Predictions about ‘The Hound
of the Baskervilles’ Novel
I have come to know that there is a book based on the case. Here
are few of my thoughts before reading.
1. I chose this book for many reasons. Firstly, it had been
recommended by many of my friends and family. I have
started reading the book and have already found it
captivating and engaging. Secondly, I chose this book
because the author, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, was new to me.
I was in need of a good book to read and decided to read
something written by an author unknown to me. This turned
out to be an extremely good choice for as I mentioned
earlier, the book was engaging and most mysterious right
from the very beginning. My final reason was because I had
been on the case.
2. The author of this book, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is a fairly
new author to me. I have read only a small part of one of his
books and found it quite exciting. I also knew that Arthur
Conan Doyle was a mystery novelist. I am intrigued and
fascinated with mystery books and so I chose to read the
Hound of the Baskervilles.
3. There are many different cover designs for The Hound of
the Baskervilles, ranging from a deserted city to a giant dog
standing tall on a hill. My own copy is an electronic version
on my iPad; its digital cover is plain with only the title on it.
My solution to this was to look at all the covers for this book
on the internet. I looked through the wide variety of covers
and realised that every one of them had something in
common: they portrayed an atmosphere of fear and mystery.
A smoking city, a monstrous dog lunging at some unseen
prey, a large howling hound, silhouetted against the full
moon. Each and every one of these pictures conveyed a
gloomy sense of mystery and foreboding.
4. This book is most definitely going to be a mystery. The
obvious reason is that it is a ‘Sherlock Holmes’ book. Looking
deeper, it is evident that the start sets up the plot for a good
mystery novel. Anyone who set eyes on the fear-inducing
cover would almost instantly know that this would be a
mystery novel.
5. What happened to Sir Charles Baskerville?
 Who is the man in the taxi?
 Is the man in the taxi the culprit or a protector?
 Does the hound really exist?
 To whom or what do the paw prints near Sir Charles’ body
belong?
6. Answer to Question 1: Sir Charles probably died of shock.
There were no marks on his body, implying that no contact
was made between the killer and the victim. If Sir Charles
did not die of shock, then the only other explanation is a
supernatural force that our earth-bound minds could not
comprehend.
 Answer to Question 5: The paw prints probably belonged to
a large hound that was being used by the culprit. The victim,
Sir Charles, might have mistaken the dog for the legendary
Hound of the Baskervilles, and died of fright. The culprit
may have sent the dog to kill Sir Charles physically, but Sir
Charles’ belief in the Hound of the Baskervilles caused his
death even before the hound made contact with him.
Signed, Dr. Watson
This is one of many documents found at an old house on Baker Street, London,
England.