Arthur Conan Doyle wrote The Hound of the Baskervilles after he had already “killed” Sherlock Holmes in “The Final Problem” (1893). To satisfy readers without undoing that dramatic ending, he set this new novel in an earlier period of Holmes’s career. The story was first serialized in The Strand Magazine from August 1901 to April 1902, then published as a book in 1902. It became the most celebrated Holmes novel and helped bring the detective back to the center of popular culture.
Origins & Inspiration
Doyle’s spark came from English folklore about a phantom black dog haunting the countryside. While planning the book, he toured Dartmoor in Devon with journalist Bertram Fletcher Robinson, collecting local legends, place-names, and textures of the landscape. The novel’s eerie moor, the deadly Grimpen Mire (inspired by real mires), and the nearby prison at Princetown all draw on this research. The famous “glowing” hound is explained by modern means (phosphorus), letting science wear the mask of superstition.
Why Doyle Wrote It This Way
Doyle combined a Gothic atmosphere (ancient curse, howling moor, crumbling hall) with rational detection. Holmes treats fear itself as a clue: who benefits from terror? who uses a legend to hide a crime? Setting the case outside London lets the landscape act like a character—wide spaces, sudden mists, and long silences shape every decision.
Publication & Impact
- Serialized: The Strand Magazine, Aug 1901–Apr 1902 (illustrated by Sidney Paget, whose images fixed Holmes’s look).
- Book: 1902 (UK and US editions). It quickly became the best-known Holmes long story.
- Canon position: Third Holmes novel (after A Study in Scarlet and The Sign of Four); later The Valley of Fear followed.
Themes to Notice
- Reason vs. Superstition: Science exposes the “supernatural” without mocking human fear.
- Landscape as Evidence: Paths, bogs, winds, and distances operate like clues.
- Mask & Motive: A medieval-style legend hides a very modern plan for inheritance and power.
Fun Facts
- Doyle set the novel earlier to avoid resurrecting Holmes too soon; Holmes’s official “return” came later in “The Empty House” (1903).
- The moor locations boosted Dartmoor tourism; many readers went looking for the “real” Baskerville places.
- Paget’s Strand illustrations helped cement the iconic Holmes silhouette.