The Hound of the Baskervilles

Character Guide

Spoiler-free — fuller detail (with spoilers, if you want them) lives in the reader's Guide tab.

Sherlock Holmes

The renowned London consulting detective, known for his powers of deduction, who takes on the case of the Baskerville curse.

Dr. John Watson

Holmes's friend and chronicler, who travels to Devonshire to protect Sir Henry and report facts back to Holmes.

Dr. James Mortimer

A country physician and friend of the late Sir Charles Baskerville who brings the strange case and the family legend to Holmes's attention.

Sir Henry Baskerville

The plain-spoken heir to the Baskerville estate, newly arrived from Canada/America, who becomes the target of ominous warnings upon reaching London.

Sir Charles Baskerville

The recently deceased owner of Baskerville Hall, a wealthy, superstitious man whose mysterious death near the moor opens the story.

Barrymore

The butler at Baskerville Hall, part of a married couple who serve as the Hall's only indoor staff.

Mrs. Barrymore

The housekeeper at Baskerville Hall, wife of Barrymore.

Mr. Stapleton (the naturalist)

A mild-mannered entomologist living at Merripit House near the moor, introduced as a neighborly amateur naturalist chasing butterflies.

Miss Stapleton

Presented as Stapleton's sister, a striking young woman living with him at Merripit House who gives Sir Henry a cryptic warning.

Mrs. Laura Lyons

A local woman in Coombe Tracey with whom Sir Charles reportedly had a secret appointment on the night he died.

Mr. Frankland

An eccentric, litigious neighbor of Lafter Hall with a habit of amateur astronomy and lawsuits.

Selden (the Notting Hill murderer)

An escaped convict from Princetown prison who is reported to be hiding somewhere on the moor.

Hugo Baskerville

The wild 17th-century ancestor at the center of the family legend, said to have brought a supernatural curse upon the Baskerville line.

Glossary

Penang lawyer

A type of heavy, polished walking stick made from a particular Malaysian palm stem, carried by Dr. Mortimer.

Grimpen Mire

A treacherous, shifting bog on Dartmoor in the story, deadly to anyone who strays from its safe paths.

tor

A high, rocky hill or outcrop typical of the Dartmoor landscape.

goyal

A local Devon dialect word for a deep hollow or ravine on the moor.

dyspnœa

An archaic/medical spelling of dyspnea, meaning difficulty breathing, cited in the coroner's explanation of Sir Charles's death.

baronet

A hereditary British title ranking below a baron but above a knight, held by the head of the Baskerville family.

wagonette

A light horse-drawn carriage with facing side seats, used to convey passengers from the train station to Baskerville Hall.

M.R.C.S.

Member of the Royal College of Surgeons, a professional medical qualification held by Dr. Mortimer.

yew alley

A long walkway lined with yew hedges at Baskerville Hall, the site of Sir Charles's fatal walk.

Neolithic huts

Ancient stone hut remains scattered across the moor, dating from prehistoric times, used in the story as hiding places.

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