Rating: *** (3 Stars)
Brief reasons for ratings:
Although I very much enjoyed this story, I felt that it was not one of the best Great Detective mysteries. Sherlock was in absentia for a large percentage of the plot, and Watson, in my opinion, is portrayed as a little too bumbling for my interest.
Recommended for:
Analysis:
‘You ain’t
nothing but a hound-dog,
cryin’ all
the time…’
Elvis
Presley, Hound Dog, recorded 1956, written by Lieber & Stoller.
As with so much in
life, Elvis cuts straight to the point.
My first thought upon
sitting down to review this Sherlock Holmes story by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle,
serialized 1901-1902, was not of Watson, Holmes, Sir Henry or any other human
character in the book, but in fact of the Hound.
The titular dog (which
I personally picture as some sort of oversized mastiff gone mad) is a truly
fantastic gothic literary device, serving as the ‘ravenous beast’ that
terrorizes the people of the rural area of Dartmoor which surrounds Baskerville
Hall. In the same way that myths of a hideous and hungry monster living in a
nearby forest might have circulated through villages and campfires ‘back in the
day’ (so to speak), this hound is the figurehead on which all the horror of the
novel is centered. Take, for example, the most oft quoted sentence and climax
of the first ‘act’ of the novel, uttered by Dr Mortimer:
"Mr. Holmes,
they were the footprints of a gigantic hound!"
All this
drama- and just for footprints! The presence of the animal itself is not
necessary, even, to stir unease within a reader. This suggestion of, and then focus
on a figure of horror, especially when also featured in the title of the work (‘The
Monk’, ‘Dracula’ etc), is a standard and effective feature of Gothic storytelling.
In fact, it is almost an authorial standard recipe for increasing the fear
factor of your ‘beast’- introduce the possibility of a supernatural threat,
strengthen the evidence for its existence, then produce it at a suitably
theatrical peak for maximum horror. However, rarely is it done in such a short
space, with such good effect, without their actually being a supernatural
component to the threat- the mark of quality writing in my opinion.
The
backdrop effect of the almost medieval setting of the Hall is remarkable in
itself. Set in isolation, with few servants, and all the creepy horror
paraphernalia weather and location can produce for atmosphere (including fogs,
mists, swamps, deep dark nights, significant amount of moon presence/absence,
and of course the chilling baying of the hound on the hunt…) these important
items increase the ‘dread’ factor of the story, and support the heroic
qualities of Watson and Holmes in tackling the mystery. The chills and sense of
creeping threat gained from the inclusion of these in the work cannot be
undervalued, especially when the threat of the hound is most strongly present
in the story, boosting the urgency and driving the plot, as the mystery must
be solved before Sir Henry is literally killed by the unknown.
My favourite
passage from the book, in fact, begins when a dark and foggy evening descends
across Dartmoor. While Holmes and Watson stake out Merripit House, Sir Henry
leaves a friendly dinner, not aware that while he walks, the vile character
Stapleton has unleashed the hound! What a great moment of transformation from
normality to gothic horror…
Imagine-
you’re stumbling, slightly tipsy, home across the dark fields at night, warm
and cosy from dinner. Finally you’ve had a night off from thinking about murder,
and time to relax! It’s a misty night, and you just bumble along, full of food
and warm thoughts. Perhaps you have a small lamp or torchlight to see where to
put your feet (watching out for the quicksand, you see), but it barely shines a
meter ahead of you. Then, startling, in the distance (or is it closer?) a
mournful howl… Creeping fear of the predator sets in. It’s baying at the moon,
demanding blood, and then- only then- does the cold dark creep in across the
miles of empty moorland and surround you, along with the knowledge that wherever
it is, it’s coming for you…
Eeek!
OVERALL:
You’ll
have to read the story for yourself to find out what happens and feel the truly
spine-tingling aspects of this book…
Perhaps my
only criticism would be that the mystery is too easily solved, shortening the
suspense earlier than necessary. However, this is after all a mystery novel of
the Great Detective, and not in fact, an Ann Radcliffe gothic novel, and so
perhaps better suited to those who like a touch of horror with their mystery,
rather than vice versa.
However, it is worth noting also that this is one of the stories which shows Conan-Doyle’s interest in the supernatural, and as such may be a reflection of his interest in (and eventual adoption of) Spiritualism, which is recorded significantly in another novel called ‘The Land of Mist’ which I thoroughly recommend to anyone who enjoys a good ghost story.
However, it is worth noting also that this is one of the stories which shows Conan-Doyle’s interest in the supernatural, and as such may be a reflection of his interest in (and eventual adoption of) Spiritualism, which is recorded significantly in another novel called ‘The Land of Mist’ which I thoroughly recommend to anyone who enjoys a good ghost story.
All in
all, having re-read and enjoyed this book, I can definitively confirm that
Holmes and Watson are far braver than I. Call me overly imaginative, but I
would most certainly not walk the moors at night….
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[N.B. A version of this post is also available on The Edge of Reading, the blog for a book group I belong to. Check it out!]
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[N.B. A version of this post is also available on The Edge of Reading, the blog for a book group I belong to. Check it out!]
