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The Hound of the Baskervilles in English

Arthur Conan Doyle
originalC1.9languageBritish English · Edwardian · 1902genreDetectivevibeSuspensefulJusticeGreedaudioUSUK

A rich family in Devon is said to be cursed by a giant ghostly dog, and its newest heir has just come home to the moor. Holmes has to decide whether the legend is real or a cover for something else.

The book begins in London with a short case history and the family legend, which Holmes weighs up with Watson. Then the story moves to Dartmoor, where Watson takes the lead and tells the case through his own reports, letters and diary entries. Holmes is away for a long stretch in the middle and comes back for the final chase, which gives the book its two-part shape: a puzzle to set up, a mystery to live through, and then an explanation. The language is formal turn-of-the-century British prose. A short 1742 manuscript about the family curse is written in a deliberately old-fashioned style.

You will like it if
  • you like a mystery in a gloomy setting, with fog, a moor and a legend
  • you want a Holmes story that is long enough to settle into
  • you enjoy letters and diary entries as a way of telling a story
  • you like it when the supernatural is tested against logic
You will not if
  • you want Holmes on every page, because he is away for much of the middle
  • you find slow, atmospheric descriptions of landscape tiring
  • you want an action story, since most of the book is waiting, watching and reasoning
  • you dislike formal old-fashioned phrases in the narration

What kind of book“The Hound of the Baskervilles” is

Versions of “The Hound of the Baskervilles” in English: B1

Same book, adapted to a level you can read without stopping

Pick a version. The bar at the foot of the page opens the one you pick.

levelA1–A2B1–B2C1–C2unbandedunique wordswords per sentencepagesaudiobook

Vocabulary by level

  • A1 64%
  • A2 16%
  • B1 8%
  • B2 7%
  • not in dictionary 2%

A sample from “The Hound of the Baskervilles” in English

One passage, the way each version writes it.

Tap any word — we will show the translation

C1.2199 words

“Halloa!” cried Dr. Mortimer. “What is this?”

A steep slope of land covered with heather, an arm of the moor reaching out towards us, lay in front. On the top, hard and clear like a statue of a man on a horse standing on its base, sat a soldier on his horse. He was dark and stern, and his rifle was ready across his arm. He was watching the road along which we travelled.

“What is this, Perkins?” asked Dr. Mortimer.

Our driver half turned in his seat. “There’s a convict (a person in prison for a crime) escaped from Princetown, sir. He’s been out three days now. The warders (prison guards) watch every road and every station, but they haven’t seen him yet. The farmers round here don’t like it, sir, and that’s a fact.”

“Well, I understand that they get five pounds if they can give information.”

“Yes, sir, but the chance of five pounds is a poor thing compared to the chance of having your throat cut. You see, sir, he isn’t like an ordinary convict. This is a man who would stop at nothing.”

“Who is he, then?”

“It is Selden, the Notting Hill murderer.”

B1.8182 words

“Halloa!” cried Dr. Mortimer. “What is this?”

A steep slope of moorland lay in front of us. It was an outer arm of the moor. On the top stood a soldier on a horse. He stood hard and clear against the sky. He looked like a horse statue on stone. He was dark and grave. His gun lay ready over his arm. He watched the road we drove on.

“What is this, Perkins?” asked Dr. Mortimer.

Our driver half turned in his seat. “A convict (person in prison for a crime) escaped from Princetown, sir. He has been out for three days now. The warder (prison guard)s watch every road and every station. But they have not seen him yet. The farmers here do not like it, sir. That is a fact.”

“Well, I know they get five pounds if they can give news.”

“Yes, sir, but five pounds is small pay for a cut neck. You see, he is not like a usual convict. He will do anything bad.”

“Who is he, then?”

“It is Selden, the Notting Hill murderer.”

The same passage at different levelsContinue in the reader

The original language of “The Hound of the Baskervilles” and what it gives you

How hard the language is C1.9

The words are mostly plain: 64% are A1 and 16% A2, only 2% fall outside the dictionary, and 5% are beyond the 5000 most frequent. The sentences average 15.5 words, which is moderate, but the style is formal and sometimes dense. Our measurement puts the original at C1, which is why we ship it adapted at B2 and B1. Expect an easy-looking vocabulary list and slower going in long descriptive sentences and the old-fashioned documents.

What this means in practice: A gripping mystery in formal Edwardian English; harder than its vocabulary suggests but rewarding.

What to be ready for

Edwardian prose. Watson's memoir, letters and diary use formal turn-of-the-century British English with occasional old forms such as "save" (meaning "except") and "whence".
1742 manuscript. A short family manuscript from 1742 is written in a deliberately old-fashioned style.
Sir Henry's idiom. Sir Henry speaks colloquial North American English after years in Canada and the West, which sounds different from the British narration.
Cabman and countryman. Clayton, the cabman, speaks London working-class English, and Perkins uses the plain speech of a Devon countryman.
Holmes's irony. Holmes's reasoning is precise and ironic, while Frankland talks in a legal, blustering way.

How to read it and not quit

  • When you meet "save" or "whence" in the narration, check the meaning once: "save" here means "except" and "whence" means "from where", and both appear again.
  • Learn the modal verbs of deduction ("must have been", "can't have been", "might have"): Holmes and Watson use them constantly to reason about the past.
  • In the long sentences, look for the main verb first and treat the rest as extra detail about time, place and manner.
  • Do not worry about every word in the 1742 manuscript; read it for the story and the tone, and move on.

Contents of “The Hound of the Baskervilles” · 16 chapters

  1. Dedicationpage 1
  2. I: Mr. Sherlock Holmespage 1
  3. II: The Curse of the Baskervillespage 9
  4. II: The Curse of the Baskervilles (continued)page 19
  5. III: The Problempage 23
  6. IV: Sir Henry Baskervillepage 33
All 16 chapters
  1. IV: Sir Henry Baskerville (continued)page 40
  2. V: Three Broken Threadspage 47
  3. VI: Baskerville Hallpage 59
  4. VI: Baskerville Hall (continued)page 65
  5. VII: The Stapletons of Merripit Housepage 71
  6. VII: The Stapletons of Merripit House (continued)page 80
  7. VIII: First Report of Dr. Watsonpage 88
  8. IX: Second Report of Dr. Watsonpage 97
  9. IX: Second Report of Dr. Watson (continued)page 112
  10. X: Extract from the Diary of Dr. Watsonpage 119
  11. XI: The Man on the Torpage 131
  12. XI: The Man on the Tor (continued)page 139
  13. XII: Death on the Moorpage 147
  14. XII: Death on the Moor (continued)page 155
  15. XIII: Fixing the Netspage 163
  16. XIV: The Hound of the Baskervillespage 174
  17. XIV: The Hound of the Baskervilles (continued)page 186
  18. XV: A Retrospectionpage 189
  19. XV: A Retrospection (continued)page 196

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The story of “The Hound of the Baskervilles”

  1. Dartmoor and a local legend

    Arthur Conan Doyle took the idea from tales of a spectral dog told to him by his friend Fletcher Robinson, and visited Dartmoor with him while planning the story. Doyle thanked Robinson for his help in the book's dedication.

  2. Serialised in The Strand

    The story ran in The Strand Magazine from August 1901 to April 1902, with illustrations by Sidney Paget, who also drew most of the Holmes stories.

  3. Published as a book

    George Newnes issued the novel in book form in 1902. It was set before Holmes's 'death' in 'The Final Problem', so Doyle could use the detective without bringing him back.

  4. Holmes officially returns

    The strong public response to the novel is generally seen as part of the pressure that led Doyle to bring Holmes back openly in 'The Empty House' in 1903.

  5. Rathbone and Bruce film

    20th Century Fox released a film with Basil Rathbone as Holmes and Nigel Bruce as Watson, the first of their long-running series.

In culture “The Hound of the Baskervilles”

10 adaptations and mentions, 1901–2012

  1. Art Sidney Paget's illustrations

    Paget's drawings in The Strand shaped how readers pictured Holmes, Watson and the hound on the moor.

  2. In the language 'Footprints of a gigantic hound'

    Dr Mortimer's line about the footprints beside the body is one of the best-known quotations in detective fiction.

  3. Film Der Hund von Baskerville

    A German silent film was one of the earliest screen versions of the story.

  4. Film The Hound of the Baskervilles (Fox)

    Basil Rathbone's Holmes and Nigel Bruce's Watson made the story the opening of a famous film series.

  5. Film The Hound of the Baskervilles (Hammer)

    Peter Cushing played Holmes and Christopher Lee played Sir Henry in a colour horror-style version.

  6. Film The Hound of the Baskervilles (Cook and Moore)

    Peter Cook and Dudley Moore made a comic parody that showed how familiar the plot had become.

  7. Series Granada television version

    Jeremy Brett played Holmes in a feature-length television adaptation made for the Granada series.

  8. Series BBC television version

    Richard Roxburgh played Holmes in a BBC adaptation that leaned into the horror side of the story.

  9. Series 'The Hounds of Baskerville' (Sherlock)

    The BBC series Sherlock retold the story in modern times as a military-secrets thriller.

  10. Stage Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery

    Ken Ludwig's comic stage version, which has a small cast playing many roles, premiered at Arena Stage in Washington.

Questions and answers about “The Hound of the Baskervilles” in English

Is the hound in The Hound of the Baskervilles real or a ghost?

The book keeps you guessing until the last chapters. Holmes does not believe in a ghost and looks for a physical explanation, and the answer, which I will not give here, is the point of the story. The question is whether the legend or logic wins.

Is The Hound of the Baskervilles based on a true story?

No, the case is fiction. It draws on old folk tales about spectral black dogs on Dartmoor and in Devon, which is where the legend of the family curse comes from.

Where is Holmes for most of the book?

He is in London at first, then Watson goes to the moor alone and sends back reports. Holmes appears to be away, but he is closer than Watson thinks. The reason he stays out of sight is part of the solution.

Is it a good place to start with Sherlock Holmes?

Yes, because it is a single long case and you do not need any earlier stories. It is also the best known of the four Holmes novels, so many readers begin here.

Does this story come after Holmes's death in The Final Problem?

No, it is a case from before that story. Doyle wrote it after he had finished Holmes off, and set it earlier so that he did not have to bring him back to life yet.

Which adaptation is closest to the book?

The 1988 Granada TV version with Jeremy Brett is often called the most faithful. The 1939 film with Basil Rathbone made the story famous but changes details, and the BBC's Sherlock episode "The Hounds of Baskerville" updates it to the present and changes the explanation.

Why is the book set on the moor?

Because the moor is the mystery: fog, bogs and lonely paths make everything look haunted. The Grimpen Mire in particular becomes a danger as well as a landscape.

What kind of reader bounces off it?

Readers who expect Holmes in every scene or constant action. The middle is slow and atmospheric, with Watson's reports and a lot of waiting, but it builds towards a fast ending.

Is the English hard if I am not a native speaker?

It is manageable: most of the words are common, but the narration is formal and some sentences are long. The documents, especially the 1742 manuscript, are the hardest parts.

Why do people say it is scary?

Because the hound is described as huge and glowing, and the moor at night is full of strange sounds and lights. The fear comes from atmosphere more than blood, and it is mild by today's standards.

In brief about “The Hound of the Baskervilles”

17 fields of imprint data and measured text characteristics. All of it checkable.

Original title
The Hound of the Baskervilles
Author
Arthur Conan Doyle
First published
1902
Original language
English
Genre
Detective · Gothic & mystery · Classics
Mood
Suspenseful
Themes
Justice · Greed · Family
Setting
Dartmoor in Devon, with Baskerville Hall on the moor, and London · the late 1880s, late Victorian England
Distinct words
5,422
Words per sentence
16 words
Level of the original
C1.9
Versions
C1.9, C1.2, B1.8
Length of the original
22 ch. · 59,242 words
Reading time
~5 h 30 min
Source text
Standard Ebooks
Rights
CC0 1.0 Universal (Public Domain Dedication)
Download
EPUB

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