Fully-dramatised adaptations of all 60 Sherlock Holmes stories, brought to life with a full cast of actors, sound effects and music
'A remarkable undertaking... applauding them, and particularly Clive Merrison's Holmes, made my hands sore' The Times
Arthur Conan Doyle's legendary detective Sherlock Holmes and his dear friend Dr Watson are among the most enduringly popular fictional characters ever created. Their adventures have been dramatised countless times on radio, TV and film, but until BBC Radio 4 took on the challenge in 1989, no-one had ever attempted to adapt all sixty stories.
Beginning with A Study in Scarlet and concluding with The Hound of the Baskervilles, their epic project took over 8 years to complete - and this landmark collection contains the extraordinary result of their labours. Here is the world's first ever fully-dramatised Sherlock Holmes canon: 56 short stories and 4 novels, all made by the same team of directors, producers, dramatists and leading actors, and packed with the high production qualities of a film or TV drama that set it apart.
Starring one of radio's great double acts, Clive Merrison and Michael Williams, as Holmes and Watson, and with guest stars including Brian Blessed, Judi Dench, Maurice Denham, Andrew Sachs, Peter Davison, Robert Glenister and Harriet Walter, this definitive collection contains over 48 hours of enthralling listening.
Also included is a bonus interview with Adrian Conan Doyle about his father, Sir Arthur, and some fascinating behind-the-scenes revelations from the series' head writer, Bert Coules, about the making of the radio adaptations.
Cast
Sherlock Holmes - Clive Merrison
Dr John Watson - Michael Williams
Mrs Hudson - Anna Cropper/Mary Allen/Joan Matheson/Judi Dench/
Inspector Gregson - John Moffatt
Inspector Lestrade - Donald Gee/Stephen Thorne
Mary Morstan/Mary Watson - Moir Leslie/Elizabeth Mansfield/Hannah Gordon
Irene Adler - Sarah Badel
Inspector Jones - Nigel Carrington
Colonel Moran - Fraser Kerr/Frederick Treves
Mycroft Holmes - John Hartley
Professor Moriarty - Michael Pennington
Production credits
Written by Arthur Conan Doyle
Dramatised by Bert Coules with David Ashton, Michael Bakewell, Roger Danes, Robert Forrest, Denys Hawthorne, Gerry Jones, Peter Ling, Vincent McInerney and Peter Mackie
Produced and directed by Ian Cotterell, David Johnston, Patrick Rayner and Enyd Williams
Musicians: Alexander Balanescu, Leonard Friedman, Richard Friedman, Michael Haslam, Ian Humphries and Abigail Young
Contents
A Study in Scarlet
The Sign of the Four
The Hound of the Baskervilles
The Valley of Fear
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
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 Blue Carbuncle
The Speckled Band
The Engineer's Thumb
The Noble Bachelor
The Beryl Coronet
The Copper Beeches
The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes
Silver Blaze ...