Audio Books : Mystery : Other quality : English
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Canon of Sherlock Holmes (1887-1927)
by Arthur Conan Doyle

Unabridged, 9 volumes, read by John Telfer
2001 Alec Reid Recordings

Traditionally, the canon of Sherlock Holmes consists of the 56 short stories and 4 novels written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Holmes fans appear to have been the first group to use the term "canon" in this way, distinguishing between Doyle's original works and subsequent works by other authors using the same characters.


Volume 1: A Study in Scarlet
One of the four novels within the sixty episodes of the Sherlock Holmes canon, A Study in Scarlet (1877) marked the debut of Holmes and his assistant, Dr. Watson, along with their residence at 221 B Baker Street, Inspector Lestrade, and the ragtag band of street urchins Holmes referred to as "the Baker Street Irregulars." Doyle modeled Holmes in part upon the idiosyncrasies of one of his medical school instructors, Dr. Joseph Bell; the literary structure, however, he borrowed from Edgar Allan Poe's stories of Auguste Dupin. The brilliant but eccentric detective, the admiring friend who narrates the story, the cases which are puzzling and fantastic as much as sensationally criminal, the dramatically revealed solution at the end; all these are elaborated from Poe's work.


Volume 2: The Sign of Four
The great detective's melancholy mood is lifted by the arrival of attractive Mary Morstan at 221B Baker Street. Mary's father vanished ten years ago. Four years later she bagan to receive, annually, a large, lustrous pearl. Now she has had an intriguing invitation to meet her unknown benefactor and urges Holmes and Watson to accompany her. The duo are confronted with a case that includes a wronged woman, a wooden-legged ruffian, hidden treasure, and a love affair.


Volume 3: The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes is a collection of 12 stories by Arthur Conan Doyle that were originally published in Strand magazine from July 1891 to June 1892. This collection includes some of Holmes' most famous cases.
The 12 stories in this collection are:
"A Scandal in Bohemia"
"The Red-Headed League"
"A Case of Identity"
"The Boscombe Valley Mystery"
"The Five Orange Pips"
"The Man with the Twisted Lip"
"The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle"
"The Adventure of the Speckled Band"
"The Adventure of the Engineer's Thumb"
"The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor"
"The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet"
"The Adventure of the Copper Beeches"


Volume 4: The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes
Stories included are:
"Silver Blaze"
"The Yellow Face"
"The Stockbroker's Clerk"
"The 'Gloria Scott'"
"The Musgrave Ritual"
"The Reigate Squire"
"The Crooked Man"
"The Resident Patient"
"The Greek Interpreter"
"The Naval Treaty"
"The Final Problem"


Volume 5: The Hound of the Baskervilles
An ancient family curse has caused the shocking death of all of Sir Henry Baskerville's ancestors, and the distinguished Dr. James Mortimer wants Sherlock Holmes to help protect his friend. According to local legend, an enormous, savage, supernatural hound lives on the Grimpen Moor, and has just killed yet another Baskerville. Despite Holmes's well-deserved reputation as a crime specialist and brilliant sleuth, even he wonders whether his powers of deductive reasoning can defeat this mysterious, hellish beast.


Volume 6: The Return of Sherlock Holmes
Stories included:
"The Adventure of the Empty House" (the return of Holmes) 
"The Adventure of the Norwood Builder" 
"The Adventure of the Dancing Men" 
"The Adventure of the Solitary Cyclist" 
"The Adventure of the Priory School" 
"The Adventure of Black Peter" 
"The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton" 
"The Adventure of the Six Napoleons" 
"The Adventure of the Three Students" 
"The Adventure of the Golden Pince-Nez" 
"The Adventure of the Missing Three-Quarter" 
"The Adventure of the Abbey Grange" 
"The Adventure of the Second Stain"


Volume 7: The Valley of Fear
An English gentleman is murdered with a uniquely American weapon: a sawed-off shotgun. Since the police are baffled, Sherlock Holmes is asked to solve the murder.
The story is similar in structure to "A Study in Scarlet", with the second half taking place in the United States and filling in the history of what led up to the first half. Toward the end, the story comes back to Holmes and Watson.


Volume 8: His Last Bow
Stories:
"The Adventure of Wisteria Lodge"
"The Adventure of the Cardboard Box"
"The Adventure of the Red Circle"
"The Adventure of the Bruce Partingon Papers"
"The Adventure of the Dying Detective"
"The Disappearance of Lady Carfax"
"The Adventure of the Devil's Foot"
"His Last Bow"


Volume 9: The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes
Stories:
"The Adventure of the Illustrious Client" 
"The Adventure of the Blanched Soldier" 
"The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone" 
"The Adventure of the Three Gables" 
"The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire" 
"The Adventure of the Three Garridebs" 
"The Problem of Thor Bridge" 
"The Adventure of the Creeping Man" 
"The Adventure of the Lion's Mane" 
"The Adventure of the Veiled Lodger" 
"The Adventure of Shoscombe Old Place" 
"The Adventure of the Retired Colourman"