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Doyle, Arthur Conan, 1859-1930.
Full name: Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle.
Scottish author born in Edinburgh, best known as creator of the popular
characters of Sherlock Holmes and Professor Challenger; he himself most valued his
historical novels.
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The Hound of the Baskervilles. 1902.
Detective Sherlock Holmes is called in to investigate the death of Sir Charles
Baskerville, seemingly slain by a family curse involving a hellhound. Busied with
other cases, Holmes sends his assistant Dr. Watson ahead to Baskerville Hall on the
Devonshire moors with the heir, Sir Henry. Watson's inquiries are inconclusive
until Holmes joins him. It is ultimately revealed that the hound is a real dog
painted in phosphorus by Jack Stapleton, a long-lost Baskerville relative, in a
bid to kill off the legitimate heirs and claim the estate. The novel is one of just
four Doyle wrote featuring Holmes (there were numerous short stories), and the most
successful, likely due to its eerie mystery and setting and the timing of its
appearance. It marked his first use of the character since "The Final Problem"
(1893), in which Holmes had been killed off. While represented as occurring prior
to that story, the novel's popularity persuaded Doyle to explain away Holmes's
"death" and resurrect the character. The story has been adapted to radio, film and
television on innumerable occasions.
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Posted
Dec. 10, 2013,
and last updated
Dec. 10, 2013.
Please report any errors to the compiler.
Published by Fleabonnet Press.
The source list data is public domain.
Additional material © 1999-2013 by Brian Kunde.
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