Just Finished re-Reading: The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (FP: 1902) [315pp] 

It was quite a story – a family curse, an isolated location and a spectral hound bent on a family's destruction. Holmes was suitably sceptical but equally intrigued, most especially when he heard how the latest tenant of Baskerville Hall had died – in sheer terror running for his very life. The reason Dr Mortimer was anxious for Holmes’ help was the imminent arrival of the last of the Baskerville line, recently residing in North America. He hoped that the story, and the family mystery, would intrigue the great detective enough to use his powers to unravel the riddle, see off the hound, and save the life of an innocent but cursed man. Holmes said that he would be delighted to, if only he had the time for he was pressed by other cases. He would volunteer Watson though and despatched him North to report back to Baker Street anything which might help the case move forward. Watson, alone and surviving on his wits (as well as what Holmes had taught him over the years), was going to be at his very best if he was going to protect Sir Henry Baskerville and help solve the mystery. If called upon could Holmes arrive in time to save the day if Watson couldn’t. He hoped that he wouldn’t have to put it to the test. 

As with the other Holmes books, I first read this over 40 years ago. I was somewhat surprised therefore by how well I remembered the plot although I’m guessing that’s as much based on the excellent 1939 movie adaptation starring the inimitable Basil Rathbone as Holmes and Nigel Bruce as Watson. I remembered this as my favourite Holmes outing, and I think I can say that it retains this top spot. Although I do enjoy the tightness of the short story format – which, to be honest, stops Conan Doyle going ‘off-piste’ with side stories in exotic lands – I did enjoy this substantial novel giving ACD time to develop the plot and have time for some decent character development. I liked, or at least didn’t dislike, most of the characters here. Dr Mortimer was an interesting one and I liked the way he described himself as ‘a dabbler in science, a picker-up of shells on the shores of the great unknown sea’ - very poetic! I did also laugh when Holmes *really* didn’t like being described (by the Dr again) as ‘the SECOND highest expert in Europe’. 

One of the things that really jumped out at me and was quire perplexing was the spelling of Eskimo – spelt in this case: ESQUIMAUX. Really? Was there no agreed upon spelling for Eskimo at that time? Did the author spell it phonetically because he didn’t know how to spell it? I’m intrigued! As with a hand-full of his short stories there was a definite Gothic feel to good chunks of the story, as you might imagine with a Hell Hound nipping at some of the characters feet, and Baskerville Hall certainly had that feel about it. LOTS of white paint needed, I think. A comment from Watson about Holmes made me smile – that Holmes had a ‘cat like love of personal cleanliness’. Finally, there was much mention, and much made of, the Barrows on Dartmoor as the *houses* of neolithic peoples – they were, of course, burial sites but I guess that this was unknown at the time of publication. 

Overall, I enjoyed this a great deal, and I was glad that my fondness for the book hasn’t diminished much over four decades. Definitely deserving its classic status and well worth a read even if you’re not already a Sherlock fan. After reading this you will be. I’m already looking forward to the last three books in the Holmes collection and then onto other Holmes ‘related’ tales. Much more to come. Oh, I almost forgot... I usually try to find the actual cover of the book I’m reviewing, but can’t in this particular case because my copy doesn’t *have* a cover. It’s a small format hardback I picked up in a 2nd-hand bookshop at some point in the late 70’s (I think!) for the princely sum of £1 and was published in 1948. Although not as nice as the copy I have of Pride & Prejudice – published during WW2 – I'm still rather fond of it. Pity about the lack of a dust jacket though!