Arthur Conan Doyle (born in Edinburgh, May 22, 1859) studied medicine in Scotland under the tutelage of one Doctor Joseph Bell. In later years, Conan Doyle would remain greatly impressed by Dr. Bell’s ability to deduce facts about his patient through careful observation. Dr. Bell, said the author, “would sit in his receiving room… and …
The Hound of the Baskervilles: Biography: Arthur Conan Doyle Read More »
1. What does a close reading of Chapter 1, “Mr. Sherlock Holmes,” reveal to readers about the character? In Chapter 1, Watson tells us that Holmes is characteristically a night owl and a late riser, though not on this particular day; but most of what we learn about Holmes in this chapter we learn (as …
“You know my methods. Apply them!” – Holmes to Watson, Ch. 1 (p. 15)Holmes challenges Watson to emulate his methods of observation in order to ascertain facts about a walking stick’s owner. The incident, in the book’s first chapter, serves to establish Holmes as a master of logical reasoning and mental agility. “Now is the …
The Pressure of the Past: “The past is never dead,” wrote William Faulkner; “it’s not even past.” His sentiment certainly captures one of the thematic preoccupations of The Hound of the Baskervilles: the pervasive presence of what has gone before. Various characters in the book are coping (or, in some cases, failing to cope) …
The title character of The Hound of the Baskervilles is, of course, the most memorable and gripping symbol in the book (including in the literal sense, as it grasps hold of its victims throats!). Vividly described as “an enormous coal-black hound, but not such a hound as mortal eyes have ever seen” (p. 167), …
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Sherlock Holmes – The world’s first consulting private detective (as he described himself in his initial adventure, A Study in Scarlet). Possessed of a keen intellect and a master of rational, deductive thought (as opposed to giving any credence to superstition or supernatural explanations, as others in The Hound of the Baskervilles do), Holmes …
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Summary: Watson questions Laura Lyons, who reluctantly tells him that she wrote to Sir Charles on the day of his death. Persecuted by her husband and her father (Frankland), she was seeking further assistance toward her financial independence (she has also been receiving help from Stapleton). Mrs. Lyons insists, however, that she never went to …
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Summary: Holmes urges Watson to report any even possibly relevant fact about the situation at the Baskerville estate back to him. After eliminating the elderly clergyman Desmond, Holmes enumerates those who live at and around Baskerville Hall whom he does consider suspects in Sir Charles’ death: the Barrymores, Dr. Mortimer and his wife, the naturalist …
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Summary: Mortimer reads to Holmes and Watson an early 18th-century manuscript that tells of how, in the time of the “Great Rebellion” [i.e., 1641-51], Hugo Baskerville, progenitor of the ancient and wealthy Baskerville line and a “wild, profane and godless man,” kidnapped the maiden daughter of a yeoman who held lands near his estate. For …
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Note: All page numbers in this summary and analysis refer to the edition of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Hound of the Baskervilles published in 2009 by Fall River Press.This NovelGuide also draws on Leslie S. Klinger, ed., The New Annotated Sherlock Holmes: The Novels (New York and London: W.W. Norton, 2006). Citations reading “Klinger” …
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