(The Return of Sherlock Holmes (Collins Classics)) [By: Conan Doyle, Arthur] [Sep, 2013]

by Arthur Conan Doyle

When Sherlock Holmes met his demise in The Adventure of the Final Problem, published in 1893, the distress of the unsuspecting reading public was profound. For years fans showed no signs of letting Sherlock Homes lie down and die. Eventually, Doyle saw fit to continue his Holmes' canon and wrote a series of 13 short stories The Return of Sherlock Holmes published in 1905. The series begins, inevitably, with the shock re-appearance of the master detective in The Adventure of the Empty House. This, plus 3 others are included in Naxos AudioBooks' first volume of Doyle's continuation of the famous bloodhound of a genius, read by master storyteller David Timson. Though he has been away, it seems that Holmes has lost none of his remarkable qualities.

Genres: Mystery, Audiobook, Classics

Paperback

About the author

Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle was a Scottish writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for A Study in Scarlet, the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Holmes and Dr. Watson. The Sherlock Holmes stories are milestones in the field of crime fiction.

Doyle was a prolific writer. In addition to the Holmes stories, his works include fantasy and science fiction stories about Professor Challenger, and humorous stories about the Napoleonic soldier Brigadier Gerard, as well as plays, romances, poetry, non-fiction, and historical novels. One of Doyle's early short stories, "J. Habakuk Jephson's Statement" (1884), helped to popularise the mystery of the brigantine Mary Celeste, found drifting at sea with no crew member aboard.

Reviews

[Jaret · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this audioversion of Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories. The stories were interesting quick reads and the narrator did an excellent job of capturing Holmes's character and personality. The violins were a bit much at times, but did add a little something to the story at points. I really enjoyed this and will move quickly to volume 2 (as quickly as overdrive's hold list will allow).

[Gary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some of the best yet. Probably because Holmes is older and deeper in character.

Loved it.

[Lauren Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mixed bag of stories - some quite clever, some very pedestrian.

[Melody · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really well done.

[Dorothea · Rating 1 out of 5]

The Adventure of the Empty House: If I'd read this story to myself, I wouldn't have felt much besides annoyance at Holmes for treating Watson the way he does, but David Timson emotes their reunion in a most touching manner.

(But actually what I want now is a Colonel Moran/Holmes story, written by someone who has sensible thoughts about the British Empire.)

The Adventure of the Norwood Builder: I kept comparing this one unfavorably to Dorothy L. Sayer's "In the Teeth of the Evidence."

The Adventure of the Six Napoleons: I like the crime, but I find that cleverly deluding the criminal into believing that s/he is undetected by allowing reports to enter the newspaper which draw on the public's eagerness to believe that a mentally ill person is likely to commit violent acts, just about as repulsive and unethical a behavior in a supposedly admirable detective as the same scheme which draws upon racist public opinions.

The Adventure of the Three Students: This is the one where everyone is racist about the Indian student except for Sherlock Holmes, which is kind of surprising! I did think it was a nice change to have a mystery about academic cheating, though.

[Lanae · Rating 3 out of 5]

Does it make me a horrible person that I find the current tv show amazing and these original stories just okay?

[Don · Rating 4 out of 5]

observations thankful to work with Holmes.