May 18, 2024

#BookReview–> The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Title and Author: The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

  • Print Length (Paperback): 128 pages
  • First Published in : 1902
  • Language: English
Genre: Mystery, Thriller , Suspense, Classics







My Review:

Some books create an everlasting impression on your mind and The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle is one such book that has not lost its allure even after almost a hundred years after its publication! πŸ™‚

First published in 1902 in “The Strand Magazine”The Hound of the Baskervilles features the most famous detective of all time, Sherlock Holmes in a yet another seemingly impossible-to-conceive-and-commit murder mystery.



Set in the England of 1880s, the mysterious death of a prominent man, Sir Charles Baskerville, in the moors of Dartmoor brings his physician and friend, Dr. James Mortimer to Sherlock Holmes. Dr. Mortimer is unsure if the death of Sir Charles is natural or the result of the realization of the Baskerville curse which hounds all Baskerville men. According to the legend, a huge black hound killed Hugo Baskerville following a dreadful deed done by him and since then all Baskerville men have been cursed by its presence. Now that the only surviving heir to Sir Charles, Henry Baskerville, is arriving in England to take up his residence at the Baskerville hall, Dr. Mortimer fears that he too will fall victim to the curse.

Is the curse the reason for Sir Charles’ death or did he just die from a weak heart?

Is the mysterious and deadly hound real or just a figment of everyone’s imagination?
Can Sherlock solve this case and prove it to be the work of a mortal rather than the work of a supernatural being, as everyone believes it to be?

β€œHe said that there were no traces upon the ground round the body. He did not observe any. but I did – some little distance off, but fresh and clear”
“Footprints?”

“Footprints.”


“A man’s or a woman’s?”

Dr. Mortimer looked strangely at us for an instant, and his voice sank almost to a whisper as he answered: “Mr Holmes, they were the footprints of s gigantic hound!” 



The third of the four Sherlock novels written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Hound of the Baskervilles lives upto the readers’ expectations of a mystery so unique that it is difficult to even think that anyone could have the brains to think and execute it! 


The settings of the barren but mysterious moors with their many secrets and dangers is so beautifully sketched that the moors take a character of their own.


“Yes, the setting (Dartmoor) is a worthy one. If the devil did desire to have a hand in the affairs of men.”



“A strong wind sang sadly as it bent the trees in front of the Hall. A half moon shone through the dark, flying clouds on to the wild and empty moor.”



β€œThe longer one stays here the more does the spirit of the moor sink into one’s soul, its vastness, and also its grim charm. When you are once out upon its bosom you have left all traces of modern England behind you, but on the other hand you are conscious everywhere of the homes and the work of prehistoric people. On all sides of you as you walk are the houses of these forgotten folk, with their graves and the huge monoliths which are supposed to have marked their temples. As you look at their grey stone huts against the scarred hillsides you leave your own age behind you, and if you were to see a skin-clad, hairy man crawl out from the low door, fitting a flint-tipped arrow on to the string of his bow, you would feel that the presence there was more natural than your own…”



The vastness and the hint of the unknown in the moors made me shiver and this is the first hint of the genius of Arthur Conan Doyle who subtly creates a platform to thrill and entertain his reader through his simple yet elegant writing style. The idea of the supernatural in the story is brilliantly merged with the practical. I have no words to explain the whole experience of reading this book which I think can only be felt but cant be explained.



A must read classic with a compelling and intriguing plot, The Hound of the Baskervilles will thrill you, shock you and throw you in a story completely out of this world where no one and nothing is to be trusted. Not even your own senses! 



A full 5 on 5 to it because such books are written once in a century. πŸ™‚



Buy From:



Amazon.com: Paperback | Kindle Edition

Amazon.in: Paperback | Kindle Edition | Graphic Novel/Comics

Flipkart: Paperback | eBook
Snapdeal: Paperback | Graphic novel/comics


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