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Paperback with 77 Pages of Additional Content (Summaries, Critical Notes, Glossary, Exercises, and more) The Hound of the Baskervilles of the Ratna Sagar Classics Series is an enriched edition that any keen reader of literature will be pleased to have. The book includes: a. Brief, well-written Introduction to the novel b. Annotations that are comprehensive, covering not only the meanings of words and phrases peculiar to the period in which the book was written, but explaining any concept or historical event that may not be easily understood or recalled c. Summary at the end of each chapter that is concise yet sufficiently detailed to provide a faithful reproduction of that part of the story d. Critical notes at the end of each chapter that present an analysis of the chapter so that the reader can identify the nuances, allusions, and underlying meanings, and therefore appreciate the story better e. General notes at the end of the book that present an overview of the book, contexting it in the period in which it was written, and discuss the major themes, characters, or the genre of the book f. Artwork that bring to life certain episodes in the story Photographs and a description of Dartmoor, where the action of the novel mainly takes place Suggestions for further reading and website links that the reader will find informative and helpful Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is perhaps best known for his master creation, the detective Sherlock Holmes. However, at one point, the author believed that Holmes was distracting him and taking his 'mind from better things'. He killed Holmes in The Final Problem, but after public outcry over it, revived the legendary detective in The Hound of the Baskervilles. Serialized in The Strand Magazine (August 1901-April 1902), the story is a haunting thriller that pits the rational against the supernatural. The death of an aristocrat which points to an old family curse, giant footprints of an unearthly glowing hound, and the curse looming over a young descendant are elements that create the inimitable ambience of horror in the story. The surroundings of Dartmoor in South Devon, a county in Southern England, is the main stage for the action of the novel and a perfect setting for a murder plot. The treacherous moor and the brooding and bleak Dartmoor prison adds to the element of horror, making the novel an edge-of-the-seat thriller. The novel was possibly a result of Conan Doyle's meeting with a journalist, Bertram Fletcher Robinson, aboard a ship on his way back to England from Africa. Robinson told Doyle about the legend of a ghostly hound. He also took Doyle to some deserted English moors and prehistoric ruins. Robinson also told him captivating local legends about escaped prisoners and an aristocrat, who had come to harm from his family dog. All these might have inspired Doyle to create The Hound of the Baskervilles. The story was published in the last year of the Victorian era. Although the setting and means of communication were very different from what they are today, Holmes's method of bringing the guilty to law and the author's skill in creating spine-chilling horror are what make the story enjoyable and popular even today."
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