Terrifying, thrilling and addictive - the celebrated tale of chilling murder, played out on the bleak, eerie wilds of a West Country moor. The greatest detective of them all is back... 'Never in the delirious dream of a disordered brain could anything more savage, more appalling, more hellish be conceived than that dark form and savage face'. Death by natural causes? Sherlock Holmes knows that Sir Charles Baskerville's demise was due to no such thing. Was he killed by a phantom hound or is this the work of a calculating murderer?
The rich landowner Sir Charles Baskerville is found dead in the park of his manor surrounded by the grim moor of Dartmoor, in the county of Devon. His death seems to have been caused by a heart attack, but the victim's best friend, Dr. Mortimer, is convinced that the strike was due to a supernatural creature, which haunts the moor in the shape of an enormous hound, with blazing eyes and jaws. In order to protect Baskerville's heir, Sir Henry, who's arriving to London from Canada, Dr. Mortimer asks for Sherlock Holmes' help, telling him also of the so-called Baskervilles' curse, according to which a monstrous hound has been haunting and killing the family males for centuries, in revenge for the misdeeds of one Sir Hugo Baskerville, who lived at the time of Oliver Cromwell.
Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson travel to the bleak wastes of Dartmoor to solve the mystery surrounding the late Sir Charles Baskerville and a ghostly hound.
The Hound of the Baskervilles is the third of the crime novels written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle featuring the detective Sherlock Holmes. Dr. James Mortimer asks Sherlock Holmes for advice following the death of his friend, Sir Charles Baskerville. Sir Charles was found dead on the grounds of his Devonshire estate, Baskerville Hall. Mortimer now fears for Sir Charles's nephew and sole heir, Sir Henry Baskerville, who is the new master of Baskerville Hall. The death was attributed to a heart attack, but Mortimer is suspicious, because Sir Charles died with an expression of horror on his face, and Mortimer noticed "the footprints of a gigantic hound" about 50 yards from where Sir Charles lay dead. The Baskerville family has supposedly been under a curse since the era of the English Civil War when ancestor Hugo Baskerville allegedly offered his soul to the devil for help in abducting a woman and was reportedly killed by a giant spectral hound. Sir Charles believed in the curse and was apparently fleeing from something in fright when he died.The primary mystery involves the death of Sir Charles Baskerville at his estate in the beautiful countryside of Devon, but interestingly, the author also includes a number of mini-mysteries which I found engaging and helped keep my interest throughout. In fact, the story commenced with a mini-mystery involving the identity of the owner of a walking cane left in Holmes' office. Dr Watson produced a very sound analysis of what type of person the owner might be by observing such things as wear and tear and bite marks on the cane itself. However, after Watson's seemingly brilliant observations - Holmes then proceeded to critically tear apart Watson's assumptions and arguments, piece by piece, until the poor man's position was totally and irrevocably obliterated. This seems to be a bit of a theme - if I was Dr Watson, not sure I'd hang around with a bloke like Sherlock.Yet, despite this condescending treatment, Dr Watson seems to have almost a sycophantic relationship with Sherlock. It must be said though, Sherlock Holmes is a very impressive character. His lines of reasoning and modus operandi are always logical and altogether brilliant. To me, his powers of deduction always seemed to be sensible, he used very linear arguments and despite the red herrings lying about the place - he made complete sense.The narration by Dr Watson is a great tool used by the author to not only explain what was going on but to re-empathise parts of the narrative that may be a bit too complex (for my addled brain anyway), but he also used instruments such as Dr Watson's written reports to Holmes, to further cement the plot into the readers mind.
The Hound of the Baskervilles is the third of the crime novels written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle featuring the detective Sherlock Holmes. Dr. James Mortimer asks Sherlock Holmes for advice following the death of his friend, Sir Charles Baskerville. Sir Charles was found dead on the grounds of his Devonshire estate, Baskerville Hall. Mortimer now fears for Sir Charles's nephew and sole heir, Sir Henry Baskerville, who is the new master of Baskerville Hall. The death was attributed to a heart attack, but Mortimer is suspicious, because Sir Charles died with an expression of horror on his face, and Mortimer noticed "the footprints of a gigantic hound" about 50 yards from where Sir Charles lay dead. The Baskerville family has supposedly been under a curse since the era of the English Civil War when ancestor Hugo Baskerville allegedly offered his soul to the devil for help in abducting a woman and was reportedly killed by a giant spectral hound. Sir Charles believed in the curse and was apparently fleeing from something in fright when he died.The primary mystery involves the death of Sir Charles Baskerville at his estate in the beautiful countryside of Devon, but interestingly, the author also includes a number of mini-mysteries which I found engaging and helped keep my interest throughout. In fact, the story commenced with a mini-mystery involving the identity of the owner of a walking cane left in Holmes' office. Dr Watson produced a very sound analysis of what type of person the owner might be by observing such things as wear and tear and bite marks on the cane itself. However, after Watson's seemingly brilliant observations - Holmes then proceeded to critically tear apart Watson's assumptions and arguments, piece by piece, until the poor man's position was totally and irrevocably obliterated. This seems to be a bit of a theme - if I was Dr Watson, not sure I'd hang around with a bloke like Sherlock. Yet, despite this condescending treatment, Dr Watson seems to have almost a sycophantic relationship with Sherlock. It must be said though, Sherlock Holmes is a very impressive character. His lines of reasoning and modus operandi are always logical and altogether brilliant. To me, his powers of deduction always seemed to be sensible, he used very linear arguments and despite the red herrings lying about the place - he made complete sense. The narration by Dr Watson is a great tool used by the author to not only explain what was going on but to re-empathise parts of the narrative that may be a bit too complex (for my addled brain anyway), but he also used instruments such as Dr Watson's written reports to Holmes, to further cement the plot into the readers mind.
This extraordinary collection puts together eight books:A Study in Scarlet (1887)The Sign of the Four (1890)The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1892)The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes (1894)The Hound of the Baskervilles (1902)The Return of Sherlock Holmes (1904)The Valley of Fear (1914)His Last Bow (1917)BOOK ONEA Study in Scarlet is an 1887.The story marks the first appearance of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, who would become the most famous detective duo in popular fiction. The book's title derives from a speech given by Holmes, a consulting detective, to his friend and chronicler Watson on the nature of his work, in which he describes the story's murder investigation as his "study in scarlet": "There's the scarlet thread of murder running through the colourless skein of life, and our duty is to unravel it, and isolate it, and expose every inch of it.BOOK TWO:The Sign of the Four The story is set in 1888. The Sign of the Four has a complex plot involving service in India, the Indian Rebellion of 1857, a stolen treasure, and a secret pact among four convicts ("the Four" of the title) and two corrupt prison guards. It presents the detective's drug habit and humanizes him in a way that had not been done in the preceding novel, A Study in Scarlet (1887). It also introduces Doctor Watson's future wife, Mary Morstan.BOOK THREE:The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes is a collection of twelve short stories by Arthur Conan Doyle, first published on 14 October 1892. It contains the earliest short stories featuring the consulting detective Sherlock Holmes, which had been published in twelve monthly issues of The Strand Magazine from July 1891 to June 1892. The stories are collected in the same sequence, which is not supported by any fictional chronology. The only characters common to all twelve are Holmes and Dr. Watson and all are related in first-person narrative from Watson's point of view.BOOK FOUR: The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes is a collection of short stories. The twelve stories were originally published in The Strand Magazine from December 1892 to December 1893 as The Adventures number 13 to 24. For instance, "The Final Problem" was published under the subheading "XXIV.--The Adventure of the Final Problem."[3]BOOK FIVE:The Hound of the Baskervilles is the third of the four crime novels. Originally serialised in The Strand Magazine from August 1901 to April 1902, it is set largely on Dartmoor in Devon in England's West Country and tells the story of an attempted murder inspired by the legend of a fearsome, diabolical hound of supernatural origin. Sherlock Holmes and his companion Dr. Watson investigate the case. This was the first appearance of Holmes since his apparent death in "The Final Problem", and the success of The Hound of the Baskervilles led to the character's eventual revival.BOOK SIX:The Return of Sherlock Holmes is a 1905 collection of 13 Sherlock Holmes stories.The first story is set in 1894 and has Holmes returning in London and explaining the period from 1891-1894, a period called "The Great Hiatus" by Sherlockian enthusiasts. Also of note is Watson's statement in the last story of the cycle that Holmes has retired, and forbids him to publish any more stories.BOOK SEVEN:The Valley of Fear is the fourth and final Sherlock Holmes novel by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. It is loosely based on the Molly Maguires and Pinkerton agent James McParland.BOOK EIGHTHis Last Bow: Some Reminiscences of Sherlock Holmes is a 1917 collection of previously published. Holmes is long retired from his profession of detective but is still alive and well, albeit suffering from a touch of rheumatism.
