Book Anatomy · The Hound of the Baskervilles
The Hound of the Baskervilles: Setting and world
13 lenses on setting and world for The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle. Count lenses are exact for our text. AI lenses are our reading and cite only quotes that passed a word for word check.
Jump to: I1 I2 I3 I4 I5 I6 I7 I8 I9 I10 I11 I12 I13
I1. Places named and how often each appears. Count
the moor is the place named most, 146 times.
| Place | Mentions | Chapters |
|---|---|---|
| the moor | 146 | 13 |
| London | 49 | 14 |
| Baskerville Hall | 30 | 13 |
| Coombe Tracey | 18 | 6 |
| Baker Street | 14 | 7 |
| Devonshire | 14 | 6 |
| Grimpen Mire | 14 | 6 |
| Merripit House | 14 | 6 |
| the tor | 5 | 3 |
| the Hound of the Baskervilles | 5 | 5 |
| Devon | 5 | 4 |
| Notting Hill | 2 | 2 |
I2. Setting by chapter, as a map. Both
The place named most in each chapter. A rough setting map. (rough estimate from word lists)
| Chapter | Place named most |
|---|---|
| 1 | London |
| 2 | the moor |
| 3 | the moor |
| 4 | London |
| 5 | London |
| 6 | the moor |
| 7 | the moor |
| 8 | the moor |
| 9 | the moor |
| 10 | the moor |
| 11 | the moor |
| 12 | the moor |
| 13 | London |
| 14 | the moor |
London (chapters 1 to 5): Baker Street and hotels. Devonshire moor (chapters 6 to 14): Baskerville Hall, Merripit House, the moor itself. The journey west marks the shift from deduction to action. Chapter 15 returns to London for explanation.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 5, Ch 6, Ch 14, Ch 15
I3. Setting shown in blocks or woven into action? AI
Setting is woven into action. Watson describes the moor while walking it, the house while investigating it. No long descriptive blocks interrupt the plot. This keeps suspense taut and makes setting feel lived rather than painted.
Chapters: Ch 6, Ch 7, Ch 9
I4. Weather and light used for mood. Both
Weather and light words: 2.07 per 1,000 words.
Weather and light words, chapter by chapter
Weather and light create mood throughout. The moor is dark, foggy, and wild. Chapter 14's fog obscures the final confrontation, raising stakes. Sunlight in London contrasts with moor gloom. Light and shadow mirror the mystery's revelation.
Chapters: Ch 6, Ch 7, Ch 9, Ch 14
Life has become like that great Grimpen Mire, with little green patches everywhere into which one may sink and with no guide to point the track. (Ch 7, para 123)
There, outlined as black as an ebony statue on that shining background, I saw the figure of a man upon the tor. (Ch 9, para 130)
I5. The social world: class, money, rules. AI
Class structures the plot. Sir Henry is a baronet with inheritance rights. Stapleton poses as a gentleman naturalist to gain access. Barrymore is loyal servant. Mrs. Lyons is a divorced woman of lower standing. Money and title drive Stapleton's crime.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 3, Ch 4, Ch 7, Ch 11, Ch 13
The fellow is a Baskerville—that is evident. (Ch 13, para 43)
I6. Rules of the world (magic, science) and when each is shown. AI
The book establishes two rule systems: the supernatural curse (shown through legend and fear) and rational crime (revealed through Holmes's deduction). Science wins. The hound is real but trained, not magical. Holmes's logic defeats superstition.
Chapters: Ch 2, Ch 3, Ch 12, Ch 15
there stood a foul thing, a great, black beast, shaped like a hound, yet larger than any hound that ever mortal eye has rested upon. (Ch 2, para 21)
Mr. Holmes, they were the footprints of a gigantic hound! (Ch 2, para 48)
Thus I had made certain of the hound, and had guessed at the criminal before ever we went to the west country (Ch 15, para 20)
I7. Lore: dripped in or dumped? AI
Lore is dripped in gradually. Chapter 2 reads the curse manuscript aloud. Chapter 7 mentions the legend's hold on Sir Charles. Chapter 8 speculates on the hound's origin. Chapter 15 reveals it as Stapleton's tool. Suspense builds through partial knowledge.
Chapters: Ch 2, Ch 7, Ch 8, Ch 15
The story took a great hold upon the imagination of Sir Charles, and I have no doubt that it led to his tragic end. (Ch 7, para 31)
As the old man stood there he saw something coming across the moor, something which terrified him so that he lost his wits and ran and ran until he died of sheer horror and exhaustion. (Ch 8, para 13)
I8. Real history used, and how. AI
The book uses real geography: Devonshire, the Grimpen Mire, Coombe Tracey. It references real criminals like Selden the Notting Hill murderer. These details ground the fantasy in plausible reality, making the mystery feel urgent.
Chapters: Ch 6, Ch 10, Ch 14
It is Selden, the Notting Hill murderer. (Ch 6, para 38)
I9. Journeys: distance and time taken. Both
London to Devonshire takes one day (chapter 6). Watson stays on the moor for weeks (chapters 6 to 14). The journey west is swift; the investigation is slow. Time stretches during suspense, compresses during action. Chapter 15 summarises weeks of hidden work.
Chapters: Ch 5, Ch 6, Ch 14, Ch 15
I10. Objects that matter, where they appear. Both
the hound is the object named most.
| Object | Mentions | Chapters |
|---|---|---|
| the hound | 32 | 9 |
| the cab | 11 | 5 |
| the candle | 5 | 3 |
| the manuscript | 3 | 1 |
| the boots | 1 | 1 |
| the portrait | 1 | 1 |
Key objects: the walking stick (deduction), the threatening letter (plot), the missing boots (mystery), the portrait (identity), the hound (weapon). Each object appears at turning points. Objects carry plot weight and reveal character through possession or loss.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 4, Ch 5, Ch 13, Ch 14
You,’ ‘your,’ ‘your,’ ‘life,’ ‘reason,’ ‘value,’ ‘keep away,’ ‘from the.’ Don’t you see now whence these words have been taken? (Ch 4, para 29)
The face of Stapleton had sprung out of the canvas. (Ch 13, para 40)
I11. Density of period detail. AI
Period detail is moderate. References to telegrams, cabs, newspapers, and servants ground the 1890s setting. No heavy dialect or costume description. Detail serves plot rather than atmosphere, keeping pace fast.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 4, Ch 5, Ch 6
I12. Setting as an enemy. AI
The moor is an enemy. It conceals the hound, the convict, and Stapleton's hut. It kills through fear (Sir Charles) and through terrain (Grimpen Mire). Watson fears it. The moor's wildness mirrors the criminal plot's chaos.
Chapters: Ch 6, Ch 7, Ch 9, Ch 12, Ch 14
Life has become like that great Grimpen Mire, with little green patches everywhere into which one may sink and with no guide to point the track. (Ch 7, para 123)
They say it is the cry of the Hound of the Baskervilles. (Ch 9, para 108)
Somewhere in the heart of the great Grimpen Mire, down in the foul slime of the huge morass which had sucked him in, this cold and cruel-hearted man is forever buried. (Ch 14, para 82)
I13. Indoors against outdoors. Both
Outdoor words outnumber indoor words 303 to 297. (rough estimate from word lists)
Indoor share %, chapter by chapter
London is indoor (Baker Street, hotels, offices). Devonshire is outdoor (the moor, the Hall's grounds). Indoors means safety and deduction; outdoors means danger and action. The shift from indoors to outdoors marks the plot's escalation.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 5, Ch 6, Ch 14
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