This volume, which has been freshly edited and typeset by human editors, not machine-scanned, contains the complete original text and corrects a number of typographical errors introduced in the many editions published over the years. Also included are a biographical sketch of the author and a detailed selected bibliography of his work. Perhaps the most popular of all the Sherlock Holmes stories, was originally published as a serial in The Strand magazine between August 1901 and April 1902. The first appearance of Holmes since his "death" in the short story "The Final Problem," it was immediately successful, meeting the demand of the reading public for the return of Sherlock Holmes and permanently securing the future popularity of the fictional detective. The story opens with Dr. James Mortimer traveling to London to ask Sherlock Holmes for help. Sir Charles Baskerville has been found dead on the grounds of Baskerville Hall, victim of an apparent heart attack. But Mortimer fears for the safety of Henry Baskerville, a nephew coming from Canada to claim his inheritance. Explaining that the Baskervilles are subject to a curse dating back to the 17th century, when a giant spectral hound tore out wicked Hugo Baskerville's throat and vanished into the night, Mortimer discloses that Sir Charles died with his face contorted in a ghastly expression of terror, and Mortimer saw the footprints of a "gigantic hound" near the body. A series of mysterious events in London seems to indicate that Henry is in real danger, persuading Holmes to take up the case, a complex mystery that leads from the streets of London to the barren moors of Devon and the deadly bogs of the "Grimpen Mire," with a scattering of clues, red herrings and seemingly unrelated events along the way to make this classic tale a thoroughly enjoyable and well-plotted mystery story, all the more so because of the presence of Holmes and Watson. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930) is known the world over as the creator of the famous consulting detective, Sherlock Holmes, but was a prolific writer who produced a large body of work ranging from non-fiction and full-length novels to a wide variety of short stories. Doyle's first major success as a writer came with the debut of Sherlock Holmes in the 1887 publication of "A Study in Scarlet". Holmes was a popular sensation, and more stories followed. By 1891, Sherlock Holmes was enough to provide Doyle a living, but Doyle came to resent Holmes, who kept him from what he considered "more important" work. In 1893 he "killed" Holmes, as the detective and his archenemy, Professor Moriarty, plunged to their deaths at Reichenbach Falls in "The Final Problem". It was no mere publicity stunt. Doyle considered himself finished with Mr. Sherlock Holmes. The public uproar in reaction to Holmes' "death" shocked Doyle, with even his own mother complaining, and as the clamor continued he was forced to bring the detective back in "The Hound of the Baskervilles", published, to vast public sigh of relief, in 1901. Ironically, the character Doyle resented as a "distraction" from serious work would ultimately appear in fifty-six short stories and four novels, together with countless adaptations to films, television, cartoons, and modern pastiches by an assortment of authors. In fact, the "world's first consulting detective" is widely regarded, along with Edgar Rice Burroughs' Tarzan, as the best-known fictional characters in the world.