Mystery in the Moor: Sherlock Holmes and The Hound of the Baskervilles

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Of all the detectives and crime people this world has known, there is arguably no one that could possibly be as prominent as Sherlock Holmes, the world's first and only consulting detective. Among the four novels and 56 short stories he had appeared in, it was in The Hounds of the Baskervilles, third in the thick of the four, to with which he was "best-loved", according to Sherlockian scholars who listed it as their top Holmes novel.

In the story, Dr. James Mortimer sought the advice of Sherlock Holmes, after the death of his friend, Sir Charles Baskerville. The dead man was found on the grounds of Baskerville Hall, set in Dartmoor, Devonshire, England and Dr. Mortimer now fears for the life of Sir Henry Baskerville, Charles' nephew and remaining sole heir just arriving from Canada, after the devastating event. Heart attack was pronounced as the cause of death but Dr. Mortimer found it dubious, for according to him, Sir Charles had an expression of horror in his face and footprints of an enormous hound were found nearby, which led him to attribute these to the Baskerville curse. Supposedly, the Baskerville family has been under a curse since the English Civil War when their ancestor Hugo Baskerville allegedly sold his soul to the devil in aid for abducting a woman. At that, Hugo was reportedly killed by a giant ghostly hound. Sir Charles was among the believers of the curse and apparently, he was running away from something when he died.

Sir Henry was staying at London Hotel during his arrival and he received numerous warnings that prevented him to move into the Baskerville Hall in the breadth of the alleged curse. One of his new boots was even inexplicably missing from his rooms. Intrigued by the case, Sherlock Holmes, alongside Dr. Watson, followed Sir Henry from their apartment to his hotel and they noticed a bearded man following him in a cab. They pursue the bearded man but ended up losing him. Dr. Mortimer, however, told them that Mr. Barrymore, Baskerville Hall's butler, has a beard that is similar to that of the stranger. Afterwards, one of the new boots which was lost reappeared, but an older one vanished.

Holmes then sent for the cab driver who shuttled the bearded man but the resulting event astounded Holmes as the bearded man gave the name "Sherlock Holmes" to the cab driver. Holmes became more interested in the case, but was also amidst others, so he dispatched Dr. Watson to come with Sir Henry to the Baskerville Hall, with further instructions about sending him constant reports about the house, grounds and neighbors. Upon arrival, Sir Henry and Dr. Watson came to know that an escaped convicted murdered by the name of Selden was apparently in the area.

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Dr. Watson ran into Mr. Barrymore and his wife, who informed him that they also wanted to leave the estate soon. He heard the cries of a woman during the night and to him, it was obviously Mrs. Barrymore, but Mr. Barrymore denied it. Moreover, he could find no proof that the butler was in Devonshire during the chase in London. He then met Mr. Stapleton, a naturalist and his beautiful sister, Ms. Stapleton. Whilst they were talking, a horrible animal sound was heard but Mr. Stapleton was quick to deny that it was related to the mythical hound. He then left Dr. Watson and his sister to catch some butterflies. Finding the time quite impeccable, Ms. Stapleton warned Dr. Watson to leave and mistook him as Sir Henry. She and Sir Henry however, encountered each other later in time and immediately fell in love with each other, which prompted Mr. Stapleton to be angry. Nonetheless, Mr. Stapleton apologized to Sir Henry and even invited him to dinner in his place a few days later.

On the other hand, suspicions on Mr. Barrymore grew even more when Dr. Watson and Sir Henry caught him at night with a candle in an empty room. He refused to answer their questions but Mrs. Barrymore confessed that the escaped convict Selden is her brother and the candle serves as signal to him that they had already left supplies for him.  Dr. Watson and Sir Henry chased Selden on the moor but he escaped, as Dr. Watson observed another man on the neighboring tor. They soon reached an agreement to let Selden run away from the country and Mr. Barrymore revealed the contents of a partially burned letter that instructed Sir Charles to be at the hall gate at the time of his date. The letter bore the initials L. L., and upon Dr. Mortimer's directive, Dr. Watson interrogated a certain Laura Lyons, whom appropriately, was the letter's signee. This Laura Lyons wished to have her divorce be financed by Sir Charles, but she did not keep the appointment. Dr. Watson trailed the man he saw in the tor and he discovered it to be Holmes, who sought for a faster resolution in a solitary investigation. Holmes further informed them later that Mr. Stapleton is actually married to the supposed Ms. Stapleton and he promised to marry Laura Lyons to get her cooperation.

They then heard a scream from the moor and found the dead body of Selden. They had the initial mistake that he was Sir Henry, but later realized that it was Selden dressed in Sir Henry's clothes.

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At the hall, Sherlock Holmes noticed the likeness in the image of Mr. Stapleton and Hugo Baskerville. He thought that Mr. Stapleton is probably an unknown Baskerville relative who sought to claim the family's wealth by killing the other family members. Holmes summoned Inspector Lestrade at once and the two of them with Watson traveled to the Stapleton's place where Sir Henry was dining. He was on his way home when Mr. Stapleton released the hound to slay him but the three arrived just in time to rescue him and Holmes shot the animal dead in the encounter. It was soon revealed to them that it was not supernatural in any sort: a mix of bloodhound and mastiff, painted with phosphorus to give it a ghostly look. Mrs. Stapleton was found inside the house, held as a captive while Mr. Stapleton apparently died when he attempted to reach his hideout in a proximate mine. Sir Henry's boot was also found, which was used to give the hound his scent.

Weeks later, Sherlock Holmes revealed the other focal points of the case. Mr. Stapleton was the son Rodger Baskerville, youngest of the three Baskerville brothers and also had the name Rodger. For many years, he lived through crime before learning that he could inherit his family's fortune by murdering his uncle and cousin. At first, he took Sir Henry's new boot, but it had no scent, so he returned it and took the old one. The hound ran after Selden because he wore Sir Henry's clothes and therefore had his scent. Mrs. Stapleton negated his husband's plan, so she was held off as a captive to prevent her from interfering.

The story ends as Holmes and Dr. Watson set off to watch an opera. 

Traditional Analysis | Inside the Mind of the Master: Arthur Conan Doyle 

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Conan Doyle worked as a physician and this largely explains the abundance of medical context in his stories. When he was still studying, he met a surgeon from Edinburgh infirmary named Joseph Bell, whom had the gift of telling broad but accurate conclusions from minute observations and is seen as Holmes’ molding figure. Sherlock Holmes was not the first detective in fiction. Numerous others have been present before him, most notably Chevalier Auguste Dupin by Edgar Allan Poe and Monsieur Lecoq by Emile Gaboriau. Conan Doyle’s allusions of these literary figures, in guise of Holmes’ and Watson’s lines, somehow give off the idea that Conan Doyle wanted to make a detective character that will use the previous ones as foundations but he will be built with cognitive skills and methods that will bring him closer to reality.

For eight years, Conan Doyle did not write about Sherlock Holmes because he wished to devote more of his time towards his historical novels. When he supposedly killed of Holmes in The Final Problem, he received a lot of protests and his readers opted to unsubscribe from him. He wrote this third novel, The Hounds of the Baskervilles, after years of resisting public pressure but to the public’s demise, it had a setting years before the date in Holmes’ supposed death. The eventual success of the novel, however, would later make Conan Doyle bring Holmes back for good, in The Return of Sherlock Holmes, further explaining his faked death in The Adventure of the Empty House. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was promptly knighted by The Queen of England for his literary contribution after the critical acclaim of the novel.

The Clyro Court, which is now called the Baskerville Hall, is widely considered as Conan Doyle’s inspiration for the story. His ideas rooted from Richard Cabell’s legend, resident of Brook Hall, Buckfastleigh, Devon. Cabell lived his life hunting and he was described as a “monstrously evil man”. Allegedly, he sold his soul to the devil and had murdered his own wife, Elizabeth Fowell. On the night of his interment, phantom packs of hound were seen across the moor, howling at his tomb. Whenever his death anniversary came, he would be seen leading the packs of hound or otherwise the hounds were to be found on his tomb howling and shrieking. Devon’s folklore of a Yeth hound, a ghostly supernatural dog might have also provided influence to Conan Doyle.

Stylistic Analysis | On the Methods of the Master

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 The novel utilized many traditional techniques that had been largely abandoned by that time. These include diary extracts, letters and interposed manuscripts. Like in most of his Holmes stories, Conan Doyle used the descriptive writing style in The Hounds of the Baskervilles. The style makes the readers feel as if they are in the middle of the stories. The calm and relaxed narrations of Dr. Watson give climactic possibilities that make the readers more excited in reading rather than by barraging them with overly excited text. This style of Conan Doyle makes the reader feel immersed in the story and the suspense incorporated in cliffhangers make the stories more fun than others of its kind.

These elements purposively serve as strong cornerstones and cases for Conan Doyle’s stories to be the best in the field of mystery literature.

Overall, this book is a must—read for adventure and mystery seekers like me and I gladly offer my deepest gratitude to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in introducing Sherlock Holmes to the world.