The Return of Sherlock Holmes, Volume One

Bert Coules' Sherlock Holmes (BBC Radio, 1989-1998) #9

by Bert Coules (Adapter), Arthur Conan Doyle

Clive Merrison and Michael Williams star as Holmes and Watson in the third collection of stories from the unique fully dramatised BBC Radio 4 canon.

'The Empty House': Three years after Holmes met his death at the Reichenbach Falls, Watson is doubly grief-stricken when his wife succumbs to illness. Then a chance encounter with a bookseller suddenly leads him to familiar surroundings.

'The Norwood Builder': An obvious motive and copious clues finger Holmes' client as a murderer. Holmes himself has doubts but finds there are many places for a criminal to hide.

'The Dancing Man': An inspired piece of code-breaking launches an investigation into what first appears to be childish scribblings and ends up bringing tragedy to a Norfolk family.

'The Solitary Cyclist': A music teacher is being followed whenever she leaves the house. A shy admirer or someone who wishes her ill? A hedgerow seems the best place for Holmes to find out.

Genres: Mystery

3 pages, Audio CD

Published January 1, 2004

About the author

Bert Coules is an English writer, and dramatist, who has produced a number of adaptations and original works. He works mainly in radio drama but also writes for TV and the stage.

Coules specializes in mystery and science fiction audio and radio drama, and has written a number of adaptations, most notably as the head writer of the Sherlock Holmes radio series (1989–1998) starring Clive Merrison as Holmes and Michael Williams as Watson (the first time the entire canon had been adapted with the same two lead actors throughout). He also wrote original Sherlock Holmes scripts for the following BBC radio series The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, each based on a reference from the original stories. These were first broadcast between 2002 and 2010, and starred Merrison and Andrew Sachs as Watson, following Michael Williams' death in 2001.

He has also written adaptations of several of Ellis Peters' Brother Cadfael novels, and of works by Ian Rankin, Val McDermid, Isaac Asimov and other best-selling genre authors.

[with thanks to Wikipedia]