Penguin Readers Factsheets
level
E
T e a c h e r’s n o t e s
1
2
The Hound of the
Baskervilles
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4
5
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by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
UPPER
INTERMEDIATE
S U M M A R Y
he Hound of the Baskervilles is one of Conan
Doyle’s most famous mysteries featuring the
detective, Sherlock Holmes, and his friend, Dr
Watson.
T
The eerie mists of Dartmoor form the setting to the
sinister events at Baskerville Hall. When Sir Charles
Baskerville is found dead, the people living in the
neighbouring area are sure that he didn’t die from natural
causes. Strange sightings of a giant fire-breathing hound
and stories from the past have convinced them of this.
The new heir to the property, Sir Henry Baskerville,
arrives from Canada determined not to let the stories
frighten him away from his new home. He braves the
loneliness of the moors, takes pleasure in getting to know
his neighbours, and is careful to follow the advice and
guidance of the great detective, Holmes.
Holmes and Watson slowly unravel a tangle of mystery
as the case takes them deep into the heart of the
Baskerville family.
A BO UT SIR AR THU R CO NA N DO YLE
Arthur Conan Doyle was born on May 22nd 1859 in
Edinburgh, Scotland. He studied at Edinburgh University
and became a doctor. Interestingly, he had a strong
resemblance to his fictional character - Dr Watson - both
in nature and looks. He was solid, extrovert and patriotic,
with strong views on things such as the importance of the
British Empire and the stupidity of modern art. However,
his Irish ancestors gave him a wilder, Celtic streak that ran
through his life and writings.
Conan Doyle, like Holmes, had very acute powers of
observation. He had a very practical mind but also a great
imagination. He developed an interest in spiritualism while
he was a doctor in Southsea; an interest that comforted
him when his youngest son, Kingsley, died of pneumonia
in the First World War.
Conan Doyle joined the Society for Psychical Research
and for nearly 30 years carried out a series of experiments
in telepathy and spiritual investigations. Finally, at the peak
of his literary career, he wrote two books on spiritualism –
The New Revelation and The Vital Message.
Conan Doyle rather resented the success of his Sherlock
Holmes books, feeling that they overshadowed his more
important historical and scientific books. This was never
© Pearson Education 2000
more apparent than when he gave a lecture on spiritualism
in Amsterdam shortly before his death in 1930. Ignoring
the lecture’s title, many of the questions from the audience
were about Sherlock Holmes. Conan Doyle refused to
answer them and told the audience he had nothing more
to say about the detective or his cases.
BACKGROUND AND THEMES
Few fictional characters are as well known around the
world as the amateur private detective Sherlock Holmes.
Sherlock Holmes was ‘born’ in 1887 when Conan Doyle’s
first full-length detective story, A Study in Scarlet, was
published.
At the time of Sherlock Holmes’ creation, Victorian
society was in a state of unease as new thoughts and
ideas threatened to undermine traditional beliefs. The
Industrial Revolution had brought about the rapid
development of industry, railways, commerce and
engineering. Along with this came revolutionary scientific
theories which shocked many people. Darwin’s Origin of
Species, published in 1859, put forward the theory of
evolution, and so questioned the Christian beliefs that had
been dominant until then. There also occurred the rise of a
new class of rich factory owners, who capitalized on the
poor, particularly women and children. The Victorian
conscience was eventually stirred by the revelation of this
exploitation in the works of authors such as Dickens and
Charles Kingsley.
Tales of mystery, where social problems were rarely
confronted, grew in popularity during the Victorian age.
The success of Wilkie Collins’ Woman in White, published
in 1860, lead the way for further novels of mystery, crime,
detection and suspense. When Sherlock Holmes solved
his first mystery in Strand Magazine in 1887, he was an
immediate success with readers. People often wrote to the
editor of Strand asking if Holmes was a real person.
Dr Watson, who relates all the Sherlock Holmes stories,
acts as a foil to Holmes. The sparkling brilliance of
Holmes’s sharp mind shines as he explains to Dr Watson,
and thus to the reader, how he has solved each mystery.
The solutions to the Sherlock Holmes mysteries are
reached through reason and, perhaps because of Conan
Doyle’s interest in the supernatural, there is often an air of
the unexplained and macabre about them.
Penguin Readers Factsheets
T e a c h e r’s n o t e s
Written in 1902, The Hound of the Baskervilles is one of
the best-known tales of Sherlock Holmes. Doyle was
inspired to write the story after hearing a West Country
legend, and the resulting novel is rather more gothic than
other Holmes stories. As in all Sherlock Holmes stories,
the solution to the mystery is found through Holmes’
observation of tiny details. As Holmes says to Watson,
‘The world is full of clear things which nobody notices.’
Because his mind is uncluttered and free of trivia, Holmes
notices these small things.
Characteristics, good and bad, run through generations
of families. Doyle develops this theme in the The Hound of
the Baskervilles. We see traits in the modern Baskerville
family that are reminiscent of the family members a century
earlier. Doyle thus shows good and evil in permanent
opposition to each other throughout the ages. Evil is
shown to be stronger in the hours of darkness. ‘Dark’ is a
word that is constantly used to describe Baskerville Hall
and Dartmoor. The feeling of menace created through the
descriptions of the hall and the moors contrasts sharply
with the warm cosiness of Baker Street.
Conan Doyle builds the tension in the novel through
mysterious happenings, unexplained noises, menacing
weather, and eccentric characters who clearly have
something to hide.
have travelled much, what their childhood was like etc.
Have a whole-class feedback session.
Chapters 9–12
Put students into pairs. Give each pair a paragraph in the
book to rewrite from the 1st person into the 3rd person.
Ask them to discuss what effect this has on the writing,
and come to some conclusions about why Conan Doyle
wrote the story in the 1st person, through the eyes of Dr
Watson. Write the main points on the board, and have a
class discussion.
Chapters 13–15
Write on the board what Holmes says: ‘The stranger and
more meaningless an event seems, the more closely it
should be considered.’ Discuss the meaning of this
statement. Divide the students into small groups and give
each group a different situation. For example, someone
has committed a murder, someone is having an affair, etc.
Each group writes down some ‘strange and meaningless’
things that might happen in these situations, which might
show that the person is guilty.
ACTIVITIES AFTER READING THE BOOK
Discuss with students what they carry around in their
pockets or handbags. Show them what you have in your
bag/pocket, and ask them what this says about you as a
person. Divide the class up into small groups and give
each group a character from the book. They discuss what
this character would carry around with them, and why.
Have a whole-class feedback session.
Communicative activities
The following teacher-led activities cover the same
sections of text as the exercises at the back of the reader,
and supplement those exercises. Further supplementar y
exercises covering shorter sections of the book can be
found on the photocopiable Student’s Activities pages of
this Factsheet. These are primarily for use with class
readers but, with the exception of discussion and
pair/group work questions, can also be used by students
working alone in a self-access centre.
ACTIVITIES BEFORE READING THE BOOK
Divide the class into groups. Ask groups what the front
cover of the reader is trying to say about the book and
how well it does this. Make sure they think about the style
of the letters as well as the picture. What does the cover
tell them about the plot or the themes? Write the main
points on the board.
ACTIVITIES AFTER READING A SECTION
Chapters 1–4
Put students into pairs. Ask them to go through the book
and make a list of all the clues we have learnt so far which
might lead to the mystery being solved. Then have a class
discussion and write all the clues on the board. Do
students have any ideas so far on the solution? Ask them
to tell the class.
Chapters 5–8
Put students into small groups. Give each group a
different character from the book. The groups write down
what they know about that character and then what sort
of life they think that character has had – whether they
© Pearson Education 2000
Glossary
It will be useful for your students to know the following new words.
They are practised in the ‘Before You Read’sections of exercises at
the back of the book. (Definitions are based on those in the Longman
Active Study Dictionary.)
Chapters 1–4
article (n) a piece of writing in a newspaper or magazine
avenue (n) a road or a path
black sheep (n) someone who is thought to be bad by the rest of
their family or group
cab (n) taxi
cigar (n) rolled tobacco which people smoke
confess (v) to tell the truth about a bad thing you have done
dressing gown (n) a long loose coat that you wear before getting
dressed
fate (n) a power that is believed to control people’s lives
gigantic (adj) very big
hounds (n) dogs used for hunting
moor (n) an area of high ground covered with rough grass
naturalist (n) someone who studies plants and animals
yew (n) a type of tree with dark green leaves
Chapters 5–8
carriage (n) a vehicle with wheels that is pulled by a horse
mire (n) an area of soft, sinking wet ground
roar (n) a very deep loud noise
Chapters 9–12
divorce (n) when a marriage is legally ended
reputation (n) the opinion people have of someone or something
straw (n) dried sticks of wheat put down for animals to sleep on
Chapters 13–15
phosphorous (n) a chemical
Pub lis hed an d dis tribut ed by Pe arson Educ atio n
Factsheet written by Mary Tomalin
Fact sh eet ser ies dev elo ped by Louis e James
level
5
Penguin Readers Factsheets
level
E
Student’s activities
1
The Hound of the Baskervilles
Photocopiable
These activities can be done alone or with one or more
other students. Pair/group-only activities are marked.
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
What nationality was Conan Doyle?
What was his first job?
How old was he when he became a full time author?
Why did he go to South Africa?
Where were Conan Doyle’s short stories about
Sherlock Holmes first published?
(f) What other types of book did Conan Doyle write?
(g) How did the death of his son affect him?
(h) When did Conan Doyle die? How old was he?
Activities while reading the book
CHAPTERS 1–4
Chapters 1 & 2
1 On the first page of the book, Holmes says to
Watson, ‘Now is the moment of fate, Watson, when
you hear on the stairs a step which is walking into
your life, whether for good or for evil.’ How does this
sentence sets the mood (atmosphere) of the book?
Now talk to another student. Do you agree with each
other?
2 Finish these sentences. Try not to look at the book.
(a) Dr James Mortimer is a ....................................... .
(b) He comes to see Holmes because
..................................... .
(c) Sir Hugo Baskerville owned Baskerville Hall in
1650. He was a .......................................... .
(d) One night he followed ......................................... .
(e) He and the girl were found dead. There was a
terrible thing .........................................
(f)
Over 200 years later, Sir Charles Baskerville is
found ................................... .
Chapters 3 & 4
1 Which people in B have the feelings in A? Find
sentences in these chapters that show this.
A: (a) excited
(b) deeply moved
(c) impatient
(d) satisfied
(e) angry
B: (i) Doctor Mortimer
(ii) Sherlock Holmes
(iii) Sir Henry Baskerville
© Pearson Education 2000
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4
5
Activities before reading the book
Read the Introduction in the book. Then close your book
and answer these questions. Check your answers in the
book.
2
2 Work with another student. Write down all the things
in these chapters that seem to be unusual or
unnatural. Can you think of a way to explain any of
these events?
3 Answer these questions
(a) What does Holmes like to do when he is thinking
hard?
(b) What hobby does Holmes have?
CHAPTERS 5–8
Chapters 5 & 6
1 (a) Who says the sentences below, and who do they
say them to? What are they talking about?
(b) Change the sentences from direct speech into
reported speech in the past tense.
Example: ‘I can laugh at a joke like anybody else, but
they have gone a bit too far this time.’
Sir Henry Baskerville speaking to Holmes about his
missing boots.
Sir Henry told Holmes that he could laugh at a joke
like anybody else, but this time someone had gone
too far.
(i) ‘He is quite old, and is a man of good life and
simple tastes.’
(ii) ‘Did you know that you were followed this
morning?’
(iii) ‘I tell you, this time we have an enemy worth
fighting.’
2 Work with a partner. You are Watson and Holmes.
Watson describes to Holmes how he felt when he first
saw Baskerville Hall and the surrounding moors.
Holmes asks him questions to make him explain the
details.
3 Have you learnt anything in these chapters which may
help solve the mystery? If so, make a note of it.
Chapters 7 & 8
Fill in the gaps in the sentences with the words below.
moor, walk, meets, surprises, crying, breakfast,
mire, death, footsteps, chases, plan, foothold, Sir
Henry, back to London
After (a) ............................. Watson meets Mrs Bar rymore.
He realizes that she was the person he heard
(b) ............................. in the night. He takes a
(c) .................... along the edge of the (d) ..........................
and (e) .............................. Stapleton. Stapleton
(f) ............................. Watson by asking him if Holmes has
come to a decision about the (g) ............................. of Sir
Charles. Stapleton (h) ............................. a small fly
6
UPPER
INTERMEDIATE
Penguin Readers Factsheets
Student’s activities
across the (i) .............................. without losing his
(j) ............................. . Miss Stapleton thinks that Watson
is (k) ............................., and tells him to go
(l) ............................. . In the night Watson hears
(e) Who dies on the rocks of the moor? Why do
Holmes and Watson mistake him for someone
else?
(f)
What makes Stapleton such a dangerous
enemy?
(m) ............................. passing his room. He and Sir
Henry make a (n) ............................. .
CHAPTERS 9–12
Chapters 9 & 10
1 Answer these questions.
CHAPTERS 13–15
Chapters 13 & 14
1 Put these events in the right order.
(a) Holmes sends a report to Princetown about the
death of Seldon.
(a) Why does Watson follow Sir Henry out on to the
moor when Sir Henry goes out hoping to meet
Miss Barrymore?
(b) Laura Lyons tells Holmes that Stapleton stopped
her from keeping her appointment with Sir
Charles.
(b) What does he witness?
(c) Holmes, Watson and Lestrade position
themselves around Merripit House.
(c) What excuse does Stapleton give for his
behaviour?
2 Are these sentences true or false?
(a) The escaped prisoner is Mrs Barrymore’s elder
brother.
(b) Watson and Sir Henry go out onto the moor to
give the prisoner some food.
(c) Watson and Sir Henry think they hear a ghost on
the moor.
(d) Watson sees a man on a rock.
(e) Laura Lyons wrote a letter to Sir Charles and he
burnt it.
3 Talk to a partner.
(a) How many men are living out on the moor? What
are they like? Make notes.
(b) Watson writes to Holmes: ‘I have a feeling of
danger all the time – a danger all the more
terrible because I cannot describe it.’ What
reasons does Watson have for feeling this?
Chapters 11 & 12
1 Which three adjectives best describe Laura Lyons,
and which three best describe Mr Stapleton?
cunning, sad, wild, pretty, deceitful, desperate,
happy, patient, anxious, kind
2 Talk to another student.
How do you think Laura Lyons will help Holmes and
Watson discover the truth? Why will she want to help
them?
3 Answer these questions.
(a) How does Holmes know that Watson is in the
hut?
(b) Who was the man Watson saw on the night he
and Sir Henry went out after Seldon?
(c) Why does Stapleton want people to think his wife
is his sister?
(d) Mrs Stapleton is found tied to a post.
(e) A gigantic, fire-breathing hound chases Sir Henry
across the moor.
(f)
Holmes discovers that Stapleton is a Baskerville.
(g) The mist begins to sur round Merripit House.
(h) Holmes and Watson look for Stapleton on
Grimpen Mire, but cannot find him.
(i)
Holmes kills the hound.
(j)
Holmes tells Laura Lyons that Stapleton is
married.
(k) Holmes tells Sir Henry that he and Watson are
returning to London.
2 Talk to another student.
Conan Doyle writes about the ‘powers of evil’ being
stronger in the darkness. Do you ever feel this?
Chapter 15
Answer these questions. Try not to look at the book.
(a) What relation was Stapleton to Sir Charles?
(b) What killed Sir Charles?
(c) Why did Stapleton steal one old boot and one new
boot from Sir Henry?
(d) Why did Holmes pretend to be in London when he
was hiding on Dartmoor?
(e) Why did Stapleton encourage the friendship between
Sir Henry and his wife?
Activities after reading the book
Talk to another student.
Did you guess who the murderer was before Holmes tells
the reader? Do you think The Hound of the Baskervilles is
a good detective novel? Did you enjoy it?
(d) Who does Watson describe as ‘the man of iron’.
© Pearson Education 2000
Publishe d and d istribu ted by P ear son Ed ucat ion
Fact s heet wri tt en by M ary To malin
F act shee t s eri es d evel ope d by L ou ise J ames
level
5