Hound of the baskervilles

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                 English Coursework: The Hound of the Baskervilles

‘A collection of stereotypical characters in stereotypical environments makes for a classic detective tale.’ Debate this view of Conan Doyle’s The Hound of the Baskervilles.

The environment used in The Hound of the Baskervilles is Dartmoor it is a traditionally eerie and mysterious place, it has been connected with many murders and it is almost the perfect location for a detective story. It is a stereotypical place with random fog, mist and unpredicted storms, if you pair this with the very old fashioned house in the middle of Dartmoor it makes for a great setting for a Sherlock Holmes novel.

The house is described as grand with dark wood panels and cast iron dogs sitting by the fire place, this brings in the history of the house and because it was inherited by Sir Henry Baskerville from his father Charles it had some history that Henry might not know which makes it even more intriguing, after the initial loss of his father Henry went to visit his Baskerville Hall and he then found out about the old and eerie house.

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Detective Holmes whom the stereotypical detective image revolves around is also a key factor in this classic novel. If we think of a detective we tend to think of a tweed three piece suit and maybe even a pair of glasses and a pipe, this has obviously changed in a James Patterson novel I have recently read a detective has turned into a much more casual and understated character. In Patterson’s novel it describes a New York detective, Michael Bennett; he uses the same thought process that Holmes does but in a modern day environment. The thought processes of detectives ...

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