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| The Hound of the Baskervilles | 
 enlarge | Author: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Publisher: Berkley
Category: Book
List Price: $4.99
Buy Used: $0.01
You Save: $4.98 (100%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  127 reviews
Sales Rank: 620522
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 176
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 6.7 x 4.1 x 0.6
ISBN: 0425104052
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.8
EAN: 9780425104057
ASIN: 0425104052
Publication Date: March 15, 1987
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: BUY WITH CONFIDENCE, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and service to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed
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Amazon.com Review
We owe 1902's The Hound of the Baskervilles to Arthur Conan Doyle's good friend Fletcher "Bobbles" Robinson, who took him to visit some scary English moors and prehistoric ruins, and told him marvelous local legends about escaped prisoners and a 17th-century aristocrat who fell afoul of the family dog. Doyle transmogrified the legend: generations ago, a hound of hell tore out the throat of devilish Hugo Baskerville on the moonlit moor. Poor, accursed Baskerville Hall now has another mysterious death: that of Sir Charles Baskerville. Could the culprit somehow be mixed up with secretive servant Barrymore, history-obsessed Dr. Frankland, butterfly-chasing Stapleton, or Selden, the Notting Hill murderer at large? Someone's been signaling with candles from the mansion's windows. Nor can supernatural forces be ruled out. Can Dr. Watson--left alone by Sherlock Holmes to sleuth in fear for much of the novel--save the next Baskerville, Sir Henry, from the hound's fangs? Many Holmes fans prefer Doyle's complete short stories, but their clockwork logic doesn't match the author's boast about this novel: it's "a real Creeper!" What distinguishes this particular Hound is its fulfillment of Doyle's great debt to Edgar Allan Poe--it's full of ancient woe, low moans, a Grimpen Mire that sucks ponies to Dostoyevskian deaths, and locals digging up Neolithic skulls without next-of-kins' consent. "The longer one stays here the more does the spirit of the moor sink into one's soul," Watson realizes. "Rank reeds and lush, slimy water-plants sent an odour of decay ... while a false step plunged us more than once thigh-deep into the dark, quivering mire, which shook for yards in soft undulations around our feet ... it was as if some malignant hand was tugging us down into those obscene depths." Read on--but, reader, watch your step! --Tim Appelo
Product Description
The recent death of Sir Charles Baskerville stirs up a dangerous business. For the "luminous, ghastly, and spectral" hound of the family legend has been seen roaming the moors at night, and it appears that the new baronet has inherited, along with the ancient house and vast wealth of his family, a dreadful destiny. . . . **MASS MARKET PAPER**
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| Customer Reviews: Read 122 more reviews...
 The Hound of the Baskervilles is an excellent novella by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle December 1, 2008
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930) wanted to be known for his serious fiction and journalism. History, however, awards its literary plaudits to the good doctor for his immortal literary detective Sherlock Holmes and his bumbling sidekick Dr. John H. Watson. Doyle wrote 54 Holmes short stories and four novellas on the most famous consulting detective in all of world literature.
The Hound of the Baskervilles was published in serial parts in the Strand Magazine from August 1901 through April 1902. It is his most famous work worthy of its acclaim
The story involves Herny Baskerville who has inherited a large fortune and vast estate in Dorset. His friend Dr. Mortimer visits Holmes and Watson at 221B Baker Street to tell them that Baskerville is frightened of a huge fiendish hound said to roam over Grimpen moor. Ever since one of Henry's ancestors was killed by a large dog following a maiden's seduction it is believed that the Baskerville's are cursed by the fiendish monster mongrel.
Holmes and Watson arrive in Dartmoor to investigate. while Holmes returns to London it is left to Dr. Watson to record the happenings at Baskerville Hall. Doyle has Watson speak through a journal he keeps while a guest of Sir. The plot is gothic horror, suspense fiction and love story all entwined in a delicious plot. There is even quicksand to trap hapless victims of Grimpen. The scenes remind one of the Wasteland imagery of a TS Eliot who was enamored of this great story. Freudian and psychological interpreters have had a field day with this one!
There are many interesting characters in the case. Selden an escaped convict from the nearby prison; Stapleton the lover of butterflys and his supposed sister Beryl. Murder occurs as the savage beast is on the prowl. The mysterey is intricately plotted and there are many surprises. One of life's joys is to read this novella for the first time! Doyle is a master of evoking a chilly, creepy atmosphere filled with fog, rain and fear on the prowl. The novella is superior to any film version ever made of this classic work
Doyle was an Edwardian gentleman who loved nature, spiritualism and hiking. He also was an excellent stylist who will keep your interest as Holmes unweaves the complex tale. The Hound of the Baskervilles is masterful, suspensful and worthy of your time. The story can be read and re-read for a lifetime of enjoyment. It is short requiring only a few hours nestled near a fireplace on a winter's night. Enjoy!
 Classic mystery October 4, 2008
A classic of the mystery genre. Sherlock Holmes and his faithful assistant are called in to investigate a seemingly supernatural hound haunting the Baskerville family. The mystery is satisfyingly creepy, without becoming ridiculous or unbelievable. I would complain about the notes in the Penguin Classic edition, though. People who have never read the story before should be careful not to read the notes, as several of them reveal important plot points.
A Curse on the Aristocracy April 2, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson discuss what can be deduced from a walking stick left behind by a visitor. When the visitor returns he tells of the old legend about the hound of the Baskerville family, and how Sir Charles Baskerville died recently. Dr. James Mortimer found the footprints of a gigantic hound twenty yards from the body! There have been sightings of a huge hound on the moors at night. A new heir, Sir Henry Baskerville, arrives from Canada to take over the Baskerville property; he is the last of the line. Will he meet the same evil fate? Holmes makes an appointment to meet Sir Henry the next day. Holmes peers over the Ordnance map of that area. Has any crime been committed (Chapter 3)? Sir Henry tells of a warning letter sent to his hotel; who knew he was there? Why would anyone steal just one of his new boots? Would anyone follow Sir Henry? Dr. Watson will accompany Sir Henry back to Baskerville Hall; there is less danger in a small village than in London. Dr. Watson must keep his revolver near and never relax his precautions (Chapter 6).
The moor country is described as wild and sparsely settled. Dr. Watson reports his observations of the people who meet with Sir Henry. Watson sees the dangers of the great Grimpen Mire when a pony is caught in a bog and killed. There are stone huts from prehistoric man. Watson meets Stapleton the naturalist and then his beautiful sister (who tells him to go back to London). Stapleton had once been a schoolmaster (Chapter 7). Watson sends letters to Holmes in London (Chapter 8). Mr. Frankland has a passion for litigation. He also observes the country with a telescope on his roof. Why was Stapleton so angry (Chapter 9)? What was the secret of the Barrymores? Watson meets Laura Lyons and hears her secret story (Chapter 11). What did she hold back? Mr. Frankland observed the stone huts. Then Watson hears a terrible scream from the moor (Chapter 12). Holmes has the solution to a cold-blooded murder, but lacked definitive proof. Holmes studied the portrait of the wicked Sir Hugo. Then plans are made for the night's activities. Will an unexpected fog create a complication? Holmes, Watson, and Lestrade rescue Sir Henry from a murderous fate. The villain escaped to a hiding place on the moor, but justice wasn't cheated. Chapter 15 ties up the loose ends.
This may be the most popular of Doyle's four Holmes novels. It does not involve a religion, a company town, or imperial looting. Did Doyle implicitly criticize a hereditary aristocracy that passed down evils to each generation? The character traits of the villain seem like those in true crime stories. Inheritance through murder has inspired other stories ("The List of Adrian Messenger"). There is one flaw in this story. How could the purchase of food for a giant hound be kept secret? Sherlock Holmes could question the grocers and butchers in the area to find the owner of that giant hound.
A nice abridgement March 10, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
These comments are for the Freddie Jones reading of Hound for Penguin Audiobooks. It's abridged -- the packaging doesn't make this clear; it's in fine print on the back. However -- it's a very good abridgement; unless you know the story practically line by line, the cuts are very unobtrusive. My advice is have a copy of the print version, and listen to this one in the car or at bedtime, knowing it isn't complete. Freddie Jones gives it a very good reading, absolutely drenched in Victorian gothic atmosphere. I would recommend it.
 The Hound of the Baskervilles January 11, 2008
The baskervilles has an interesting history and when Sir Charles Baskerville the 1 of the last living or was 1 of the last living decendents of the Baskervilles is found dead on the grounds of Baskerville Hall The legend of the hellhound hounts the moor is the hellhound real well that is what the greates detective in the world Mr. Sherlock Holmes wants to find out but he Mr.Holmes has to find the legend hellhound before the legend or hellhound finds him.
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