Discussion Thread: The Hound of the Baskervilles (spoilers)
 

Hello all...

So it's about that time. Lets talk about HOTB. I for one liked this book very much. So much in fact that I went back to read the rest of the Omnibus.

For some reason right away I had a feeling that Stapletons sister wasn't his sister. It was interesting the Holmes decided to camp out on the Moor. It was apparent that Watson is good a sleuthing too having been able to determine this... as good as Holmes is, he couldn't seclude himself 100%.

BOb

I'm sad to say that I missed that. I didn't attempt to try and figure it out at all though.

This was my favorite Holmes story. I got a little creeped out in several parts of the book. I thought it was a very engaging read.

For fans of House, I went into this knowing the show was loosely based on Sherlock Holmes, and was looking for parallels. Holmes' drug addiction wasn't a factor in this book, but I did notice his arrogance. Actually, I felt he was more arrogant in this story than the other ones I read. Did anyone else?

I thought that too - initially because they looked so different, and later on because of his jealousy.

I also enjoyed the book very much. It's different from the sort of thing I normally read. I thought the plot line was clever...

I did not know that House was supposed to be based on Sherlock Holmes.....

Found it out on IMDB.

His address is the same as Holmes. Also, Wilson=Watson, etc.

OK...feeling old and out of touch here....what is IMDB?

I didn't know either, so I googled it......

"Internet Data Movie Base"......

http://www.imdb.com/ :)

http://www.imdb.com

It's an online movie database. Sounds boring, until you realize its potential. Here are some of its uses:
1) Watch a movie, and at the same time read the "Goofs" in the movie, and keep an eye out for them
2) Read the Trivia section beforehand, and impress the person(s) watching with you with weird facts about the movie (never gets old)
3) You so completely know someone in a movie, but can't put your finger on it? Search the movie, click the star, and see what other movies they are in. Leland Stottlemeyer from Monk was Buffalo Bill in Silence of the Lambs??? Oh yes, it's right here on IMDB.

I look at that site all the time and I hardly even watch movies.

I love Monk!

O.K. I confess! I cheated!

I've got an audio version and I listened to it again.

The voices are just right.

This is one of my favourite Sherlock Holmes stories. I have read them all in the past. My husband is a real fan and has as many dvds as he can find.

I find it interesting how this story gives you a feel for living in the past. It wouldn't work today. They'd be driving so the hound couldn't chase them, no telgrams to put in someone's hand. no boot boy to clean your shoes for you, travelling by train instead of flying or driving.

Laine

If you've got a free audio book that you could point us to. I might be interested in listening to it.

BOb

Sorry, wasn't free.
I bought a set of 5 cds and transferred files to my Creative mp3 player.

I buy lots of audio books. And I'm up to my 10th mp3 player - and not one has been an ipod.

Laine

One of the reasons I enjoy this book is that Watson is allowed to "be his own man" in it, and proves himself to be both brave and resourceful. It's an unfortunate fact that in many of the Sherlock Holmes film adaptations, Watson is portrayed as a "buffoon" - especially the portrayal by Nigel Bruce in the 1940s films with Basil Rathbone as Holmes.

Those are the ones my husband likes the best. I think as we get older nostalgia gets a stronger old on us.

Laine

That should, of course, have been 'hold'.

I'd blame it on my keyboard being clogged up with crumbs and cat hair but the new eeepc is the same so it must just me being 'unetten'* as my mother used to say.

* Lincolnshire dialect word for klutz - no idea how to spell it as I only ever heard it from her and she had a hearing problem.

Laine

Is 'HotB' the one where Watson wants to know why Holmes is painting the front door yellow, and is told "Lemon entry my dear Watson" ?

:o couldn't resist.

dear god, i may break my groaner on that one.

you can get a free audio version from librivox : http://librivox.org/the-hound-of-the...r-conan-doyle/ in fact they've got quite a large selection of Conan Doyle's works available (among other things). i don't know whether the reader is any good, though.

Did anyone else find it a bit disturbing how Watson and Sir Charles so readily chose to not inform the authorities about Selden after not being able to capture him themselves? Regardless of how the information came to them and the opinions of the Barrymores, I would have thought that just the possibility of such a violent criminal commiting another act would lead Watson to notify them regardless of his 'intent' to leave the country.

-MJ

I wanted to add, I didn't make the connection between Holmes and House, that was fascinating to learn that. I have only just started watching that show as they've been playing reruns a lot in recent weeks.

It's a great show.

I thought the whole thing with Selden was weird too. They didn't really give a reason for it.

Yes good point. Before I read any of these books I had always got that impression, that he was a side kick or scribe. But, now that I have read this stuff (still reading AOSH and more) I find that Watson is intelligent and thoughtful. He is certainly a friend and confidant to Holmes. He makes a good sounding board. Although you would think he, as a Dr., would be more forceful in getting Holmes, his friend off the cocaine.

I never knew that Watson was a real medical Dr. He had a practice and a wife. Although his wife doesn't really enter into the stories thus far except in the case where he met her. I am having a ball reading the omnibus. Harry... thanks so much for your excellent work on it.

BOb

Holmes and Watson quite frequently take the law into their own hands. In the very first stroy, they are aobut to give a stolen treasure to the daughter of the man who stole it, even British Law would have returned it to the rightful owner. Fortunately, the treasure was lost, but it sort of sets the tone. Conan Doyle had a sort of "I'm an aristocrat, so I make my own laws" way of looking a the world.

Yes. I realize this. But, Laine was so impressed with the dramitization aspects it sounded most interesting. My wife has some credits at Audible she may not be able to use by the end of her membership year. So, maybe I will have her get this for me.

Has anyone listened to any of the public domain versions of this? Any good?

BOb

(BTW: I am also wanting to see A Passage to India movie. I like to see how the characters are portrayed in a movie after I have read the book.)

This wasn't the first time Holmes has found out the culprit and not turned him in. He makes his own judgment calls based on how circumstances and how he sees it and their motivations in his own mind.

BOb

Ahh, but technically he wasn't the culprit, and Holmes didn't make the decision.

Yes true. But, I think perhaps Watson was emulating Holmes in this book. So, the motivations for his decision were based on those past experiences.

BOb

I think I skipped on that myself, in fact Holmes did make that decision as well, and independently of Watson and Sir Charles' decisions. As he was his neighbor for a time. Though I am still more surprised at Watson then Holmes.

-MJ

Interesting point. Combine that with the whole aristocratic thing...

mjh215- Good point as well. I wonder what his reasoning was as well. Maybe to help cover that he was hiding in the woods?

The whole Selden sub-plot is clearly there as a "red herring" to deceive the reader into perhaps suspecting Barrymore and his wife as being in some way involved with the death of Sir Charles.

Yet, in the first chapter, Holmes ridicules Watson's bumbling attempts to deduce anything from a walking stick.

"When I said that you stimulated me I meant, to be frank, that in noting your fallacies I was occasionally guided towards the truth."

Which one was it. There are several version of this at Audible. Who was the narrator/reader?

BOb

BTW: The only non iPod players we have bought have been duds.

HoTB: The Rise of Watson
 

As I get older, I find I enjoy the Sherlock Holmes stories less and less, due to Holmes' arrogant attitude and condescending treatment of Watson. Overall, the stories are still a good read, but I'm tempted to turn the page and skip ahead when Holmes is being snarky...

Two items stood out for me in re-reading The Hound of the Baskervilles after a long absence. The first is how much of this story is written in Watson's "voice". Sherlock Holmes appears in the chapters 1-4, then is absent until the last paragraph of chapter 11 when Watson learns the mysterious man inhabiting a stone hut is actually Holmes. Chapter 12 highlights the actions and thoughts of Holmes after he sends Watson to the countryside along with Sir Henry Baskerville and Dr. Mortimer. the narrative is again picked up by Watson, and continues until the final chapter, when Holmes summarizes what really happened and why.

The second item that struck me in HoTB was the classic mystery technique of stopping a crime from happening, then the hero and sidekick spend the following chapter explaining the villain's motive and how they solved the mystery. Although this technique was in use before 1901 (when HoTB was published), it is well-developed in this story, and certainly wraps up all the details in a bright red bow :xmas:.

Sherri

Actually, ALL of the Holmes stories are as recounted/narrated by Watson.

BOb

Not quite all, though I can't remember which ones aren't narrated by Watson. :o

Wikipedia says:
"All but four stories are narrated by Holmes's friend and biographer, Dr. John H. Watson; two are narrated by Sherlock Holmes himself, and two others are written in the third person."

Update:
"The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone" (told in third-person)
"His Last Bow" (told in third-person)
"The Adventure of the Blanched Soldier" (narrated by Holmes)
"The Adventure of the Lion's Mane" (narrated by Holmes)

No, there are two of the short stories which are narrated directly by Holmes.

Yes... sorry.. should have said "All the ones I've read so far".

BOb

Maybe if one of them was an iPod, you wouldn't have had to buy as many? :) My third mp3 player (August 2003) was an iPod, and I STILL use it daily. My music library still just barely fits, so the only reason I can ever imagine retiring it is if I "outgrow" it.

Looks like a new Sherlock Holmes movie will be coming out in the fall. I am glad to hear that Watson won't be portrayed as a bumbling idiot. Although, I'm not sure I buy Robert Downey Jr as Holmes. He seems too short?

http://www.iht.com/articles/2009/01/...e.1-412612.php

BOb

Neither one fits my image of the characters. But thats cinema for you.

Guy Ritchie is making him wear heels so he is taller.

Not a joke.