The Hound of the Baskervilles
Decide its fate
The record
Time
An eveningA season207 pages, about 4 hours: two-thirds the length of a typical book on the shelf.
Getting in
Walk right inSteep climbOne reader reports the first 20 to 30 percent, heavy with Holmes and Mortimer’s dialogue, was slow to get into.
What it gives
Plot and actionIdeas to live byIn 16 reviews from critics and book blogs, 13 credit the plot and none credit the ideas or a change in how they live.
One of a kind
Others do thisNothing else doesThree book blogs name Conan Doyle’s own The Sign of Four as their favorite, and a one-star review prefers Agatha Christie.
The case for it
on the atmosphere
“create a dark, macabre atmosphere which is both formidable and exciting”
a book blog on Watson’s reports
“used Watson’s reports to Holmes and Watson’s diary entries to avoid bogging the story”
a book blog on the length
“At only 214 pages I managed to complete it in one day”
a book blog on Watson’s character
“Doyle uses their separation to show what a thoughtful, nice, and brave person Watson is.”
a book blog
The case against
on Holmes’s role
“In fact, throughout the greater part of the tale, Holmes is but a comparatively small factor. He is baulked in London by the cunning of the black-bearded man in the hansom cab, who recognises him and sends back a derisive message.”
Arthur Bartlett Maurice · The Bookman (US), May 1902 on Holmes’s introduction
“He comes across in the beginning as an arrogant know-it-all.”
five stars · a book blog on Watson’s neediness
“Watson needs to man up a bit and stop trying to make Sherlock like him.”
a book blog on the length
“My only problem with this book is the length of it.”
four stars · a book blog
