This story was written by the Scottish physician (no, not basketball player ) and writer Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle. He was born on 22 May 1859 at 11 Picardy Place, Edinburgh, Scotland. In 1902 he wrote a pamphlet called The War in South Africa: Its Cause and Conduct, to support the British cause in the Boer War. Because of this work, he was knighted by King Edward VII. The Boer War was a war between South Africa and Great Britain for the liberation of South Africa. It was fought from the October 11, 1899 until May 31, 1902. After the war Doyle wrote a book called The Great Boer War. However, today Doyle is most noted for his authorship of the Stories of Sherlock Holmes (56 Short Stories and 4 Novels.) Outside of Sherlock Holmes, Doyle wrote many other short stories.
The Hound of the Baskervilles is set in 1889 in London and on the Grimpen Mire. Sherlock Holmes is confronted by a murder almost more puzzling that he can solve: a gigantic ghostly hound has been rumored to have killed Sir Charles Baskerville. Sir Charles' only known heir, Sir Henry, inherits the Baskerville Estate, but legend puts it that the Hound will try to kill off all of the Baskerville line! Unfortunately, Holmes is occupied with another crime in London so he sends his faithful sidekick Dr. Watson to keep Sir Henry safe...
I enjoyed this story because it was filled with so many red herrings that I didn't know which person was the real evil person. In fact, even Watson didn't even suspect the wrongdoer until the very end of the story, he kept persisting after an innocent. Even once Holmes came into play, the dynamic duo was finding a lot of trouble in apprehending the suspected miscreant.
So, of course it was very exciting tale to read.
So, of course it was very exciting tale to read.
Nice review, Alex! Great book, and it's fun to say "Grimpen Mire," which sounds a lot like a fungus that soldiers got between their toes during the Boer War. I know Conan Doyle belonged to something called "The Ghost Club" but don't know that much about it--only that he was good at ghostly stuff in his books! Anyway, thanks for sharing--well done!
ReplyDeleteThe fact that he belonged to the ghost club is probably because he was a spiritualist:, he believed in "the dead not being dead" and all that. and you're right:"Grimpen mire"
DeleteVery good review Alex. You just say enough of the story for tempting people to read the book without giving up the end. In French the translation of the book was in fact The "Dog" of the Baskervilles, probably because we could not find any translation to "Hound". What is the difference between Hound and Dog?
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