The sheer reputation of the Hound of the Baskervilles and its author Arthur Conan Doyle has made a lot of people interested in the novel. However the novel is aimed at an older generation of people and is somewhat of a confusing and sometimes boring book to the younger generation. This problem has been overcome by the release of the 1959 film that gets a younger generation interested in the book thus selling more copies and making the novel more successful. These younger people would not have read the book 100 years ago as the film was not yet released so in some ways you could argue that the book has become more popular over the last 100 years.
This particular Sherlock Homes book is uniquely written as it has Dr Watson as the main character and this gives the book a fast dynamic as Dr Watson uses more actions that words. An example of the fast dynamics in the book is when Sherlock Homes and Dr Watson are chasing the hound and Homes says “ The hound!” “Come, Watson, come! Great heavens, if we are too late!” the fast dynamic is emphasised by the exclamation marks, the short, snappy sentences and the abundance of commas. These three factors also add a lot of suspense to the book. This pacey style to the book was something that was unique in Victorian Times and has become more common in the modern day but because of Arthur Conan Doyle’s unique writing style it is a book that stands out from the other and is still loved today. As Doctor Watson is the main character it brings out a rather mean and arrogant side to Homes that has not been seen in any of the previous books. This may be because Arthur Conan Doyle by this time (his fifth Sherlock homes book) was so sick of writing Sherlock Homes books that he decided to make him a mean man in order to decrease his popularity in the hope that he would not have to write any more. This contrast to his other books gives the reader a different interest and another portal to explore, thus ironically making the novel popular for all readers. An example of Homes’ arrogance is seen near the start of the book when Homes says to Watson “It may be that you yourself are not luminous, but you are yourself a conductor of light”. This rather subtle insult means that Dr Watson gets it so wrong all the time that it helps Sherlock Homes get to the correct answer by a process of elimination. However, ironically Sherlock Homes gets vital things in the book wrong giving him a hypocritical side after he criticised Dr. Watson for always getting things wrong. An example of Sherlock Homes getting it wrong was when he misinterpreted the thickness of the fog putting Sir Henry’s in life danger after he was used as bait to draw the hound in.
The set is also very important in the success of the book. Dartmoor is unfamiliar countryside that was very similar in 1902. The similarity in Dartmoor between 1902 and the modern day gives both readers a sense of reality and makes the book more realistic, even in the modern day. The unfamiliar, gloomy and mysterious setting of Dartmoor makes it a good place to hide the hound. The many caves and cliff faces also make it easy for the Hound to be hidden and this gives the book another sense of believability.
The novel relies heavily on the people of the moor being superstitious and believing in supernatural events. For example the hound itself is believed to be a figure of imagination and superstition. Many people in 1902 were heavily superstitious but nowadays superstition is around in a much milder form. For example many people suffer from Triskaidekaphobia (the fear of the number thirteen) but it has never caused much harm to anyone. But because superstition is still around it makes the supernatural events in the book intriguing and believable thus contributing to the overall success of the book.
Overall I feel that the main reasons why The Hound of the Baskervilles is still so successful is because of the reputation of the author Arthur Conan Doyle and the fact that his legacy has been passed down though families. I also feel that his unique writing style makes this particular book stand out from books written by other authors and published at a similar time. His unique writing style adds suspense, drama, unpredictability and believability and I feel that these are the crucial factors in why The Hound of the Baskervilles is so successful over 100 years after it was written.
