Talk:The Hound of the Baskervilles

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Assessed to be a Start-class article and of high importance particularly within its genre. :: Kevinalewis : (Talk Page)/(Desk) 15:58, 3 July 2006 (UTC)

Contents

[edit] Plot

The page on "The Hound of the Baskervilles", as I currently read it, contains some background information about the story but nothing about the story itself. I do not suggest a complete plot summary (we wouldn't want to ruin the story, which is, after all, a mystery) but wouldn't the Wiki page better begin with a summary of the main story line and theme? And some discussion of the atmosphere, which is perhaps the most striking thing about the book to the modern reader?

Why would an encyclopedia not want to be complete in its plot summaries? 195.24.29.51 07:58, 27 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Additions

I haven't made these additions because I'm not familiar enough with Wikipedia to know how novels are normally handled here.

[edit] Continuity

Hound presents a continuity problem. It takes place in 1892. However, as Holmes was presumed dead at the time (following the Switzerland incident) and did not reunite with Watson till 1894 pace "Empty House", the story could not have taken place in that year.

Not so. The date on Mortimer's stick is 1884, and Holmes says this was "five years ago". Even if that's not exact, this definitely places the story before Holmes's disappearance in 1891. (Wistaria Lodge, however, is dated to 1892 by Watson, so the problem you mention does arise there......) 84.66.147.64 12:16, 12 November 2005 (UTC)
"Watson" in an introduction to Hound specifically says it's an earlier case, before the events in "The Final Problem". CFLeon 02:24, 4 January 2006 (UTC)
Regardless, how is this novel a continuity problem - for Wikipedia, that is? 195.24.29.51 07:59, 27 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Doyle's practice

Doyle was never "a general practitioner in Plymouth."

I slapped a [citation needed] label onto that claim. 195.24.29.51 08:15, 27 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Reference: Hound of the Whiskervilles

I'm actually very sure that the hound of the Whiskervilles form one of Keno Don Rosa's comics about The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck also is a reference to this book. Can anyone check this? (I won't be home for the next four months, so I won't be able to check it myself, that's why.) This hound is in part one, when young Scrooge is secretly visiting the old family castle in Scotland.

[edit] Umberto Eco

I edited out "most probably" since Eco is pretty explicit in his borrowings from Conan Doyle. Adso remarks upon William's drug habit much as Watson does with Holmes. And in 'The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana" Eco divulges more of his Holmes fandom. Artsfiend 08:04, 22 September 2006 (UTC)

Well, if you don't have a source, please refrain from stating facts. In fact, without a source, the entire claim should probably be removed. 195.24.29.51 08:13, 27 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Page fix

The page looks kind of messy right around the "other novels" box, can anyone fix the arrangement?--The Editor1111 17:29, 13 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Additional discussion

I feel the following subjects needs to be discussed in order to improve the quality of this page:

- are there any inconsistencies or errors in the story? (other wiki entries on Holmes stories have this)

- what was the impact of this story on the popularity of Doyle/Holmes? How successful was the novel format compared to the short story compilation format?

- did Doyle have to be persuaded to write this story (which presumably was written after he had "killed off" Holmes) and what kind of public pressure did he face? Or was this story planned?

- is there any thought behind the decision to have Holmes stay out of most of the story (meaning that Doyle could equally well have decided to write a story where Holmes did not have a natural reason for staying away)?

195.24.29.51 08:07, 27 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] clean-up

I have cleaned up this talk page, adding headers to make the contents automatic box appear in its proper place (first). Also, to separate various unrelated discussions. Feel fre to have a look at my revisions if you feel I have misrepresented those earlier comments. 195.24.29.51 08:11, 27 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] References

Can someone reference this sentence: "According to IMDB, the picture has apparently been lost, but the film's soundtrack still exists on disc." This appears in the chart. I haven't looked, but this needs a reference. SpencerT♦C 02:46, 16 January 2008 (UTC)'''Bold text'Italic text

[edit] Watson

Just to let the people who have never read this book before, Watson is a bit like Sherlock's sidekick. Although Watson is a bit stupid and Holmes always saves the day. Even if Watson has a doctorate degree. —Preceding unsigned comment added by NanoSpart (talk • contribs) 08:47, 16 March 2008 (UTC)