The Hound of the Baskervilles

The Hound of the Baskervilles is one of Conan Doyle‘s most famous mysteries featuring the detective, Sherlock Holmes, and his friend, Dr. Watson. When Sir Charles Baskerville is found dead, the people living in the neighbouring area are sure that he didn‘t die from natural causes. Strange sightings of a giant fire-breathing hound and stories from the past have convinced them of this. However, a certain Dr. Mortimer thinks there is more to it than that. His theory suggests that this beast has been on the rampage for years, killing generations of male Baskervilles. With the victim‘s son returning home from Canada, and the mystery still unsolved, Dr. Mortimer turns to Sherlock Holmes for help. He is worried that the deaths will continue until all the Baskerville men are wiped out or someone discovers the truth. The unparalleled detective, Sherlock Holmes, his sidekick, Dr. Watson and an intriguing and mysterious plot make Sir Arthur Conan Doyle‘s ‘The Hound of the Baskervilles‘ a compelling read. ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Conan Doyle is most famous as the inventor of Sherlock Holmes, but he had a varied career as a writer, journalist and public figure. Arthur Conan Doyle was born on 22 May 1859, in Edinburgh into a prosperous Irish family. He trained as a doctor, gaining his degree from Edinburgh University in 1881. He worked as a surgeon on a whaling boat and also as a medical officer on a steamer travelling between Liverpool and West Africa. He then settled in Portsmouth on the English south coast and divided his time between medicine and writing. Sherlock Holmes made his first appearance in ‘A Study of Scarlet‘, published in ‘Beeton‘s Christmas Annual‘ in 1887. Its success encouraged Conan Doyle to write more stories involving Holmes but, in 1893, Conan Doyle killed off Holmes, hoping to concentrate on more serious writing. A public outcry later made him resurrect Holmes. In addition, Conan Doyle wrote a number of other novels, including ‘The Lost World‘ and various non-fictional works. These included a pamphlet justifying Britain‘s involvement in the Boer War, for which he was knighted and histories of the Boer War and World War One, in which his son, brother and two of his nephews were killed. Conan Doyle also twice ran unsuccessfully for parliament. In later life he became very interested in spiritualism. Conan Doyle died of a heart attack on 7 July 1930.