6 h 40 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 6 h 40 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
On the lonely moor, enormous paw prints turn a family legend into a threat to its next heir.
Sir Charles Baskerville is dead, and enormous dog footprints lie nearby. Dr. James Mortimer brings Sherlock Holmes an old account of a savage hound that pursues the Baskerville family. Holmes wants evidence, not a curse. But an anonymous warning tells the new heir, Sir Henry Baskerville, to stay away from the moor.
Dr. John Watson accompanies Sir Henry to Dartmoor, where darkness and treacherous ground make every lead harder to follow. Around Baskerville Hall, the servants’ private worries stir suspicion. Watson questions people and takes risks as the mystery holds two frightening possibilities in tension: an ancient evil, or a human enemy who knows how to use fear.
What you’ll discover
- A moor alive with menace Enter a landscape where distance, darkness, and dangerous ground give every warning fresh force.
- Watson takes the lead Follow Watson as he questions neighbours, pursues clues, and tests his own judgment.
- Reason against a curse Watch Holmes demand physical evidence when a terrifying family story seems to explain everything.
- Secrets behind familiar doors Meet Mr. and Mrs. Barrymore, whose private concerns make their behaviour difficult to read.
- An heir under threat Share Sir Henry’s determination to settle at home despite warnings that his life is in danger.
Who will love it
You will love this book if you enjoy fair puzzles, gloomy old houses, windswept moors, and a brilliant detective with his loyal companion. It suits anyone who likes a ghost story with one foot in reasoning.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A stick shows how Holmes reads the world
- An old curse meets a modern death
- Footprints and a question about a young heir
- Warnings, a lost boot and a cab in Regent Street
- Baskerville Hall greets its heir with sobbing
- The moor, the mire and two odd neighbours
- A candle in the window and a cry in the dark
- A burned letter and a hut among the stones
- Reason and fear pull against each other
- Doubles, masks and a story told in pieces
Who’s who
- Sherlock HolmesThe famous consulting detective, who reasons from small clues and wants to learn who threatens the Baskerville heir.
- Dr. John WatsonHolmes's friend and the narrator, sent to guard Sir Henry and report every fact from the moor.
- Sir Henry BaskervilleThe young heir from Canada, brave and warm-tempered, who is determined to live in his family home.
- Dr. James MortimerA country doctor and collector of skulls who brings the legend and the case to Baker Street.
- StapletonA cheerful naturalist at Merripit House who knows the moor and its mire better than anyone.
- Miss StapletonHis dark, striking wife, presented as his sister, who gives a warning and seems afraid to say more.
- BarrymoreThe Hall's black-bearded butler, who guards a secret and walks the corridor at night with a candle.
- Laura LyonsA typist at Coombe Tracey who wrote to Sir Charles on the day he died and will not explain.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet or computer, once the book texts are online.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, once the book texts are online.
- Audiobook
- Read by Lucas Linden, complete. It opens once the recording is online.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 14 minutes, to read today.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout. The eBook and the audiobook open when the book texts go online.
How it works
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read, listen and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook, audiobook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, 5 accounts for the price of one.
- We remind you first. Free for 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment. Then 0,14 USD a day in your first year on the yearly plan and 0,27 USD a day after, or 0,66 USD a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
Bought on its own? Every eBook, audiobook and printed book you buy without the plan carries our 30-day money-back guarantee.
The Hound of the Baskervilles
by Arthur Conan Doyle · 1901
A baronet gets a pasted warning and a stolen boot before he ever sees the moor where a spectral hound waits.
Medium level5–10 hours to readfrançais
Excellent
Free for 3 months · starts right away, on any device
Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeFree for 3 months, then 0,14 USD a dayCancel anytimeHow it works
- Read or listen
- Print and large print at cost
- 5 accounts for the price of one
In short
Would you walk across a lonely moor at night if a family legend said a monstrous hound hunts your bloodline there? Sir Henry Baskerville is about to find out.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A stick shows how Holmes reads the world
The story opens with a small game at breakfast. Watson picks up a walking stick left behind by a visitor the night before. A silver band carries the name James Mortimer, the letters C.C.H. and the date 1884. Holmes knows what Watson is doing, because he can see him in the polished coffee pot.
Watson builds a picture of an elderly, respected country doctor. Holmes takes the stick to the window with a lens. The letters point to Charing Cross hospital, he says, so the owner was a young house surgeon, friendly and absent-minded. The tooth marks on the wood tell him of a dog larger than a terrier and smaller than a mastiff.
Free for 3 months · Cancel anytime
Also in the Sherlock Holmes Book Set: Four Classic Mysteries
You looked at
Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 14 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1901
- Language
- français
- Reading time
- 4 h 20 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Doyle, Arthur Conan. The Hound of the Baskervilles. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-hound-of-the-baskervilles.
Doyle, A. C. (2026). The hound of the Baskervilles. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-hound-of-the-baskervilles (Original work published 1901)
Doyle, Arthur Conan. The Hound of the Baskervilles. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-hound-of-the-baskervilles.
@book{doyle2026hound,
author = {Doyle, Arthur Conan},
title = {The Hound of the Baskervilles},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-hound-of-the-baskervilles},
note = {First published 1901}
}
Free gifts
580 USD in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, 5 accounts for the price of one. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
170 USDFREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
120 USDFREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
60 USDFREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
60 USDFREE - 5 accounts for the price of oneA shelf for everyone at home
170 USDFREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
Questions about The Hound of the Baskervilles
Can I read it free?
Yes. The first key idea of the 15-minute summary is free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 3 months, with the eBook to keep, plus 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
How many accounts do I get?
Five, for the price of one: you and 4 more people, each with their own login, shelf and their own place in every book.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. Nothing is charged in your first 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment.
What is The Hound of the Baskervilles about?
It follows Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson as they protect Sir Henry Baskerville, heir to a Devon estate. A family legend of a monstrous hound hangs over the moor, and a baronet has already died there in strange circumstances.
Is The Hound of the Baskervilles a true story?
No, it is fiction. Doyle wrote it as a Sherlock Holmes novel set on Dartmoor, and said in his dedication that it began with a West Country legend told to him by a friend.
Who is Stapleton in The Hound of the Baskervilles?
Stapleton is a naturalist at Merripit House who collects butterflies and knows the moor and its mire. He lives there with his dark, striking wife, posing as his sister, and befriends the Baskerville household soon after it arrives.
The author
Arthur Conan Doyle
1859–1930 · British detective novelist
Arthur Conan Doyle was a British writer and physician born in Edinburgh in 1859. He practised medicine in England and wrote novels, short stories and histories. His Sherlock Holmes stories began with A Study in Scarlet in 1887. He also wrote The Lost World in 1912. He died in Crowborough, England, in 1930.
More by Arthur Conan Doyle
Voir tous ses livresMore like this
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages, new audiobooks and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
