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Is Hound of the Baskervilles the Greatest Mystery Ever Written?

The Book Club

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What is the true story that inspired Arthur Conan Doyle's best-seller? Why have there been so many portrayals of Sherlock Holmes and John Watson in media beyond the novels? Is this the greatest Sherlock story ever told?

Join Dominic Sandbrook and Tabitha Syrett as they delve into the fascinating story behind the writing of The Hound Of The Baskervilles, the world it was born of, and the novel itself.

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Senior Producer: Nicole Maslen
Assistant Producer: Alfie Norris
Social Producer: Harry Balden
Video Editor: Adam Thornton
Executive Producer: Dom Johnson

0:00 — Why The Hound of the Baskervilles still terrifies readers
3:43 — Sherlock Holmes returns after a long absence
5:23 — The footprints of a gigantic hound
8:10 — Sir Henry Baskerville and the warnings from the moor
11:47 — Watson investigates strange figures on Dartmoor
13:53 — The extraordinary life of Arthur Conan Doyle
17:33 — Conan Doyle’s loves, politics, and belief in justice
19:42 — The creation of Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson
23:40 — Why Holmes and Watson became literary icons
25:23 — Conan Doyle kills off Sherlock Holmes
28:31 — How a golfing trip inspired The Hound
31:09 — Folklore, ghosts, and Conan Doyle’s supernatural obsessions
34:18 — How Sherlock Holmes was resurrected
37:40 — The huge success of the Strand serialization
40:44 — Why The Hound is unusual for a Holmes story
43:56 — Sherlock Holmes rattled by the supernatural
45:11 — The Gothic power of Dartmoor and Baskerville Hall
49:20 — Rational Holmes versus ancient evil
53:20 — Is the hound supernatural or just a very big dog?
56:32 — Black dogs and hellhounds in British folklore
1:00:01 — Dogs across the Sherlock Holmes stories
1:01:13 — Women, brutality, and Gothic tropes in the novel
1:04:01 — Why Sherlock Holmes endures
1:06:26 — Final verdicts: fish hellhounds out of ten
1:09:19 — Next week: A Court of Thorns and Roses
1:10:14 — Favourite screen Sherlock Holmeses

20 Comments

@bws5542 5 months ago

Jeremy Brett is the best. His mannerisms and voice…. I just believe him to be Holmes. That whole production, so perfectly captured the time and atmosphere of the stories.

@alidabaxter5849 4 weeks ago

I bought my paperback copy of The Hound of the Baskervilles in a village in the Swiss Alps (it had been printed in English by a Swiss publisher) with pocket money when I was about 12. I was staying with my mother and an aunt for a holiday in a Swiss chalet which had no radio, let alone television, and we all read and read in the evenings. That was in the 1950s. I was absolutely riveted by it and have stayed in love with it ever since. I went on to read all the short stories and Jeremy Brett is far and away the best Holmes I've ever seen, even down to his care in wearing clothing depicted in the original drawings that illustrated the stories. I also love The Lost World by Conan Doyle, which I think fascinating.

@Mike-jl1rl 4 months ago

I grew up with Basil Rathbone and he is still my favorite, but Jeremy Brett is the best. His performance was as if Holmes stepped off the page and onto TV.

@Karnaby-m3w 5 months ago

A Sherlock fan since the 1970s in junior high. My favorite Holmes is Jeremy Brett and that series was done so well.

@jrpipik 5 months ago

When ACD says Joseph Bell could tell patients all about their "past life," he means their medical history, not previous incarnation.

@ramyhardwick2733 5 months ago

I liked Basil Rathbone, as he was the first Sherlock that I ever watched. 1939 Hound of the Baskervilless.

@sallyreno6296 3 months ago

There used to be, may still be, a bookstore in Tucson that was all mystery books. It was called The Footprints Of A Gigantic Hound. Isn't that lovely?

@beckyweisfeld6977 5 months ago (edited)

1:05:05 I would argue that the conclusions were not obvious to the original Victorian-era audience. It's only because we are all so used to watching TV detective dramas (which in many ways are derived from Sherlock Holmes stories) that they seem obvious to us.

@1earflapping 9 days ago

The lighting on Tabby in this episode is extremely flattering. And her teasing of Dominic is relentless.

@usedscar 5 months ago

Doyle's dual role as creator of the rational Homes and believer in fairies makes me just adore him. Many people have rooms in their minds. Doyle had steel vaults.
His discriptive writing is beautiful he could really turn a phrase.

@stevendurrant1724 5 months ago

Valley Of Fear is chronically under-rated.

@alisonvanschoor730 5 months ago (edited)

We read this to a wide-eyed six year old on a camping holiday, many moons ago. It sparked a life-long passion for Holmes and his stories for a now 33-year old.... wonderful memories!

@joshuajackson472 4 months ago

This is one of the books I've always imagined being read in the trenches of The Great War. And Dracula, always wondered how many read Dracula for the first time during the war.

@shaggycan 5 months ago

Dr. Bell didn't mean past life as in reincarnation, he meant it as in the life you have led before the doctor's examination.

@Wonkothesane-sz2oy 4 months ago

I've always equally enjoyed Mad Magazine's parody, "Hound of the Basketballs". 🤓

@jamesvanlandingham9296 5 months ago

The Brigadier Gerard stories are pretty fun reads as well.

@TheSlowCyclistUK 5 months ago

A great double act being discussed by a great double act, thank you.

@ricke.2205 10 days ago

Yes, it is "Fairytale, A True Story" from 1997. Peter O'Toole plays Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

@carltaylor6452 5 months ago

The creepiest Holmes story next to Hound of the Baskervilles, imo, is The Creeping Man. The Sussex Vampire is spooky, too: the TV adaptation with Jeremy Brett especially so, even though it is unlike the original story.

@EliseLeonard-c1b 3 months ago (edited)

It’s sad that most people only know SH through films. The books are so vividly written. I think the most vivid and horrible mental image I ever received from a book was from The Adventure of the Speckled Band. I was 8 or 9 and already scared of snakes.