Examining the Timeless Mystery Novels The Hound of the Baskervilles and The Mystery of Edwin Drood

Theater is an established art form that has served as public entertainment for several years. Theatre provides us with a mirror of the society within which we live, and where conflicts we experience are acted out on stage before us. The audience observes the emotions and actions as they happen and share the experience with the characters in real time. Last weekend I watched the famous play Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap directed by Jeff Brown at Long Beach Playhouse. The thesis revolves around the significance of using suspense and mystery plot. The paper will explain the effect of using these techniques of suspense in mystery. Suspense is when an individual experiences gratifying expectation and excitement regarding the outcome of a story. Suspense is necessary in writing mystery plays because it captures the audience’s interest and imagination.

To write a good mystery novel takes time and only a few authors have been successful in writing them. Mystery novels has been around for a period of time with historical authors such as Arthur Conan Doyle and recent author Stephen King. In these novels, clues are provided by the author and Christopher Boone, narrator of the novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, states, “If it is a good puzzle you can sometimes work out the answer before the end of the book” (5). In relation to this, the most valuable information is typically gained throughout the process of the investigation rather than the solution itself. Although the book The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time is not classified as a detective story, the plot still goes through an investigation and shares elements of a mystery novel. The mystery within the story that keeps the novel going is to find the killer of Mrs. Shears’ poodle, Wellington, and in turn, shapes the ending where the audience sees the development of the protagonist, Christopher, through the investigation itself, the journey to London and his overall ability as a writer.

There are several types of mystery stories, one in particular, is known as hard-boiled mysteries. This specific genera was originated in the 1940s, they were created to veer away from the typical mysteries that dominated this era. This particular mystery genera is quite different from another mystery story, especially when it comes to the characters in the story. Within the hard-boiled mystery genera, there are several different articles and stories. Some of these include, “Red Wind”, “Three Dot Po”, “Film Noir and the Hard-Boiled Detective Hero”, other articles come from “detnovel.com.” Furthermore, within these articles and stories there are several ideas and themes discussed and introduced. However, there is one idea present in all,

Now Edgar Allan Poe was great at building suspense throughout the stories by having you to make assumptions and guess what he he talking about. For instance, in the beginning of “The Cask of

Once again, I got carried away by Agatha Christie's. Everytime I lay my hands across a detective fiction, I'm unstoppable, ready to uncover all the mysteries! As I flip through the pages, my heart beats faster, adrenaline rush through my body as I was slowly taken to the protagonist's world, experiencing terror and fear, while analyzing every single possibilities: who the real murderer is, how to break his perfect alibi, or how to get away unnoticed by him.

This society has abused technology, such as the hound that’s a robot and tv that cover a whole room. After Beatty leaves they hear someone at the door “The front door called softly. Mrs.Montag, Mrs.Montag, someone here, Mrs.Montag, Mrs.Montag, someone here” (Bradbury 67). Montag's are confused because Beatty just left but Montag knew it was not beatty it was the hound. In this society to keep order they use robot dogs to find and kill people that have books in this case the hound is by Montag door and which means he has books. The government uses advance technology in a bad way. The reason why is because they send a robot hound to attack people with books and they house. Lastly, After the hound growl at Montag he ask the Beatty how does the

Without suspense, the world is dull, boring, and uneventful; many people need suspense and drama to feel motivated and engaged in things; this is the same for books. In the book, “The Most Dangerous Game”, by Richard Connell, the author used various literature methods to create suspense; the techniques he includes are used differently depending on which part of the plot they are used in.

The art of mystery has been perceived and defined in books for centuries with many different authors placing their own mark on the genre. One of these authors leaves an indelible mark on the genre, setting the standard for the expertise that mystery writing takes, and is unparalleled by many writers even today. Raymond Chandler, the master of nasty, uses both his fascination for mystery and prowess for literature and turns it into a work of art for the reader to unfold. The use of corruption, women, love, and deceit all play a key role in highlighting Chandler’s main character: Marlowe, a hardboiled detective working the corrupt streets of LA. The corruption

“The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious.” Stated Albert Einstein in his book The World As I See It. If mystery is the best, then what is the best of mystery? In order for a mystery to represent its genre well and for it to retain the interest of the readers, it must have the following attributes. The crime must shock the readers and sufficiently outrage them to inspire a sense of the need for justice in the reader and to spur them on to read through to the end. The criminal must be attractively clever, deviously hidden, and irritatingly evasive. Finally, distracting conflicts must swarm around the protagonist party and confuse the clear path to snare the criminal in order to distract the reader and fill in the time spent

Authors of mystery novels constantly deceive their readers, showing the level to which deception is easily

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s, The Hound of the Baskervilles, is a mystery novel about the curse of the Baskervilles. Sherlock Holmes and Watson try to solve the intriguing and complex riddle. The novel explores the theme of not being ruled by fear through the death and terization of characters while another isn’t letting themselves be petrified.

Fabricated from the essence of his thoughts, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle revolutionized the mystery genre, as we know it, in his stunning novel, The Hound of the Baskervilles. When read, Doyle’s readers embark on a journey to the filthy, crime filled streets of Victorian London and the mysterious moor of the Baskervilles where unknown entities lurk. But most of all, readers come face to face with the man himself, the greatest detective of all time, Mr. Sherlock Holmes. Since it first came out, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s world renown mystery, The Hound of the Baskervilles, has not failed to delight mystery readers. In fact, readers have enjoyed the novel so much that it has become multiple movies.

Prior to reading, The Speckled Band, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, I had very little exposure to any of his literature. It was not until, I enrolled in this British Literature class my spring semester of senior year, that I had the opportunity to read any of his writings. The writings by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle resonate with me because they are still relevant and interesting in the twenty-first century. His writings are appealing because they detective fiction mysteries. Conan is recognized for his popular Sherlock Holmes series; Sherlock is a detective in London, England who is well known for using logic to solve his cases. The Speckled Band, caught my attention because it was not like the other literature we were assigned to read in class.

Dizzying suspense, thrilling plot twists, and perplexing puzzles, hurl you on a tumble-turning roller coaster. These types of mysteries always leave you anticipating the turning of a page. While the cold truths are what keep your feet pinned under the security of the bedsheets at night.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle utilizes many detail-oriented literary elements to develop the many adventures of the famous fictional British detective Sherlock Holmes and his partner, John Watson. Long winded description and complex vocabulary are infused into Doyle’s writing to accentuate Holmes’s great intelligence. By incorporating such a heavy, educated tone upon the mysteries, the tales of Sherlock Holmes are expressed as very complicated stories that challenge readers in comprehension as well as encourage curiosity through puzzling cases.