vandeleur and are the not brother and sister but actually they
are a married couple. Mr. Vandeleur was the son of Rodger Baskerville, who
was Sir Charles Baskerville's brother. Vandeleur had a huge dog of oriental
breed which he used to murder Sir Charles. It was this hound that made the
cries that haunted the entire rural community. He was doing all this because
with Sir Henry's death, he would be the next in line to the title, and since
financially he was in dire straits, he was willing to go to any lengths to get the
title.
His wife was under the shadow of his cruelty and dared not defy him, but she
still did all that was in her power to warn Sir Henry of the danger he was in.
At the end of this adventure, Sir Henry, who was essentially of a very strong
constitution, had been reduced to a bundle of nerves and left England for a bit
of travel to restore his nerves to their original health.
This novel is clearly one of the best detective stories written by any writer. It is
clear that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was very much influenced by the writings
of Edgar Allan Poe. His Sherlock Holmes was very similar to Poe's Dupin. But

in most respects, Doyle is indeed in a league of his own.

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