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The Rest Is Entertainment
The Rest Is Entertainment

Introducing: The Book Club

May 05, 2026 • 23m

Summary

⏱️ 8 min read

Overview

Dom Sandbrook joins Richard and Marina to discuss his new podcast The Book Club, which features him and Tom Holland discussing classic literature. In this clip, they explore The Hound of the Baskervilles, diving into its origins, the genius of the Holmes-Watson dynamic, and why this supernatural mystery remains the most popular Sherlock Holmes story over a century after its publication.

Introduction and The Book Club Origins

Dom Sandbrook reveals how The Book Club podcast came to be, starting as bonus episodes for The Rest is History before becoming its own show. The hosts discuss the appeal of The Hound of the Baskervilles and why it stands out among Sherlock Holmes stories, with its perfect blend of supernatural elements and rational detective work creating an irresistible tension that keeps readers guessing.

  • The Book Club started as bonus episodes for The Rest is History Club before becoming its own podcast
  • The Hound of the Baskervilles blends the supernatural and the rational, creating the tension that makes it so popular
  • The story taps into the same psychology as modern 'beast of Bodmin' stories - you start skeptical but end up thinking maybe there's something to it
" I think The Hand of the Baskervilles is great. I think it's the most popular Sherlock Holmes story for a very good reason, because it's the blend of the supernatural and the rational. And I think that's the tension at the heart of it that people always really enjoy. "

The Story Behind the Story: A Rainy Golf Holiday

Arthur Conan Doyle had killed off Sherlock Holmes in 1893, but during a rainy 1901 golf holiday in North Norfolk with journalist Fletcher Robinson, he heard a story about a big black dog on a moor. What happened next was a masterclass in franchise revival and negotiation - Conan Doyle offered the story to Strand Magazine at one price, or double if he could put Sherlock Holmes in it.

  • The story originated from a rainy golf holiday in Cromer, North Norfolk with Fletcher Robinson, who told Conan Doyle about a big black dog on a moor
  • Conan Doyle offered Strand Magazine the story at one price, or double if he could include Sherlock Holmes
  • The Hound of the Baskervilles is technically a prequel, set before Holmes' death in 'The Final Problem' but published after
  • The book's success led Conan Doyle to bring Holmes back permanently with 'The Empty House' and 'The Return of Sherlock Holmes'
" Conan Doyle listens to this story he says oh that's brilliant and he writes to the strand magazine...look you know i'd like to write this story about a black dog on a moor i can do it for x amounts of money and it's a lot of money he says or i could charge you double but i could put sherlock holmes in it "

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