The Hound of the Baskervilles Summary – Arthur Conan Doyle

Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Hound of the Baskervilles, first published in 1902, is a mystery novel about Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson investigating a suspicious death, an ancient family curse, and a deadly threat surrounding the Baskerville family.

The Hound of the Baskervilles Main Characters analysis

• Sherlock Holmes — A brilliant detective who uses observation, deduction, and careful investigation to uncover the truth behind the Baskerville curse and the murders connected to it.
• Dr. John Watson — Holmes’s friend and companion, who travels to Devonshire with Sir Henry, investigates the mysterious events on the moors, and reports his findings to Holmes.
• Sir Henry Baskerville — The heir to Baskerville Hall and the last known descendant of the family. He becomes the target of a carefully planned murder.
• Dr. James Mortimer — A local doctor who knew Sir Charles Baskerville and brings Holmes the story of the family curse and the circumstances surrounding Sir Charles’s death.
• Sir Charles Baskerville — The wealthy owner of Baskerville Hall whose mysterious death begins the investigation.
• Hugo Baskerville — A cruel ancestor whose story forms the basis of the terrifying legend of the Baskerville curse.
• Stapleton — A naturalist living near the Grimpen Mire who secretly plots to eliminate the Baskerville heirs and claim their fortune.
• Beryl Stapleton — Stapleton’s wife, whom he presents as his sister. She secretly tries to warn Sir Henry and eventually reveals her husband’s plans.
• Mrs. Barrymore — Barrymore’s wife and Selden’s sister. She helps her brother, the escaped convict, survive on the moor.
• Barrymore — The servant at Baskerville Hall who secretly helps Selden and unintentionally provides Watson with important information about Sir Charles’s final night.
• Selden — A dangerous escaped convict hiding on the moor. He is Mrs. Barrymore’s brother and becomes the unintended victim of Stapleton’s hound.
• Laura Lyons — The daughter of Mr. Frankland and a woman whom Stapleton manipulates into helping bring Sir Charles to the gate on the night of his death.
• Mr. Frankland — An eccentric neighbor obsessed with legal cases who spends his time observing the moor through a telescope.
• Inspector Lestrade — A Scotland Yard inspector whom Holmes summons to Devonshire to help catch Stapleton.
• Cartwright — A young assistant who helps Holmes search hotels and later assists him while he is secretly hiding on the moor.

The Hound of the Baskervilles Summary

Chapters I–II Summary

Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson examine a walking stick that their visitor, James Mortimer, accidentally left behind the previous day. The stick bears the date “1884.”

Trying to imitate Holmes’s methods, Watson concludes that its owner must be an elderly country doctor. Holmes, however, disproves most of his deductions. Through careful reasoning, the detective determines that Mortimer is actually a young man in his thirties, a former hospital house officer, an unpretentious and absent-minded person, and the owner of a dog. Just as Holmes finishes his analysis, Dr. Mortimer himself appears at the door.

Dr. Mortimer shows Holmes an old manuscript dated 1742. It tells the story of a cruel ancestor of the family, Hugo Baskerville, who kidnapped the daughter of a local farmer. The girl escaped across the moor, and Hugo pursued her, swearing that he would give his soul to the forces of evil.

When Hugo’s companions caught up with him in a ravine, the girl was already dead from fright, while Baskerville himself was being torn apart by a monstrous creature — a gigantic black hound. From that time onward, a terrible curse was believed to hang over the family.

Mortimer then reads a newspaper article about the recent sudden death of the current owner of the estate, Sir Charles Baskerville. He had been wealthy but was known as a modest and generous benefactor. The official investigation concluded that he had died of a heart attack during an evening walk. His entire estate is now supposed to pass to his only heir in America, Sir Henry Baskerville.

The doctor openly admits to Holmes that he concealed several important details from the official investigation:

• Sir Charles had recently become terrified of the moor at night and believed in the family curse.
• Three weeks before his death, Charles saw the silhouette of a large black animal in the darkness.
• When Dr. Mortimer personally examined the scene of the tragedy, the dead man’s face was frozen in an expression of terror, while fresh tracks belonging to a gigantic hound could be seen near the body.

Chapters III–V Summary

Dr. Mortimer explains that local residents have also seen a strange, ghostly creature on the moor. He asks Holmes for advice about protecting the last heir of the family, Sir Henry Baskerville, who is due to arrive in London. Holmes advises him to meet the baronet and arranges a meeting for the following morning.

The next day, Mortimer brings Sir Henry, a strong thirty-year-old man. The baronet shows Holmes an anonymous letter containing a warning: “…keep away from the moor.” The detective quickly determines that the words were cut from the Times, while the address was written in cheap ink at some hotel.

After learning about his uncle’s death and the family legend, Sir Henry nevertheless firmly decides to travel to Baskerville Hall. After the meeting, Holmes and Watson secretly follow their guests and notice that a bearded stranger in a cab is following the baronet. However, the spy spots the detectives in time and escapes. Holmes instructs a teenager named Cartwright to search the rubbish bins around the nearby hotels for the newspaper from which the warning was cut.

Holmes and Watson visit Sir Henry at the Northumberland Hotel. The baronet is irritated because his shoes have mysteriously disappeared one after another. First, a new black shoe went missing, and now an old brown one has disappeared as well. During their conversation, they discover that Sir Henry’s inheritance is enormous — £740,000 — and that if he dies, the entire estate will pass to a distant relative, an elderly clergyman named Desmond.

Holmes insists that the baronet leave immediately for Devonshire. Because Holmes is occupied with other matters, however, he asks Dr. Watson to accompany Sir Henry as his protector and observer. Watson agrees. Before they leave, the missing brown shoe is unexpectedly found underneath a wardrobe.

Back on Baker Street, Holmes analyzes the situation, but one by one, all three leads that might have revealed the identity of the culprit disappear:

1. The first lead — Barrymore: A telegram confirms that the servant Barrymore is at Baskerville Hall, so he could not have been the bearded man in London.
2. The second lead — Cartwright: Cartwright searched 23 hotels but failed to find the cut-out page from the Times.
3. The third lead — the cabman: A cab driver named John Clayton comes to see Holmes. He had driven the mysterious bearded man and explains that the passenger was following the baronet. When they parted, the stranger boldly gave the name… Sherlock Holmes.

Holmes admits that they are facing a highly capable and cunning opponent, and now all their hopes rest on Watson’s investigation in Devonshire.

Chapters VI–VIII Summary

Sir Henry Baskerville and Dr. Watson travel to Devonshire. Before they part, Sherlock Holmes instructs Watson to collect only dry facts, while he gives the baronet a stern warning: “…do not go out on the moor at night!”

On the way to the estate, the travelers notice an armed rider on a hill. The driver, Perkins, explains that a dangerous prisoner named Selden has escaped from Princetown Prison. He is a brutal murderer from Notting Hill whose death sentence was once commuted to life imprisonment because he was considered mentally deficient.

Baskerville Hall impresses Sir Henry with its gloomy atmosphere, and he immediately decides to have electricity installed there. The guests are greeted by a tall butler, Barrymore, and his wife. They announce that they intend to leave their positions soon and start their own business with the money that the late Sir Charles left them.

That night, Watson cannot fall asleep for a long time in his room. Suddenly, in the middle of the dead silence, he clearly hears a muffled, grief-stricken woman’s sobbing coming from somewhere inside the house.

In the morning, Barrymore denies that his wife was crying, but Watson notices that Mrs. Barrymore’s eyes are red and swollen. The doctor also learns at the post office that Holmes’s telegram from London was delivered not directly to Barrymore but to his wife, leaving the butler’s alibi in doubt.

During a walk along a deserted road, Watson is overtaken by his new neighbor, a naturalist named Stapleton from Merripit House. He shows the doctor the deadly Grimpen Mire, which they watch swallow a living horse before their eyes. Suddenly, a terrible, mournful howl rises over the moor. Stapleton explains that the farmers believe it is the voice of the Hound of the Baskervilles, although he himself suggests that it may be caused by the sounds of mud or water.

While Stapleton runs after a butterfly, his beautiful dark-haired sister, Miss Beryl Stapleton, approaches Watson. Mistaking Watson for Sir Henry, she passionately whispers, “Go away from here. Return to London immediately.” As her brother approaches, Beryl abruptly changes the subject.

Later, Watson visits their modest but elegant farm. Stapleton explains that he once ran a school in the north, but an epidemic and the deaths of several students caused him to lose his fortune, so he moved here to devote himself to science. On the way back, Beryl catches up with Watson to apologize for the “misunderstanding,” but she still does not reveal the real reason for her warnings.

Dr. Watson begins sending Holmes reports about his investigation in letters dated October 13:

• The convict: The fugitive has been hiding for two weeks and has probably left the area, although the surrounding countryside is full of rocky caves.
• Sir Henry’s feelings: The baronet has become deeply interested in Miss Stapleton. During a walk together through a gloomy valley toward two large stones, the site of the ancient tragedy involving Hugo Baskerville, Stapleton hints that he believes in supernatural forces. However, the naturalist becomes noticeably gloomy whenever Sir Henry courts his sister.
• The yew alley: Dr. Mortimer shows the men the place where Sir Charles died near the gate, where he had been tapping the ash from his cigar while facing the endless moor.
• Mr. Frankland: A strange new neighbor has appeared at Lafter Hall. He is obsessed with lawsuits, has spent a fortune on them, and now spends his days lying on the roof and searching for the escaped convict through a telescope.
• The nighttime incident involving Barrymore: Sir Henry gives Barrymore some old clothes to make up for his lack of trust, but the servants’ behavior remains suspicious. The previous night, Watson follows Barrymore as he walks barefoot into an unused part of the house. He stands by a window holding a candle and stares tensely into the darkness of the moor. He lets out a heavy groan, then extinguishes the light and returns.

In the morning, Watson tells the baronet everything, and together they devise a plan to catch the mysterious nighttime watcher.

Chapters IX–XII Summary

Dr. Watson witnesses Sir Henry proposing to Miss Stapleton on the moor. Suddenly, her brother rushes over and angrily causes a violent scene. Later, the naturalist comes to apologize and explains that his outburst was caused by selfishness: his sister is the only meaning in his life. He promises not to interfere with their love if the baronet keeps his feelings secret for three months.

That night, Watson and Sir Henry set a trap and catch Barrymore in the act near the window with the candle. It turns out to be a signal for the escaped convict Selden, who is Mrs. Barrymore’s brother. The servants beg them not to report the unfortunate man to the police, explaining that they are merely providing him with food.

Watson and the baronet decide to catch the murderer. On the moor, they hear a terrible howl, which Sir Henry identifies as the voice of the Hound of the Baskervilles. They fail to catch the wild-looking Selden. However, in the moonlight, Watson suddenly notices another mysterious figure — an unknown man standing on top of a granite pillar.

Grateful that Selden has not been handed over to the police, as he plans to escape to South America, Barrymore reveals a secret. On the day of his death, Sir Charles had arranged a nighttime meeting at the gate with a woman who signed herself “L. L.” Dr. Mortimer tells Watson that this must be Laura Lyons, the daughter of Mr. Frankland. Barrymore also reveals that the mysterious stranger living on the moor stays in ancient stone caves.

Watson travels to Coombe Tracey. Laura admits that she wrote to Sir Charles begging for financial help so that she could divorce her tyrannical husband. However, she insists that she never went to the meeting because another man gave her the money she needed.

Thanks to the observations of their neighbor Frankland, who noticed a boy carrying food into the caves, Watson works out the location of the hiding place. Inside the cave, the doctor finds the stranger’s belongings and a note: “Dr. Watson has gone to Coombe Tracey.” Someone has been watching his every move!

That evening, Watson waits for the owner of the cave, and someone appears at the entrance… Sherlock Holmes.

It turns out that the detective has been hiding on the moor all this time so that he could act completely freely, with the help of the young Cartwright. Holmes shocks Watson with a revelation: Stapleton and Laura Lyons are lovers, while the woman the naturalist presents as his sister, Beryl, is actually his lawful wife. Stapleton is preparing to murder Sir Henry in cold blood.

Suddenly, the silence of the night is torn apart by a cry of agony followed by the sound of a fall. When Holmes and Watson rush to the scene, they are horrified to find a man’s body lying face down. Fortunately, it turns out to be the escaped convict Selden. He has died because Barrymore gave him one of Sir Henry’s old suits. The hound released by Stapleton tracked the fugitive by the scent of the baronet’s belongings, including the shoe stolen in London.

Stapleton arrives at the scene of the tragedy. When he sees that the dead man is the convict rather than Sir Henry, he tries to hide his disappointment. Holmes pretends to believe that Selden’s death was an accident. They cannot arrest Stapleton yet because there is no direct evidence that would be sufficient to convict him in court. The detective decides to open Laura Lyons’s eyes to the naturalist’s lies and make her a witness. Holmes and Watson then return to Baskerville Hall, deciding not to tell Sir Henry anything about the hound for the time being.

Chapters XIII–XV Summary

Sir Henry is genuinely delighted by Sherlock Holmes’s arrival. During dinner, the detective notices the gallery of family portraits and can barely contain his excitement as he studies a sinister portrait of Hugo Baskerville. When the baronet leaves, Holmes covers the broad-brimmed hat on the figure in the painting with his hand, and Watson cries out in astonishment: staring back at them from the canvas is the face of… Stapleton, the naturalist.

In the morning, Holmes tells Sir Henry that he and Watson are urgently returning to London. This infuriates the baronet, who sees their departure as desertion. In reality, however, it is a trap for Stapleton. Holmes sternly orders Sir Henry to travel to Merripit House for lunch in a carriage, send the carriage back, and return on foot at night. Under no circumstances is he to leave the path across the moor.

At the railway station in Coombe Tracey, Holmes sends his assistant Cartwright to London so that he can send a false telegram to Sir Henry from there. At the same time, the detective summons Inspector Lestrade from London. After that, Holmes and Watson visit Laura Lyons. By showing her old photographs of the Vandeleur couple, Holmes proves that Stapleton has cruelly manipulated her and that Miss Beryl is actually his lawful wife, not his sister. Deceived and furious, Laura admits that she wrote the nighttime letter to Sir Charles at Stapleton’s dictation, but the naturalist ordered her at the last moment not to go to the meeting.

That night, Holmes, Watson, and Inspector Lestrade set up an ambush near Stapleton’s house. Watson looks through the window and sees Sir Henry and Stapleton drinking coffee. Suddenly, the naturalist goes outside, enters a shed where a mysterious rustling can be heard, and then returns to the house. Soon, a thick white fog rolls across the moor, threatening to ruin the entire plan.

Sir Henry leaves the house and walks into the fog. Suddenly, a horrifying creature bursts through the white wall — a gigantic black hound. Its mouth, eyes, and mane glow with a flickering infernal fire. The dog races after the terrified baronet. The detectives shoot at the monster, but the hound catches Sir Henry and knocks him to the ground.

Holmes rushes forward and fires five bullets into the dog. The creature, which turns out to be a cross between a mastiff and a bloodhound, as large as a lioness, falls dead. Its mouth had been made to glow with a special colorless phosphorus preparation.

After bringing the terrified baronet back to his senses, the detectives search the naturalist’s house. On the second floor, they break down a door and find Mrs. Stapleton tied to a post with sheets, beaten with a whip, and gagged. Once freed, Beryl explains that her husband abused her and used her as a weapon. She reveals his secret hiding place — an old mine in the middle of the Grimpen Mire, where he kept the half-starved hound chained up.

The following morning, the fog disappears. Beryl leads Holmes and Watson deep into the dangerous mire. Along the way, they find only Sir Henry’s old shoe, which Stapleton had stolen in London so that the dog could identify the scent of its intended victim. Stapleton himself, fleeing through the fog during the night, could not find the markers, lost his footing, and disappeared forever into the foul depths of the Grimpen Mire.

On an island in the mine, the detectives find a ring for a chain, numerous bones, and the skeleton of Dr. Mortimer’s missing spaniel. The horror Sir Henry has endured leaves him with a fever, but an extended round-the-world journey with Mortimer eventually restores him to normal life.

At the end of November, sitting beside the fireplace on Baker Street, Sherlock Holmes gives Watson a complete explanation of the crime.

Stapleton was the son of Roger Baskerville, the younger brother of Sir Charles, who had fled to South America. There, he married Beryl Garcia, stole government money, changed his surname to Vandeleur, and founded a school in England. When the school went bankrupt, he became Stapleton, moved south, and discovered that only two lives stood between him and the enormous Baskerville fortune. He decided to act.

Using the family legend to his advantage, Stapleton bought a huge and vicious hound in London and hid it on the moor. Through intimidation and deception, he forced Laura Lyons to summon Sir Charles to the gate at night. He then released the dog, which had been smeared with phosphorus, and frightened the elderly baronet into a fatal heart attack.

After learning that the heir was coming, Stapleton followed him in London while wearing a false beard. His wife, Beryl, secretly tried to warn Sir Henry by sending him an anonymous letter made from words cut out of newspapers. It was precisely this letter that allowed Holmes to detect the scent of the perfume “White Jasmine,” confirming the involvement of a woman in the case. Stapleton stole Sir Henry’s old shoe so that the hound would have the baronet’s scent to follow.

The detective deliberately deceived Watson and secretly lived in a cave on the moor so that Stapleton would lower his guard and could be caught directly at the scene of the crime during the attack. On the crucial night, Mrs. Stapleton rebelled against her husband after discovering that he had another woman, Laura Lyons, which was why the naturalist tied her up.

When Watson asks how Stapleton would have established his claim to the inheritance while living under a false name, Holmes replies that his field is the past and the present, while he does not presume to determine the criminal’s plans for the future.