Why did Dr Mortimer need the service of the detective Sherlock Holmes
Christopher Duran
Updated on May 21, 2026
Dr James Mortimer calls on Sherlock Holmes in London for advice after his friend Sir Charles Baskerville was found dead in the yew alley of his manor on Dartmoor in Devon. … Allegedly, the same creature has been haunting the manor ever since, causing the premature death of many Baskerville heirs.
Why did Dr Mortimer seek the help of Sherlock Holmes?
Answer Expert Verified Dr Mortimer needed the services of Sherlock Holmes as he was expert in solving crimes. … Dr Mortimer in order to avert further tragedy and protect Sir Henry Baskerville, from the fate which his past descendents had to face engaged the services of Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson.
What does Mortimer admire about Holmes?
An ardent phrenologist, Mortimer admires Holmes’ skull and announces his desire to consult with “the second highest expert in Europe,” a moniker which Holmes disputes.
What does Dr Mortimer want Holmes to help him with?
What did Mortimer come to ask Holmes? He wanted Holmes’ advice about whether or not he should advise Henry Baskerville to stay at Baskerville Hall.What does Dr Mortimer have that he wants to show Sherlock Holmes and what date was it written?
What does Dr. Mortimer have that he wants to show Sherlock Holmes, and what date was it written? A manuscript from the Baskerville family dated 1742.
What does Dr Mortimer do?
Dr. Mortimer is a house surgeon who left his London practice in order to set up house and a country practice in the Devonshire moors near Baskerville Hall with his wife and dog. … He is observant and scientific, discovering unnoticed footprints left behind by a dog at the scene of Sir Charles’ death.
Why does Holmes suddenly become interested in the case that Dr Mortimer presents in Chapter 2?
This is one of those questions that requires you to read beyond the immediate material. The short answer is that Holmes becomes interested because Dr. Mortimer reads about details of the case that suggested foul play.
Why was Mortimer worried about Henry?
Mortimer worries that if he takes Sir Henry– the heir– to Baskerville Hall, the same fate will befall him. Mr. Sherlock Holmes points out that if something supernatural is to blame, it is just as likely that the ghost dog might attack in London as in Devonshire.What habit did Dr Mortimer have?
So Doctor Mortimer comes into the story mainly as a handy plot device to show how brilliant Holmes is. We know that he has this unusual habit of investigating the shapes of skulls to see what they can tell him about different people (and different races, which is the ugly side of his “scientific” practice).
What clues were provided about Mortimer on the object?What clues were provided on the object left in Holmes’ office? Mortimer’s dates of birth and death were provided. There was a map of the area with the object. There was caked mud and blood on the object.
Article first time published onWhy did Watson think that Dr Mortimer was a country practitioner?
“….the doctor (Watson) continues, saying that the well-worn stick implies a country practitioner who walks about quite a bit. In addition, the C.C.H., he suggests, is probably the mark of “the something hunt,” a local group to whom Mortimer provided some service.”
What is the significance of Dr Mortimer's walking stick?
Doctor Mortimer’s walking stick is the first object that appears in The Hound of the Baskervilles. Holmes uses it to test Watson’s skills at deduction, in which you make conclusions about something based on the general evidence you know to be true.
Why does Dr Mortimer believe that Sir Charles Baskerville was killed by a hound?
Dr Mortimer says this as Sir Charles apparently foresaw the manner of his death by means of a supposedly spectral hound. … Yet Sir Charles became increasingly nervous in the months leading up to his death, due to glimpses of a huge beast around the Baskerville residence out on the lonely moors.
What does Dr Mortimer say about Rodger Baskerville?
What does Dr. Mortimer tell Holmes about Rodger Baskerville, the other potential heir? Rodger Baskerville was like the black sheep of the family. He fled from England to Central America and died there from yellow fever.
What did Dr Mortimer do when Holmes called the story of the manuscript a fairy tale?
Mortimer turned the manuscript to the light and read in a high, cracking voice the following curious, old-world narrative: When Dr. Mortimer had finished reading this singular narrative he pushed his spectacles up on his forehead and stared across at Mr. Sherlock Holmes.
Who handed the manuscript to Dr Mortimer?
The manuscript Dr Mortimer has with him was given him by the recently-deceased Sir Charles Baskerville. It is a manuscript dating from the eighteenth century and relates the legend of the Baskerville family, who are seemingly haunted by a gigantic hell-hound.
Who took advantage of the Baskerville curse?
In reality, Stapleton just took advantage of the legend to get Sir Charles off balance and kill him. Since Sir Charles was vulnerable, it was easy to take advantage of him. His weak heart and some creativity tricked him into thinking an ordinary dog was the supernatural curse.
What are the gusses that Watson makes about Dr Mortimer after examining his walking stick?
By looking at Doctor Mortimer’s forgotten walking stick, Watson guesses that he is a “successful elderly medical man, well-esteemed” (1.6), a “country practitioner who does a great deal of his visiting on foot” (1.8), and that he got the walking stick as a present from “the local hunt to whose members he has possibly . …
Does Dr Mortimer believe in the hound?
Mortimer whether he really believes in this spectral hound. Dr. Mortimer says that he does not know what to believe because the beast was at least earthly and tangible enough to kill, but is otherwise ghostly and elusive.
What happened to Mortimer's dog?
What happened to Mortimer’s dog? Significantly, Stapleton’s great luminous hound gobbles up Mortimer’s pet, leaving only a “skeleton with a tangle of brown hair adhering to it.” And finally we reach the great dog-wizard himself, Sherlock Holmes, who masterfully exposes and destroys Stapleton’s dog.
How does Holmes describe Dr Mortimer?
Mortimer is a successful, elderly medical man, well-esteemed since those who know him give him this mark of their appreciation.” “Good!” said Holmes. “Excellent!”
Who created the character Sherlock Holmes?
Sherlock Holmes, fictional character created by the Scottish writer Arthur Conan Doyle. The prototype for the modern mastermind detective, Holmes first appeared in Conan Doyle’s A Study in Scarlet, published in Beeton’s Christmas Annual of 1887.
Who Killed Sir Charles in The Hound of the Baskervilles?
Sir Charles, the former baronet who lived at the Baskerville manor, is killed by his neighbor, Jack Stapleton.
Why did Holmes follow Henry and Mortimer?
Why did Holmes follow Sir Henry and Dr Mortimer? He said he was going and nothing would stop him. Then he said he want to think about it . What explanation does Holmes offer for the word being written in ink?
What odd thing does Mortimer say he covets from Holmes?
Chapter 2: What does Dr. Mortimer have on him that he wants Holmes to examine? A manuscript.
How does the setting change as Watson Sir Henry and Dr Mortimer travel to Baskerville Hall?
How does the setting change as Watson, Sir Henry and Dr. Mortimer travel to Baskerville Hall? In London, it was dreary, but Devonshire was bright, and busy. … As they left London it changed from a large, culturally rich city to being a sparsely populated, rural area when they arrived in Devonshire .
Who was Dr Mortimer in Sherlock Holmes?
Dr James Mortimer, M.R.C.S. was a British physician and client of Sherlock Holmes. After working for two years in a junior capacity at Charing Cross Hospital, he married and moved to Dartmoor to set up a country practice, where he made the acquaintance of the Baskerville family of Baskerville Hall.
What did Mortimer see on the moor?
Mortimer and Sir Henry Baskerville in the morning.”
What did Dr Mortimer see three weeks before Sir Charles death?
3 weeks before Sir Charles’s death, Dr Mortimer went to visit him. At the door, Sir Charles looked over Dr Mortimer’s shoulder as if he could see something terrible. Dr Mortimer turned around quickly and thought he saw a big black calf, but he couldn’t find it when he went to have a look.
How did Sherlock Holmes conclude that Dr Mortimer must be a country practitioner who walked a lot?
Holmes concludes that the man is a country doctor who visits on foot because the stick is rather beat up and the iron ferrule (the metal part on the bottom of the stick that prevents the wood from wearing down) was badly worn down.
What reason does Mr Stapleton give for knowing that Sir Charles was running and terrified when he died?
Because of his bad heart and irrational fears, Stapleton believs that Sir Charles died of fright. To Watson’s immense surprise, Staapleton ask about whom? Sherlock Homes. Watson explains that Holmes has had to stay behind in London but he discreetly avoids the question of whether Holmes is involved in the case.