Jen 2008-10-04

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A classic of the mystery genre. Sherlock Holmes and his faithful assistant are called in to investigate a seemingly supernatural hound haunting the Baskerville family. The mystery is satisfyingly creepy, without becoming ridiculous or unbelievable. I would complain about the notes in the Penguin Classic edition, though. People who have never read the story before should be careful not to read the notes, as several of them reveal important plot points.

Acute Observer 2008-04-02

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson discuss what can be deduced from a walking stick left behind by a visitor. When the visitor returns he tells of the old legend about the hound of the Baskerville family, and how Sir Charles Baskerville died recently. Dr. James Mortimer found the footprints of a gigantic hound twenty yards from the body! There have been sightings of a huge hound on the moors at night. A new heir, Sir Henry Baskerville, arrives from Canada to take over the Baskerville property; he is the last of the line. Will he meet the same evil fate? Holmes makes an appointment to meet Sir Henry the next day. Holmes peers over the Ordnance map of that area. Has any crime been committed (Chapter 3)? Sir Henry tells of a warning letter sent to his hotel; who knew he was there? Why would anyone steal just one of his new boots? Would anyone follow Sir Henry? Dr. Watson will accompany Sir Henry back to Baskerville Hall; there is less danger in a small village than in London. Dr. Watson must keep his revolver near and never relax his precautions (Chapter 6).

The moor country is described as wild and sparsely settled. Dr. Watson reports his observations of the people who meet with Sir Henry. Watson sees the dangers of the great Grimpen Mire when a pony is caught in a bog and killed. There are stone huts from prehistoric man. Watson meets Stapleton the naturalist and then his beautiful sister (who tells him to go back to London). Stapleton had once been a schoolmaster (Chapter 7). Watson sends letters to Holmes in London (Chapter 8). Mr. Frankland has a passion for litigation. He also observes the country with a telescope on his roof. Why was Stapleton so angry (Chapter 9)? What was the secret of the Barrymores? Watson meets Laura Lyons and hears her secret story (Chapter 11). What did she hold back? Mr. Frankland observed the stone huts. Then Watson hears a terrible scream from the moor (Chapter 12). Holmes has the solution to a cold-blooded murder, but lacked definitive proof. Holmes studied the portrait of the wicked Sir Hugo. Then plans are made for the night's activities. Will an unexpected fog create a complication? Holmes, Watson, and Lestrade rescue Sir Henry from a murderous fate. The villain escaped to a hiding place on the moor, but justice wasn't cheated. Chapter 15 ties up the loose ends.

This may be the most popular of Doyle's four Holmes novels. It does not involve a religion, a company town, or imperial looting. Did Doyle implicitly criticize a hereditary aristocracy that passed down evils to each generation? The character traits of the villain seem like those in true crime stories. Inheritance through murder has inspired other stories ("The List of Adrian Messenger"). There is one flaw in this story. How could the purchase of food for a giant hound be kept secret? Sherlock Holmes could question the grocers and butchers in the area to find the owner of that giant hound.

dizzheart 2008-03-10

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

These comments are for the Freddie Jones reading of Hound for Penguin Audiobooks. It's abridged -- the packaging doesn't make this clear; it's in fine print on the back. However -- it's a very good abridgement; unless you know the story practically line by line, the cuts are very unobtrusive. My advice is have a copy of the print version, and listen to this one in the car or at bedtime, knowing it isn't complete. Freddie Jones gives it a very good reading, absolutely drenched in Victorian gothic atmosphere. I would recommend it.

2008-01-11

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

The baskervilles has an interesting history and when Sir Charles Baskerville the 1 of the last living or was 1 of the last living decendents of the Baskervilles is found dead on the grounds of Baskerville Hall The legend of the hellhound hounts the moor is the hellhound real well that is what the greates detective in the world Mr. Sherlock Holmes wants to find out but he Mr.Holmes has to find the legend hellhound before the legend or hellhound finds him.

Lloyd Sakazaki 2007-10-06

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

"The Hound of the Baskervilles," originally published in 1902, is an engrossing "who-dun-it" murder mystery, featuring observant detective Sherlock Holmes and his comparatively humble partner Dr. Watson at their best. Labelled "a classic among classics" by mystery aficionados, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's masterfully written tale poses the problem--who killed Sir Charles Baskerville?--and offers well-placed clues en route to uncovering the resolution. Set a few hours by train from London on the eerie Devonshire moor, where commoners affirm occasional sightings of a huge black hound-shaped beast, the story offers a suspenseful blend of science and the supernatural, with infallible Holmesian logic predictably winning out by story's end.

My only reservation about the book is that it is perhaps a little too formulaic in composition. Among the murder suspects are many: the butler Barrymore and his wife, the neighboring Dr. Mortimer, the argumentative lawyer Frankland with his telescope, the energetic butterfly catcher Stapleton and his sister, the typist Laura Lyons in the adjacent village, the escaped convict Selden, a mysterious black-bearded man seen in London, and, of course, the elusive hound who murmurs and roars on the moor. Watson's thorough narration and detailed letters to Holmes carefully lead us step-by-step through many of the possibilities; however, in my opinion, the overall plotline is more methodical and prematurely revealing than it needs to be. Already by two-thirds of the way through the story, when Holmes, who is supposed to be in London, surprisingly appears on the moor as "the man on the tor," we learn who the murderer must be, and the remaining one-third of the book is devoted to detective-style collection of evidence and explanation and recap of the mystery. That's fine as a study for detectives-in-training, but might the book have had a chance of rising higher as a great work of literature if the author had put more effort into concealing Holmes' conclusion until later in the story, thereby creating a more sustained degree of suspense and intrigue?

For the benefit of anyone who has not yet read the book, I do not want to give too much away, but as a hint in solving the murder mystery I will say that it helps to "follow the money" as you read. After childless Sir Charles, who had made his fortune in overseas speculation, mysteriously dies, next-of-kin nephew Sir Henry returns to England to take control of the estate. Assuming there is some financial motivation for the crime, as there usually is, who among the suspects, especially in light of their past circumstances and misfortune, could profit most from seeing both Charles and Henry dead? Clue: no, the butler didn't do it!