The Hound of the Baskervilles

The Hound of the Baskervilles is a Sherlock Holmes novel written by his creator, the British author and physician Arthur Conan Doyle, and published in 1902. The book presents the eerie tale of terrifying deaths at a country estate beset by a ferocious giant dog, and Holmes’s ingenious proof that the legend of a canine monster is merely a pretext for murder.

Arguably history’s most storied detective, Sherlock Holmes has been portrayed on film, TV, and stage more than any other fictional person. The Holmes character, now in the public domain, appears in thousands of works of fiction, but the original series of 56 stories and four novels by Conan Doyle are touchstones for fans. First published in 1901 as a serial in The Strand magazine, The Hound of the Baskervilles is the third and most famous, of the original novels. It has been adapted dozens of times into feature films and stage productions.

The 2017 AmazonClassics ebook edition forms the basis for this study guide.

Plot Summary

Sherlock Holmes and his best friend and assistant Dr. John Watson receive a tall, angular surgeon named James Mortimer who tells them a harrowing tale of a great hound that haunts the moors of Devonshire and sometimes kills the heirs of Baskerville Manor.