The Hound of the Baskervilles

Oct 4, 2024 1:13 PM

Author:Arthur Conan Doyle,Christopher Frayling

One of the BBC's '100 Novels That Shaped Our World'

The Hound of the Baskervilles gripped readers when it was first serialised and remains one of Sherlock Holmes's greatest and most popular adventures.

Could the sudden death of Sir Charles Baskerville have been caused by the gigantic ghostly hound that is said to have haunted his family for generations? Arch-rationalist Sherlock Holmes characteristically dismisses the theory as nonsense. And, immersed in another case, he sends Dr Watson to Devon to protect the Baskerville heir and observe the suspects at close hand. With its atmospheric setting on the ancient, wild moorland and its savage apparition, The Hound of the Baskervilles is one of the greatest crime novels ever written. Rationalism is pitted against the supernatural and good against evil as Sherlock Holmes sets out to defeat a foe almost his equal.

This edition contains a full chronology of Arthur Conan Doyle's life and works, an introduction by renowned horror scholar Professor Christopher Frayling discussing the background to the novel and the legends and events that inspired the story, with further reading and explanatory notes.

'Arthur Conan Doyle is unique ... Personally, I would walk a mile in tight boots to read him to the milkman'

Stephen Fry

Reviews

A classic thriller.

—— Publishers Weekly

An extraordinary novel. Delivered with style, believability, and sharp characterisations.

—— Nelson DeMille

Magdalen Nabb's books are set in a Florence so vividly brought to life that I long to go back there after reading each one.

—— Sunday Telegraph

Guarnaccia continues to impress as the most convincingly human of modern detectives and his creator as a writer of deep and rare dimension

—— Observer

On the basis of this elegantly twisted crime novel, Vargas is clearly an author who will rank alongside Henning Mankell. The detective, Commissaire Adamsberg, is the antithesis of Sherlock Homes: intuitive, preternaturally alert to hunches, and shabbier than Colombo. The plot kinks and switches in an utterly compelling manner. Creepy, sophisticated and wonderfully off-beat

—— Scotland on Sunday

Redhill's mild prose is dense with powerful emotional insights. Like Martin's art, it inspires a feeling of stillness and calm, of looking down on things from above; while underneath rest layer upon layer of meaning, prompting reflection on the novel's images and understandings long after the last page is reached.

—— The Times

Hauntingly good.

—— Elle

A first novel with a rich centre... not a word to spare or an image too many.

—— Montreal Gazette

Often intriguing... Jolene's youthful crassness and belated recognit ion or everything she lost are sharply and movingly evoked.

—— Sunday Times

Its combination of Grand Guignol and place setting does command attention

—— Metro London

Original, moving and entertaining for adults as well as for older children

—— Julia Donaldson , Daily Express

A deservedly acclaimed read.

—— Time Out London

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