The Hound of the Baskervilles

Arthur Conan Doyle’s classic tale, The Hound of the Baskervilles, may quite possibly be the most popular of all the Sherlock Holmes stories. Holmes and Watson fall into the employ of Sir Henry Baskerville, heir to the great Baskerville fortune. However, Baskerville’s wealth comes under a strange circumstance and even stranger family past, with a macabre tale involving a hellish ancestor and a maniacal demon-dog. Being stout of heart and mind, Watson and Holmes must find the truth about the legend – is it a fairy tale, or does the Baskerville family indeed have a bloodthirsty hellhound shadowing their lives? Doyle masterfully writes the tale in the setting of the moor, swamp like and barren, which provides a backdrop of chilling shadows and mysterious undertones. The story quickly escalates beyond mere fancy as Watson finds himself doing more detective work than he bargained for. The story first appeared in The Strand as “The Hound of the Baskervilles-Another Adventure of Sherlock Holmes” in a series of monthly installments, published between August 1901 and April 1902.