CONVENTIONS OF
A DETECTIVE NOVEL
A DETECTIVE NOVEL
Who is the detective?
Sherlock Holmes
What is 221B Baker Street?
(-500 points if you miss this one)
The home of Sherlock Holmes (and formerly John Watson)
Who is the man on the tor?
What does Sir Henry lose at the hotel in London?
His boot (first his new one, which is returned, and then his old one)
One of the two main genres The Hound of the Baskervilles falls within is the detective story. What is the other?
Gothic (fiction/horror)
[Category clue: The Castle of Otranto is the first work of gothic fiction]
Who is the culprit?
Stapleton
AKA Rodger Baskerville Jr.
What is Merripit House?
The Stapletons' home on the moor
What lie does Holmes tell Watson?
He can't come to Dartmoor because he's too busy with a blackmail case in London.
What does Holmes surmise about Sir Charles's footprints?
He was running, not tiptoeing.
Name an example of the supernatural.
The Baskerville curse + the "hell hound" (receives a rational explanation)
What is the culprit's motive?
To inherit the Baskerville estate.
What is Coombe Tracey?
The town where L.L. (Laura Lyons) lives
What theory does Watson have about Barrymore's strange behavior?
He's having an affair with a country girl.
What clue does Barrymore find in the fireplace?
The burnt remains of a letter to Sir Charles Baskerville, arranging for a meeting on the night of his death, from "L.L."
[Category: clue]
Name an example of strange places.
Baskerville Hall; Dartmoor (the moor), including Grimpen Mire and its neolithic tombs and dig sites; etc.
Who are the suspects, both according to Holmes and from Watson's investigation?
*100pts for each suspect, maximum 900pts*
Sherlock's original list (except for unnamed people)
- Mr. Barrymore (the butler)
- Mrs. Barrymore (the housekeeper)
- Mr. Stapleton (the naturalist neighbor)
- Miss Stapleton (the naturalist's sister)
- Dr. Mortimer (Sir Charles' doctor)
- Mrs. Mortimer (the doctor's wife)
- Mr. Frankland (litigious neighbor)
Watson also suspects Selden (the escaped convict) and briefly L.L. (Laura Lyons, whose letter lured Sir Charles to his death)
What is the Grimpen Mire?
The impenetrable bog in the heart of Dartmoor; the site of the ancient legend; where Rodger Baskerville Jr. (Stapleton) kept the Hound kenneled; where he presumably died
[Category clue: Stapleton describing the moor, a significant setting of the novel]
Why do Holmes and Watson briefly think that Sir Henry has died?
The Hound chased Selden to his death, but Selden was wearing Sir Henry's old clothes that the Barrymores gave him
What object helps Holmes realize the secret history needed to unravel the case?
The portrait of Hugo Baskerville (which looks exactly like Stapleton)
Name an example of clashing times.
The ancient curse, modern London vs. wild moor, Rodger Baskerville Jr. seemingly reviving the dead branch of his family and being the spitting image of Hugo, etc.
What are the three "threads" that "snap" during Holmes's initial investigation in London? How do they "snap"?
500pts *EACH*
Thread #1: Finding out if the man in the cab is Barrymore by sending a telegram to Baskerville
Snap: Telegram: Barrymore is at the Hall (500pts)
Thread #2: Sending Cartwright to look for the cut sheets of the Times in nearby hotel trash cans
Snap: Cartwright is unsuccessful (500pts)
Thread #3: Asking the cab driver for passenger's name
Snap: Driver says it was "Sherlock Holmes" (500pts)
What is South America?
Where Rodger Baskerville fled and died, and where his son Rodger Baskerville Jr. (Stapleton) and wife Beryl Garçia lived before changing their names and moving to England.
What is the role of Selden in the novel?
A red herring (a distraction): a brutal murderer loose on the moor, coincidentally at the time that Watson is trying to solve the Baskerville case
[Category clue: In the movie Clue (1985), communism is a red herring.]
What happened to Dr. Mortimer's curly-haired spaniel?
The Hound ate it :(
Name an example of duality.
False identity: Rodger Baskerville Jr.'s various fake names
Doubling: Rodger Baskerville Sr. and Jr. look exactly like Hugo