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Students often write to me asking my help with a book report on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Hound of the Baskervilles. I really do recommend that they read it themselves. It is quite a story. But they write to me, saying that they need the info ASAP or sooner. If you have to read it by tomorrow, here it is. But promise that you will read it in full, soon. You will enjoy it. Is this cheating? If your teacher doesn't want you to read this (or Cliff Notes or whatever), then yes, it is cheating. Don't do it. And remember, your teacher probably has a copy of this synopsis.
The numbers at the left of each paragraph are the chapter numbers, and are followed by the chapter headings:
The Hound of the Baskervilles
by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
(1901)
From other Sherlock Holmes stories: Sherlock Holmes is a detective. Dr. Watson is his friend. They live at 221B Baker Street.
1 - Mr. Sherlock Holmes - Someone has left a walking stick. Holmes asks Watson to deduce what he can from it. Then Holmes shows that almost all of Watson's deductions are wrong. The stick's owner, Dr. Mortimer, then comes to visit.
2 - The Curse of the Baskervilles - Dr. Mortimer reads an old document, about a huge hound which killed Hugo Baskerville, and has menaced the family ever since. Dr. Mortimer is consulting with Holmes, about the death of Sir Charles Baskerville, who died of a heart attack. Near his body were the footprints of a huge hound, which Sir Charles had been running from.
3 - The Problem - Holmes questions Dr. Mortimer about the death. Sir Charles had waited at a gate, in the dark, before his death. And several people have seen (or heard) a huge, ghostly hound. Henry Baskerville, the heir, is arriving soon, from Canada. A Rodger Baskerville died in Central America. Mortimer wants Holmes to figure out if there is a threat to Henry Baskerville's life. Holmes thinks about it.
4 - Sir Henry Baskerville - Next morning, Dr. Mortimer brings Sir Henry to 221B. Sir Henry has received a letter, warning him to keep away from the moor, made out of words cut from the Times. And one of his new boots was stolen. Mortimer and Henry leave, and Holmes and Watson follow them. They surprise a man, in a cab, who is also following Mortimer and Henry. This man is disguised with a bushy black beard. He flees in the cab. Holmes is upset that he allowed himself to be seen. Holmes hires a boy to go to hotels and search the garbage for the Times with words cut out.
5 - Three Broken Threads - Henry is angry because, now, one of his old boots has been stolen. They also find that Henry has inherited 740,000 pounds (that is money). Henry has not made a will. Holmes is too busy to go to Devonshire, where Baskerville Hall is. Watson agrees to go, to protect Henry Baskerville. Henry's new boot has returned. The man in the cab had told the cabby that his name was Sherlock Holmes. Holmes warns Watson that he will be in danger.
6 - Baskerville Hall - Henry and Watson get a first glimpse of the moor, barren and rocky, from the train. After exiting the train, they learn that a murderer has escaped from prison, and soldiers are out looking for him. Baskerville Hall looks gloomy and depressing. Also living there are Perkins (who drove the coach), Barrymore (the butler, who has a black beard, but is taller than the man they saw in the cab), Barrymore's wife (the cook), and a scullery maid. That night, while lying awake in bed, Watson hears a woman crying.
7 - The Stapletons of Merripit House - The day is cheerier. Mrs. Barrymore had been crying, it seems. Watson walks to town to see if Barrymore had been in London. Walking home, he meets Stapleton, the naturalist. Stapleton points out the Grimpen Mire, a bog, which is like a swamp. They see a distant pony get sucked into the bog. Stapleton says that he knows paths to islands in the center of the bog. They hear a howling like a hound. They see the ruins of prehistoric stone dwellings. Watson meets Stapleton's sister, a dark and beautiful woman. She warns Watson to go back to London. She thought that he was Sir Henry. She later says that she believes there is an evil hound on the moor.
8 - First Report of Dr. Watson - Nothing has been heard of the escaped murderer. So he seems to be out of the neighborhood. Sir Henry is showing a romantic interest in Miss Stapleton. Stapleton does not approve. A Mr. Frankland, who lives nearby, is constantly suing people. One night Watson saw Barrymore signalling to someone on the moor, with a candle.
9 - Second Report of Dr. Watson - Watson and Henry plan to follow Barrymore, to see what he does at night. Henry visited Miss Stapleton; Watson followed them. She tried to warn Henry to leave. Stapleton came running, and was insulting to Henry. Later Stapleton apologized, and invited Henry to dine on Friday. One night Henry and Watson followed Barrymore. Henry confronted him, and he won't talk. Mrs. Barrymore confesses that her husband is signalling her brother, Seldon the escaped murderer, that food is waiting for him. Henry and Watson go out into the moor, at night, to capture Seldon. They hear the hound. They find Seldon, but he ran away. In the moonlight Watson saw a thin man, watching them from a hill.
10 - Extract from the Diary of Dr. Watson - Barrymore tells Henry and Watson that Charles Baskerville was waiting for a woman, who wrote him a letter and had the initials L. L., at the gate, when he died. L. L. might be Laura Lyons, Frankland's daughter. Barrymore tells Watson that Seldon had told him that the other man on the moor stays in the ancient ruins, and a boy from town brings him food.
11 - The Man on the Tor - Laura Lyons confesses to writing to Sir Charles on the day of his death, but says she never kept the appointment. She was going to ask Sir Charles for financial help, but received help from another source. Frankland tells Watson that he has seen a boy from town take food to the escaped murderer on the moor. Frankland does not know that the man is not the escaped murderer, but the other man on the moor. Watson finds the ancient stone hut that the other man is living in. He waits, with his pistol in his hand, for the man to return. The man is Sherlock Holmes.
12 - Death on the Moor - Watson had thrown his cigarette on the ground, which Holmes recognized, before he entered the hut. Holmes has been spying on everyone. Holmes tells Watson that Laura Lyons and Stapleton are romantically involved, and that Miss Stapleton is actually his wife. He has deduced that Stapleton plans to murder Sir Henry. Stapleton had told Watson that he was a school teacher. And Holmes had found records of his old school, and had found out about him and his wife. Holmes and Watson deduce that the warnings have come from Mrs. Stapleton. As they talk they hear a man scream. A man ran off a cliff, trying to escape the hound. They find the body, which is wearing Sir Henry's clothes. But the body has a beard, and is Seldon the escaped murderer. The hound tracked him because he was wearing Sir Henry's clothes. Stapleton shows up, and is surprised to find that the dead man is not Sir Henry.
13 - Fixing the Nets - Holmes tells Watson that he cannot yet prove that Stapleton is guilty. Both dead men died running from the hound, but were not killed by the hound. There is no known motive. They cannot connect Stapleton to the hound. They arrive at Baskerville Hall. Holmes wants Henry to keep his appointment to eat with the Stapletons, the next evening. Holmes sees a portrait in Baskerville Hall; there are many portraits of Baskervilles, down through history. When Henry has gone to bed, Holmes shows the painting to Watson, and it looks just like Stapleton. Stapleton is a Baskerville. The next day, Holmes tells Henry that he and Watson will be returning to London right away. Also he tells Henry to drive to the Stapletons' house that night, and walk back. We find that Lestrade, of Scotland Yard, is coming with a warrant. Holmes confronts Laura Lyon, and tells her that Miss Stapleton is Mrs. Stapleton. Stapleton had gotten her to write the letter, and to not keep the appointment, and to keep it quiet. Lestrade arrives by train.
14 - The Hound of the Baskervilles - That night, Holmes, Lestrade, and Watson hide by the path near Stapleton's house, with their pistols ready. They see through the window that Mrs. Stapleton is not at home. A fog comes in, and Holmes is worried. Finally, Henry comes running through the fog, pursued by the hound. The hound is huge (as big as a lion) and black, and fire seems to come from its eyes and mouth. Watson and Holmes shoot at it. It is hit, but continues after Henry. The hound knocks Henry down. Holmes shoots the hound five times, killing it. The dog's eyes and mouth drip a glowing phosphorus chemical. Holmes apologizes to Henry for almost getting him killed. They find Mrs. Stapleton, tied up, having been whipped by her husband. She thinks that he fled to the Grimpen Mire, and at night, has probably drowned. The next morning, Mrs. Stapleton leads them into the bog. More than once they fall in, and have to be pulled out. They find Henry's old boot. They never find Stapleton. They find where he kept the hound.
15 - Retrospection - Dr. Mortimer and Sir Henry come to visit Holmes and Watson. Stapleton was a son of Rodger Baskerville, from South America. There were some scandals. On coming to Devonshire, he found that only two people stood between him and enormous riches. He bought the hound in London. His wife refused to help him lure Sir Charles out at night. He got Laura Lyon to help him. The hound scared Sir Charles to death. Both women suspected that Stapleton had killed Sir Charles, but could not be sure. Stapleton followed Henry in London, hoping to kill him. Mrs. Stapleton sent the warning to Henry. Stapleton stole the new boot, found that it was too new, and then stole an old boot. He later used this boot to get the hound to chase Henry. Holmes suspects Stapleton of other crimes. When Holmes examined the warning letter, he noticed a faint smell of perfume, and already suspected Stapleton. Holmes wanted to watch Stapleton, so he went to Devonshire in secret. Mrs. Stapleton finally rebelled when she heard of the death of the escaped murderer. If he had killed Henry, he might have claimed his inheritance from South America, or claimed it while disguised, or had an accomplice claim it.
The story starts a little slowly, but it does get exciting. Stories of that era were supposed to start slowly. And Watson is a conservative guy. He won't create any false excitement. And the language is 19th Century British English; you may have to keep a dictionary handy. Also, the story is a murder mystery. Because of that, many things do not make sense until later. You may ask the question, why was Henry's new boot stolen and then returned? If you don't figure that out, Holmes waits until the end to explain it. This is not like more modern mysteries, where you are given all of the clues and are encouraged to solve the crime. You may suspect that Stapleton is the villain, just by his strange behavior. But, you are actually given no strong evidence, before Holmes tells Watson almost everything.
Watson plays a bigger part in this story than in any other story. There is plenty of drama and suspense here. We don't know that Holmes is the other man on the moor. More than once, Holmes goofs up and nearly causes deaths. But the most dramatic moment, in my opinion, is when Holmes shows Watson the painting, and we learn that Stapleton is a Baskerville. That is when it all becomes clear, mostly. When I read that, a chill literally ran through me. The unexpected fog, before the death of the hound, is very dramatic, too. At the end, we must assume that Stapleton is dead. He is never heard from again. I think that Doyle should have written another story with Stapleton as the villain. He was a really evil guy. And, since they didn't find his body, it was possible that he lived. Well, maybe I should write that story.
This is the third (or fourth) time that I have read this story. I have always thought that it would be smart to take notes, while reading a book. To help some of these people, I did that with The Hound of the Baskervilles. It worked pretty well. I would read a chapter, and then summarize it in a small (or big) paragraph. I often had to go back and check some facts. It was slower, that way. But, I understood the story better.
If you like Sherlock Holmes, Doyle wrote four novels and a lot of short stories. Other people have written Sherlock Holmes stories, some good, some bad.
Addendum:
Concerning my use of the expression "British English" above, I received this email:
In your otherwise excellent review of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's "The Hound of the Baskervilles", you refer to "19th Century British English". British English? What is this, exactly? As an Englishman, living in England, let me assure you that the language we have used to communicate for the last 1,000 years or so is English. Not British English. English. The Spanish language is widely used in both the North and South American continents - so do the good citizens of Spain speak Spanish Spanish? I think not. Less of this British English, please.
I replied:
"British English" is exactly what you might think it is. I think that is the accepted and logical way to distinguish your English from American English. I didn't mean to upset anyone. There are even books and WWW pages by that name. And yes indeed, Mexican Spanish is somewhat different from Spanish Spanish.