Summary : The Hound of the Baskervilles

The Beginning of a Classic Holmes MysteryThis text serves as the introductory front matter for the Project Gutenberg digital edition of the classic novel featuring the detective Sherlock Holmes. It provides necessary legal and logistical information regarding the usage, reproduction, and distribution of the file under the Project Gutenberg License. The text outlines that the material is free to use for individuals located within the United States and various other regions globally, subject to local laws.Additionally, the section lists the essential publication details for this digital release, noting the title of the work and its author, Arthur Conan Doyle. It includes specific metadata such as the original electronic release date from October 2001, the unique ebook identification number, and the date of the most recent text update in August 2025. The segment concludes by acknowledging the individuals responsible for preparing the file and formally announcing the start of the narrative text.

A Study of the Walking StickThe narrative opens at the breakfast table where Mr Sherlock Holmes sits while his companion, Dr Watson, examines a thick, bulbous-headed wooden walking stick left behind by an unknown visitor the night before. The cane features a broad silver band engraved with a presentation message to James Mortimer, M R C S, from his friends of the C C H, dated 1884. Holmes, observing Watson's actions through the reflection of a polished silver-plated coffee pot, challenges him to reconstruct the owner's identity based on the object. Watson deduces that the visitor is an elderly, well-esteemed country practitioner who does a great deal of walking, guessing that the initials stand for a local hunt. Holmes initially praises Watson's reasoning, inflating his friend's pride, before proceeding to systematically dismantle the conclusions by demonstrating that the initials more likely represent Charing Cross Hospital. Applying his distinct scientific methods, Holmes reinterprets the clues to infer that the owner is actually a young man under thirty years old. He reasons that the presentation occurred when the doctor left the London hospital to establish a country practice, and because the visitor was not on the permanent staff, he must have been a house-surgeon or house-physician. Holmes adds that the man is amiable, unambitious, absent-minded, and owns a dog larger than a terrier but smaller than a mastiff, pointing out visible teeth marks on the middle of the cane. Watson verifies the biographical details by reading aloud from the Medical Directory, confirming James Mortimer's employment at Charing Cross Hospital from 1882 to 1884 and his current role as a parish medical officer in Dartmoor, Devon. Holmes justifies his psychological deductions by noting that only an absent-minded man leaves his stick instead of a visiting card, and he correctly identifies the specific breed as a curly-haired spaniel just as the dog and its owner arrive at their doorstep. Dr James Mortimer enters the room, surprising Watson with his tall, thin frame, beak-like nose, keen grey eyes, and a somewhat slovenly professional dress characterized by a dingy frock-coat and frayed trousers. He joyfully reclaims his beloved stick, revealing that it was given to him by friends on the occasion of his marriage, a detail that slightly corrects Holmes's deductions regarding his departure from London. The eccentric visitor, who describes himself as a humble picker up of shells on the shores of science, immediately expresses an intense anthropological interest in Holmes's skull, expressing a desire to examine his parietal fissure and eventually obtain a museum cast of it. Holmes guides the enthusiast to a chair, notices his dexterity in rolling his own cigarettes, and steers the conversation toward the purpose of the visit. When Mortimer refers to Holmes as the second highest expert in Europe behind Monsieur Bertillon, a brief flash of asperity prompts Holmes to urge the doctor to state the exact nature of his serious and extraordinary problem without further delay.

The Curse of the BaskervillesDr James Mortimer visits Sherlock Holmes and Dr John Watson to consult them on a pressing matter. He begins by presenting an old family manuscript dated 1742, which was given to him by his late friend and patient, Sir Charles Baskerville. Despite Holmes's initial indifference, Dr Mortimer reads the document aloud. The manuscript details a grim family legend originating during the Great Rebellion, concerning an ancestor named Hugo Baskerville. Hugo, a wild and godless man, kidnapped a local yeoman's daughter and imprisoned her in his manor. The maiden escaped across the lonely moor, prompting a furious Hugo to make a deal with the powers of evil and unleash his hounds to hunt her down.The manuscript details how Hugo's drunken companions rode out in pursuit, only to find a terrified shepherd who claimed to have seen Hugo followed by a mute hound of hell. Continuing onward, the companions discovered Hugo's hounds whimpering in fear at the edge of a deep valley. The boldest of the group rode forward and found the maiden dead of exhaustion. Near her lay the body of Hugo Baskerville, over which stood a monstrous, black beast shaped like a hound. The creature tore out Hugo's throat and turned its blazing eyes upon the remaining men, who fled in absolute terror. The document concludes with a warning to successive generations of the Baskerville family to avoid crossing the moor during the dark hours when the powers of evil are exalted.Upon finishing the tale, which Holmes dismisses as a mere fairy tale, Dr Mortimer presents a recent newspaper account from the Devon County Chronicle dated May 14th of the current year. The article details the sudden, tragic death of Sir Charles Baskerville, a wealthy and highly respected philanthropist who had recently returned from South Africa to restore his ancestral home. The report notes that Sir Charles suffered from impaired health and a chronic heart condition. According to the public facts, Sir Charles went for his customary nightly walk down the yew alley of Baskerville Hall on the night of May 4th and never returned. His butler, Barrymore, discovered his body at the far end of the alley. The inquest concluded that Sir Charles died of natural causes related to cardiac exhaustion, an explanation supported by a post mortem examination and Dr Mortimer's own medical testimony. The newspaper emphasizes the importance of the finding to ensure that the next of kin, Mr Henry Baskerville, will feel safe to settle at the Hall.After reading the public record, Dr Mortimer confesses to Holmes that he withheld crucial private details from the coroner's inquiry to avoid fueling local superstitions and rendering the estate uninhabitable. He explains that he spent many evenings with Sir Charles, whose nervous system had become severely strained by the family legend. Sir Charles was genuinely convinced that a dreadful fate haunted his family and lived in constant fear of a ghastly presence on the moor. Dr Mortimer recalls an incident three weeks prior to the death when he witnessed Sir Charles staring in horror at what appeared to be a large black calf on the driveway. It was at Dr Mortimer's advice that Sir Charles had arranged to travel to London to escape his persistent anxieties. Following the tragedy, Dr Mortimer personally inspected the scene in the yew alley.