The Hound of the Baskervilles is the third of the four crime novels by British writer Arthur Conan Doyle featuring the detective Sherlock Holmes. Originally serialised in The Strand Magazine from August 1901 to April 1902, it is set in 1889 largely on Dartmoor in Devon in England's West Country and tells the story of an attempted murder inspired by the legend of a fearsome, diabolical hound of supernatural origin. Holmes and Watson investigate the case. This was the first appearance of Holmes since his apparent death in "The Final Problem", and the success of The Hound of the Baskervilles led to the character's eventual revival. One of the most famous stories ever written, in 2003, the book was listed as number 128 of 200 on the BBC's The Big Read poll of the UK's "best-loved novel". In 1999, a poll of "Sherlockians" ranked it as the best of the four Holmes novels. Plot Dr James Mortimer recounts to Sherlock Holmes in London an old legend of a curse that reportedly runs in the Baskerville family since the time of the English Civil War, when Sir Hugo Baskerville was killed by a huge demonic hound, with the same creature haunting the mires of Dartmoor ever since, causing the premature death of many Baskerville heirs. He reveals that his friend Sir Charles Baskerville, who took the legend of the hound seriously, was found dead in the yew alley of his estate, Baskerville Hall, in the midst of Dartmoor. The death was attributed to a heart attack, but Mortimer reveals that Sir Charles's face retained an expression of horror, and not far from his body were the footprints of a gigantic hound. Mortimer now fears for the next in line, Sir Henry Baskerville. Though he dismisses the curse as nonsense, Holmes agrees to meet Sir Henry, who is arriving from Canada, where he has been living. A young and jovial man, Sir Henry is sceptical about the legend and is eager to take possession of Baskerville Hall, in spite of receiving an anonymous note, warning him to stay away from the moor. When someone shadows Sir Henry while he is walking down a street, however, Holmes asks Watson to go with Sir Henry and Mortimer to Dartmoor, in order to protect Sir Henry and search for any clues about who is following him. The trio arrive at Baskerville Hall. It has a