Audiobook · read by volunteers
Return of Sherlock Holmes
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859–1930)
Read by Sibella Denton, Zachary Brewster-Geisz, Reynard T. Fox, Vivian Bush, Laurie Anne Walden, Gesine, Kristine Mackin, TinyPines, Kristin Hughes (1974-2021), Sarah Jennings · 26 chapters · 11 h 06
About the book
He was supposed to be dead. Sherlock Holmes vanished over the Reichenbach Falls, and the whole of England mourned. But in the first story of this collection, the great detective returns, alive and as sharp as ever, and Dr Watson is so astonished that he faints. What follows is a run of cases that includes a murder in a locked room, a mysterious code of dancing figures, a blackmailer’s house and a stolen pearl. Arthur Conan Doyle brought Holmes back in response to public demand, and the stories that followed became some of the best-loved of the series. Fog, hansom cabs, gas lamps and quick reasoning are all in place. Ten LibriVox volunteers share the reading across twenty-six sections, with more than eleven hours of mystery. A fine collection for anyone who enjoys classic detective fiction or who wants to see how the detective returned.
Introduction
Arthur Conan Doyle was born in 1859 and died in 1930. A Scottish doctor by training, he became one of the most successful authors of his age. He wrote historical novels, science fiction, medical stories and works on history and spiritualism, but the character who made him famous was the consulting detective Sherlock Holmes.
The Return of Sherlock Holmes was first issued in 1905, with its stories published in magazines from late 1903 and 1904. It is the third collection of short stories about Holmes. Having left Sherlock Holmes apparently deceased at the conclusion of The Final Problem, Doyle later yielded to readers who wanted him back, and the new series begins with an explanation of how the detective survived.
The collection contains thirteen stories, among them some of the best known in the canon. They show Holmes at the height of his powers, with Watson at his side, working in the London of the early twentieth century and in country houses nearby. The pleasures are familiar: clever deductions, striking clients, red herrings and the friendly rivalry between Holmes and the official police.
This LibriVox recording has twenty-six sections, as most stories are divided into two parts, and it lasts about eleven hours. Ten volunteers share the reading. It is an excellent choice for a long journey, or for anyone who would like to rediscover one of the great figures in popular literature.
Public domain
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle died in 1930: the work is in the public domain in Switzerland, more than 70 years after the author’s death.
The LibriVox volunteers dedicated this recording to the public domain.
Sources : LibriVox page · Files at the Internet Archive · Original text