The Return of Sherlock Holmes

Arthur Conan Doyle

Oct 2017 · BBC Digital Audio · Narrated by Clive Merrison, Michael Williams and Full Cast

About this audiobook

Clive Merrison and Michael Williams star as Holmes and Watson in these twelve adventures from the unique, fully dramatised BBC canon of Conan Doyle's short stories and novels

The Empty House
The Norwood Builder
The Dancing Men
The Solitary Cyclist
The Priory School
Black Peter
Charles Augustus Milverton
The Six Napoleons
The Three Students
The Golden Pince-Nez
The Missing Three-Quarter
The Abbey Grange

Sherlock Holmes did not lose his life at the Reichenbach Falls. Nor has three years of absence taken away his power to startle the faithful Dr Watson... In these intriguing tales, the duo solve cases that range from the suspicious to the downright strange, and encounter mysteries as diverse as a disappearing aristocrat and some inspired code-breaking. These twelve stories also see Holmes confronted with an evil blackmailer, an outbreak of attacks on busts of Bonaparte, and a seemingly motiveless murder where his only clue is a pair of spectacles and the victim’s dying words...

Gripping, suspenseful and hugely entertaining, these acclaimed dramatisations bring the world of Holmes and Watson to life. Among the guest cast are Peter Sallis, Susannah Harker, Nigel Davenport, Andrew Wincott, Peter Vaughan, Maurice Denham, Maureen O’Brien and Julian Rhind-Tutt.

Ratings and reviews

With my long trust into BBC productions... Very nice, well paced, well polished, 3D audio spacing is very well applied, given a sort of realistic imagination. Highly recommended 😘

About the author

Arthur Conan Doyle was born on 22 May 1859 in Edinburgh into a prosperous Irish family. He trained as a doctor, gaining his degree from Edinburgh University in 1881. He worked as a surgeon on a whaling boat and also as a medical officer on a steamer travelling between Liverpool and West Africa. He then settled in Portsmouth on the English south coast and divided his time between medicine and writing. Sherlock Holmes made his first appearance in 'A Study of Scarlet', published in 'Beeton's Christmas Annual' in 1887. Its success encouraged Conan Doyle to write more stories involving Holmes but, in 1893, Conan Doyle killed off Holmes, hoping to concentrate on more serious writing. A public outcry later made him resurrect Holmes. In addition, Conan Doyle wrote a number of other novels, including 'The Lost World' and various non-fictional works. These included a pamphlet justifying Britain's involvement in the Boer War, for which he was knighted and histories of the Boer War and World War One, in which his son, brother and two of his nephews were killed. Conan Doyle also twice ran unsuccessfully for parliament. In later life he became very interested in spiritualism. Conan Doyle died of a heart attack on 7 July 1930.