The Book Depository The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle
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Price: £8.99
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Description: The Hound of the Baskervilles : Paperback : Penguin Books Ltd : 9780241952870 : 0241952875 : 01 Sep 2011 : The death, quite suddenly, of Sir Charles Baskerville in mysterious circumstances is the trigger for one of the most extraordinary cases ever to challenge Sherlock Holmes. As rumours of a legendary hound said to haunt the Baskerville family circulate, Holmes and Watson are asked to ensure the protection of Sir Charles' only heir, Sir Henry. The Book Depository The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle - shop the best deal online on thebookbug.co.uk
Category: Books
Merchant: The Book Depository
Product ID: 9780241952870
MPN: 0241952875
GTIN: 9780241952870
Author: yaz
Rating: 5
Review: Talked about this with my daughter as it was my English GCSE focus. Real good bargain and easy to read
Author: Martin Jones
Rating: 4
Review: The Hound of the Baskervilles opens with the story of an ancient, aristocratic Devonshire family haunted by a mythic hound, continually hell-bent on avenging an injustice committed by a Lord Baskerville many generations ago. Sherlock Holmes investigates the recent death of the latest Lord, and threats made to the next Baskerville heir. Holmes is not a man for superstition. Scientific in his approach to crime solving, he does not take kindly to supernatural hounds stalking around Devonshire seeking vengeance for past wrongs. I had no trouble seeing that you could easily poke fun at The Hound of the Baskervilles. While there is great descriptive writing, the dialogue is stiff, with little variation between voices. The main characters, whether they are upper class Englishmen, women or Americans, all sound like upper class Englishmen. Characters of the lower classes are incapable of doing anything helpful without a half sovereign to persuade them towards correct behaviour. Holmes puffs hopelessly on his appalling shag tobacco, while somehow remaining a finely tuned physical specimen, ready to run any villain to ground and administer a sound thrashing. Beyond all that, however, The Hound of the Baskervilles is actually a fascinating study of science. So bear with me and let’s investigate. The scientific method involves isolating a limited number of variables, while keeping everything else the same. That way you work out the effect of those few factors you have isolated. This is what Holmes does. He creates the limits of a controlled experiment. He begins to investigate the Baskerville case from his Baker Street office in London, laying in a large quantity of the strongest shag tobacco. Shutting himself away from the countless variables of the city, he concentrates his mind on the few facts of his case. The resulting smoky, poisonous atmosphere in his room disgusts Holmes’s assistant, Dr. Watson. Watson tries unsuccessfully to persuade Holmes to leave a window open. The great detective, however, works by closing windows. He looks forward to moving the scene of his investigation from London to Dartmoor. There, instead of a city full of variables, he enjoys the prospect of concentrating his investigation on the few inhabitants of Dartmoor living close to Baskerville Hall. This is a characteristic set-up for detective fiction: think of Agatha Christie’s train marooned by snow in Murder on the Orient Express. Holmes is undeniably successful in his forensic studies, but the story of his investigation also suggests that life refuses to see itself as a few isolated factors. Life is like London, a teeming mass of interrelationships. Holmes’ smoke-filled Baker Street room does not suggest the clear light of truth and neither does Dartmoor. Fog is a defining feature of both. This is what I liked about The Hound of the Baskervilles. This is crime fiction saying that science isn’t the only way to find out about life.
