The Hound of the Baskervilles

75 pages • 2 hours read

The Hound of the Baskervilles

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1902

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Introduction

Before Reading

During Reading

After Reading

During Reading

Reading Questions & Paired Texts

Reading Check and Short Answer Questions on key points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.

CHAPTERS 1-5

Reading Check

1. Who is the story’s narrator?

2. What possession of James Mortimer’s does Holmes make deductions about?

3. Who is the author of the manuscript that Mortimer presents to Holmes?

4. According to Mortimer, who is the last of the Baskervilles?

5. Where does Holmes deduce the letter Baskerville received was probably written?

6. When Holmes and Watson arrive at Baskerville’s hotel, what do they learn has been stolen from him for the second time?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What qualities does Mortimer suggest will make Holmes helpful to him?

2. What is the reason for the curse on the House of Baskerville?

3. What does Holmes deduce from the evidence of the cigar ash by the gate?

4. What does Baskerville find particularly puzzling about the note he shows Holmes?

5. How does Holmes end up solving the mystery of how the note reached Baskerville?

6. How does Holmes react to the name given to the cabbie by the mysterious bearded man, and why does he react this way?

Paired Resources

“The Wild Hunt,” “Richard Cabell,” and “The Hound of the Baskervilles in Oxfordshire?”

These three resources establish a context for the myth of the Wild Hunt. The first article details the legend of the Wild Hunt. The second explains the story of Squire Richard Cabell of Brook Hall, a historical figure said to have been carried off by the Wild Hunt and, some believe, the inspiration for The Hound of the Baskervilles. (Note that in this second resource, it is the information at the top of the page that is relevant to students’ reading, not the information in the gray box below it.) The third resource describes a location linked to Doyle’s novel and references yet another spectral hound story connected to this location.
These resources relate to the theme of Superstition Vs Logic and Reason.
What is the probable relationship of the story of the Wild Hunt to stories told by Richard Cabell and the BBC radio operator? How might the emerging interest in science during the Victorian age have impacted belief in stories such as this? What does Holmes seem to think of the story about the hound that stalks the Baskervilles? Do you imagine that Doyle shares his fictional detective’s skepticism? Why or why not?

“Dr. Joseph Bell: The Real Life Sherlock Holmes”

This article explores the life of the real-life inspiration for Sherlock Holmes, Doyle’s mentor Dr. Joseph Bell.
This resource relates to the theme of Observing the Obvious.
Were you surprised that Doyle had a real person in mind when he created the character of Sherlock Holmes? What are the similarities between Bell and Holmes? How does Doyle seem to have fictionalized the character of Holmes--in what ways does he differ from Bell?

“Don't Just See, Observe: What Sherlock Holmes Can Teach Us About Mindful Decisions”

This Scientific American guest blog argues that Sherlock Holmes’s careful observations of the world around him are a useful model for ordinary people.
This resource relates to the theme of Observing the Obvious.
What detailed observations has Holmes made so far in this story? How might you benefit from being more observant? Do you think it is realistic for people to be this observant in their daily lives?

CHAPTERS 6-11

Reading Check

1. Where does Holmes warn Sir Henry not to go at night?

2. What is Stapleton’s vocation?

3. What is the name of the elderly neighbor with the telescope?

4. With whom does Sir Henry develop a romantic interest?

5. What is the signature on the letter that Sir Charles tried to burn?

6. Whom does Watson go to interview in Coombe Tracey?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Why does Barrymore tell Sir Henry that he should start looking for new servants?

2. What lie does Barrymore seem to be telling about his wife on the morning after Watson’s arrival?

3. What conclusion about the escaped convict does Watson share in his first report to Holmes?

4. What involvement does Watson eventually discover between Barrymore and the escaped convict?

5. What information does Selden pass on to Barrymore and Barrymore pass on to Watson?

6. How does Watson use psychology to get Frankland to reveal where he has seen the child feeding someone on the moors?

Paired Resources

“Victorian Gothic: An Introduction”

This article from the University of Oxford explores typical features of Victorian Gothic writing.
This resource relates to the theme of Superstition Vs Logic and Reason.
What are the typical features of Victorian Gothic literature? How does Victorian Gothic writing relate to the changing intellectual climate of this time? Which characters and settings in Hound of the Baskervilles are identified with the Gothic, and which characters and settings seem to be set in opposition to the novel’s Gothic elements? Is Doyle’s use of the Gothic typical of the time, or does he employ Gothic elements to purposes of his own?

“Welcome to Dartmoor”

This three-minute video by the Dartmoor National Park offers a visual overview of the setting of the landscape of Dartmoor.
This resource relates to the theme of Superstition Vs Logic and Reason.
When you see this presentation about the landscape of Dartmoor, how does it compare to the portrayal of the moors in The Hound of the Baskervilles? The moors are often portrayed as a wild, frightening, and dangerous place in literature of this time. What does this tell you about the divide between rural and urban in Victorian culture? What does it tell you about the longing for magic and mystery as science begins to supplant old beliefs and superstitions?

CHAPTERS 12-15

Reading Check

1. What object caused Holmes to deduce Watson’s presence inside the hut?

2. For what crime does Holmes threaten to arrest the entire Baskerville household?

3. What does Holmes deduce about Stapleton from the portrait of Sir Hugo?

4. Who returns from the train station to the Baskerville household with Holmes and Watson?

5. What natural phenomenon increases the tension during Holmes and Watson’s attempt to catch Stapleton in the act?

6. Where are Sir Henry and Dr. Mortimer headed after their visit to Holmes and Watson in London?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Why are Watson’s feelings hurt after he learns what Holmes has been up to on the moors?

2. When they are at the hut on the moor, what does Holmes reveal to Watson about Laura and Beryl?

3. Why does Holmes caution Watson not to reveal their suspicions of Stapleton to Sir Henry?

4. What is the solution to the mystery of Sir Henry’s missing boot?

5. What is Holmes’s explanation of Stapleton’s identity and the reason for his presence in Devonshire?

6. How did the message Sir Henry received at his hotel when he first arrived in London provide an important clue for Holmes?

Recommended Next Reads

A Study in Scarlet, by Arthur Conan Doyle

In his first full-length Sherlock Holmes novel, Doyle tells the story of the great detective’s quest to solve the murder of a man found in a vacant house in Brixton.
Shared themes include Observing the Obvious.
Shared topics include Sherlock Holmes and Watson, detective fiction, mystery and suspense, logical reasoning, and justice.
A Study in Scarlet on SuperSummary

The Beekeeper’s Apprentice or, On the Segregation of the Queen, by Laurie R. King

This modern mystery novel inserts a new character into the world of Sherlock Holmes in the form of Mary Russell, a young aspiring detective who becomes Holmes’s protégé. Together, the two attempt to defeat a powerful new foe who has kidnapped an American senator’s daughter.
Shared themes include Observing the Obvious and Capable Women Without Enough Power.
Shared topics include Sherlock Holmes, detective fiction, mystery and suspense, logical reasoning, and justice.
The Beekeeper’s Apprentice on SuperSummary

Reading Questions Answer Key

CHAPTERS 1-5

Reading Check

1. John Watson (Chapter 1)

2. A walking stick (Chapter 1)

3. Sir Charles Baskerville (Chapter 2)

4. Sir Henry Baskerville (Chapter 3)

5. A hotel (Chapter 4)

6. A boot (Chapter 5)

Short Answer

1. Mortimer says that Holmes is the second-best criminologist in Europe and unparalleled in his abilities as a “practical man of affairs.” (Chapter 1)

2. Their ancestor, Sir Hugo, kidnapped a young woman and then, when she escaped, pursued her across the moors. A giant spectral hound pursued Hugo and killed him and has haunted the family ever since. (Chapter 2)

3. He deduces that Sir Charles must have stood at the gate for some time and that he was likely waiting for someone. (Chapter 3)

4. Although he decided on his hotel at the last minute and therefore believes only Mortimer should know where he is staying, Sir Henry received the note at his hotel shortly after his arrival. (Chapter 4)

5. Holmes and Watson follow Baskerville and Mortimer when they leave Holmes’s flat, and they see that someone else is following Baskerville, as well, and realize that this person also knows where Baskerville is staying. (Chapter 4)

6. When Holmes interviews the cab driver, the man says that his passenger gave him the name “Sherlock Holmes,” which Holmes finds amusing and interesting, as he thinks it is a deliberate taunt from a potentially worthy opponent. (Chapter 5)

CHAPTERS 6-11

Reading Check

1. The moors (Chapter 6)

2. Naturalist (Chapter 7)

3. Mr. Frankland (Chapter 8)

4. Beryl (Chapter 9)

5. “LL” (Chapter 10)

6. Laura Lyons (Chapter 11)

Short Answer

1. After Sir Charles’s death, Barrymore and his wife are uncomfortable in the house, and they plan to use the money from Sir Charles to set up their own business somewhere else. (Chapter 6)

2. Overnight, Watson hears a woman crying, and in the morning, Sir Henry says that he heard the sound, too. Barrymore denies that his wife was crying at night, but her red eyes suggest that he is lying. (Chapters 6 and 7)

3. He tells Holmes that the convict surely could not survive long on the moors, and since no trace of him has been seen he has likely left the area. (Chapter 8)

4. The escaped convict is Barrymore’s brother-in-law, and Barrymore and his wife have been signaling to him to arrange to bring him food. (Chapter 9)

5. Another man is living on the moors, hiding out among the stone huts, and he, too, has someone bringing him supplies. (Chapter 10)

6. Watson contradicts Frankland’s theory that the child is feeling Selden by suggesting that the child is merely bringing food to a father working as a shepherd. This goads Frankland into pointing out the spot where he has seen the child, because he wants to make the point that this is an unlikely spot for a shepherd. (Chapter 11)

CHAPTERS 12-15

Reading Check

1. A cigarette (Chapter 12)

2. Sheltering Selden (Chapter 13)

3. He is a Baskerville. (Chapter 13)

4. Lestrade (Chapter 14)

5. Fog (Chapter 14)

6. A round-the-world voyage (Chapter 15)

Short Answer

1. Watson is hurt that Holmes, his friend, has deceived him; he is also somewhat insulted that Holmes has been using the child Cartwright as an informant. (Chapter 12)

2. Laura Lyons is close to Stapleton, and Beryl is not actually the man’s sister--she is his wife. (Chapter 12)

3. Holmes is concerned that if Sir Henry is aware of Stapleton’s probable involvement in the plot against him, his nervousness will give their suspicions away during the upcoming dinner with Stapleton. (Chapter 13)

4. As Holmes and Watson track Stapleton through Grimpen Mire, they find the boot and realize that Stapleton was using it to train the hound on Sir Henry’s scent. (Chapter 14)

5. Stapleton is the son of Sir Charles’s disgraced brother, Rodger, who moved to Devonshire and befriended Sir Charles hoping to somehow get his hands on the Baskerville estate. (Chapter 15)

6. Because it was Beryl who cut out the message and sent it to Sir Henry, the message smelled faintly of her perfume. This caused Holmes to suspect that a woman was somehow involved and led him to focus on Stapleton and his wife. (Chapter 15)