Arthur Conan Doyle

When the corpse of Sir Charles Baskerville is found on the grounds of his Dartmoor estate next to a mysterious animal footprint, thoughts turn to a fabled family curse: that of a hellhound set out to avenge a crime committed by one of Sir Charles’s ancestors. As the only surviving heir of the Baskervilles is terrified for his safety, Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson are called in to investigate. The most famous novel in Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes cycle, The Hound of the Baskervilles is a masterpiece of terror, suspense and mystery which has enthralled readers young and old since it was first published in 1902.

Excitement! Intrigue! Suspense! Horror! Will Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson discover the truth behind the fearsome legend of the beast with blazing eyes and dripping jaws? Oxford Children's Classics present not only the original and unabridged story of The Hound of the Baskervilles, but also include an amazing assortment of recommendations and activities for readers to get even more from the story.

Holmes es llamado por un caballero enmascarado. Se presenta como el conde Von Kramm, un agente de un cliente adinerado, pero Holmes deduce r pidamente que se trata de Wilhelm Gottsreich Sigismond von Ormstein, gran duque de Cassel-Felstein y rey hereditario de Bohemia. El rey, arranc ndose la m scara, lo admite. El caso es el siguiente: el rey est prometido con Clotilde Lothman von Saxe-Meningen, una joven y aburrida o divertida, seg n la persona, princesa escandinava, pero los suegros del rey tendr an una opini n muy mala de l si alguna prueba de su relaci n formal con una cantante de pera llamada Irene Adler, originaria de Nueva Jersey, se les fuera revelada. Desafortunadamente, eso es lo que la dama est intentando hacer, aunque aparentemente no por dinero, ya que los agentes del rey han intentado comprar la prueba. Tambi n han allanado la casa de Irene Adler para intentar encontrar la prueba. La prueba es una foto descrita a Holmes como de tama o exposici n, y por lo tanto demasiado grande para poder llevarla encima, que muestra al rey (entonces era el pr ncipe heredero) e Irene Adler. El rey le da a Holmes 1000 libras para cubrir cualquier gasto, aunque dice que le dar a una provincia de su reino por recuperar esa fotograf a. Holmes queda con Watson en el 221 de Baker Street a las tres de la tarde del d a siguiente.

While the currently married Dr. Watson is paying Holmes a visit, a visitor arrives, introducing himself as Count Von Kramm, an agent for a wealthy client. However, Holmes quickly deduces that he is in fact Wilhelm Gottsreich Sigismond von Ormstein, Grand Duke of Cassel-Felstein and the hereditary King of Bohemia. Realizing Holmes has seen through his guise, the King admits this and tears off his mask. It transpires that the King is to become engaged to Clotilde Lothman von Saxe-Meiningen, a young Scandinavian princess. However, five years previous to the events of the story he had a liaison with an American opera singer, Irene Adler, while she was serving a term as prima donna of the Imperial Opera of Warsaw, who has since then retired to London. Fearful that should the strictly principled family of his fianc e learn of this impropriety, the marriage would be called off, he had sought to regain letters and a photograph of Adler and himself together, which he had sent to her during their relationship as a token. The King's agents have tried to recover the photograph through sometimes forceful means, burglary, stealing her luggage, and waylaying her. An offer to pay for the photograph and letters was also refused. With Adler threatening to send them to his future in-laws, which Von Ormstein presumes is to prevent him marrying any other woman, he makes the incognito visit to Holmes to request his help in locating and obtaining the photograph.

Antes de que llegaran Basil Rathbone, Benedict Cumberbatch, Peter Cushing o Jeremy Brett, existi un actor estadounidense que personific como nadie al mejor detective de todos los tiempos. William Gillette adapt la obra de teatro escrita por el propio Conan Doyle e interpret al personaje de Sherlock Holmes por todo el mundo en m s de 1300 ocasiones, sentando las bases para todos los actores que vendr an detr s. Esta edici n contiene tanto la obra teatral de William Gillette, 'Sherlock Holmes: Un Drama en Cuatro Actos', como la peque a parodia escrita tambi n por l, 'El Penoso Desaf o de Sherlock Holmes'. Ambas obras han sido traducidas y presentadas por Juan Jos Abenza, webmaster de www.sherlockholmesonline.es, una de las webs m s completas en espa ol sobre el personaje.