The Hound of the Baskervilles

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1902

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-5

Chapters 6-11

Chapters 12-15

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Holmes says most people don’t pay attention to their surroundings, and observation is the key to crime detection. Why is observation important?

Explain why Holmes believes he can solve a mystery that seems to involve a supernatural being.

Give two ways in which the moor sets the tone of the novel.

List three ways in which the book resembles a horror story.

Describe briefly how Barrymore, Stapleton, Beryl, and Laura each might be suspects in the death of Sir Charles.

What is the chief difference between the Baskervilles’ beliefs about the legendary hound and Sherlock Holmes’s beliefs? How does this difference symbolize the change from the ancient to the modern world?

Two women help Stapleton commit his crimes. Explain how each does so, describe their motives, and suggest how, as characters, they are both similar to and different from each other.

Holmes announces that he is busy in London, but in fact he is in Dartmoor investigating the Baskerville case. Why does he do this? What advantage does it give him with the suspect?

Why does Holmes feel guilty about Sir Henry’s part in the trap they set to catch Stapleton?

10.

Describe how Stapleton would benefit from Sir Henry’s death, and how he might acquire that benefit without revealing his own identity and culpability.