The Hound of the Baskervilles

The Hound of the Baskervilles is a crime novel by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, originally serialised in the Strand Magazine in 1901 and 1902, which is set largely on Dartmoor. At the time of researching the novel, Conan Doyle was a General Practitioner in Plymouth, and thus was able to explore the moor and accurately capture its mood and feel. In the novel, the detective Sherlock Holmes and his assistant Dr. Watson are called to investigate a curse which is alleged to be on the house of the Baskervilles.

The marsh around Fox Tor, Fox Tor Mires, was almost the inspiration for the book's Grimpen Mire. Baskerville Hall may be either Hayford Hall or Brook Manor, which are both near Buckfastleigh.

It is thought that Conan Doyle, who once lived in Birmingham, may have borrowed the name from Birmingham printer John Baskerville.

The Hound of the Baskervilles maybe considered the most popular of all of the Sherlock Holmes stories. It has been filmed no fewer than 18 times, with the earliest adaptation on record being a 1914 German silent production. The most respected adaptations are those featuring Basil Rathbone (1939), Peter Cushing (1959), and Jeremy Brett (1988).

Quotations

• "You know my methods, Watson. Apply them."
• "They were the footprints of a gigantic hound!"

External Links

• Full text of the The Hound of the Baskervilles