Arthur Conan Doyle Books

This was the first David Timson audio cassette I heard where he is featured, and Mr. Timson is quite effective. He not only performs Holmes well but also a stream of other characters with verve. Highly recommended.

The Sign of Four

This story begins with Dr. Watson advising Sherlock Holmes against dabbling with drugs because of the long-term dangers. Holmes observes a watch and deduces the habits of the previous owner. Miss Mary Morstan visits with her problem. Her father disappeared ten years earlier. For the last six years she received a large pearl in the mail. Now she received a letter telling her she was wronged and asking for a meeting. Holmes and Watson will accompany her. Their carriage arrives at a house in a new terrace. They meet Thaddeus Sholto, one of the sons of Major Sholto, the best friend of Mary Morstan's father Captain Sholto. Thaddeus tells why what he knows about the story. His brother Bartholomew discovered the hidden treasure. When they arrive they find Bartholomew murdered in a locked room and the treasure missing! The police are called. They arrest Thaddeus and the servants as accomplices.

Sherlock Holmes borrowed a dog to follow the scent of the small man who stepped in creosote. They follow the scent to the water's edge; they look around and find information. Holmes sends the Baker Street Irregulars to search for the missing steam launch. Holmes himself locates the 'Aurora', and the police launch later chases it downstream in a wild chase. Holmes and Watson shoot the Andaman islander, then Jonathan Small is captured with the treasure chest. Watson gained a treasure (Chapter 11). Small tells about the Agra treasure from the time of the India Mutiny, and has the last laugh (Chapter 12).

The story about the Agra fort and the mutiny shows the attitudes of the English public. The English conquered India for its loot, just as in other wars. But the Four decided to enrich themselves and follow the example set by the royal rulers, English or Indian. A double-dealing rajah straddled the conflict and split his assets; it failed because of others who took advantage of their position. But their plan failed because of an unforeseen watcher. The Four who killed for riches were swindled out of their fortune by a clever liar who took advantage of his position. Was Doyle mocking the English system of purchased offices in his story of Sholto and Morstan?

When a horse trainer is brutally murdered and the prize-winning horse stolen, it seems like a straight forward case. However, the Dartmoor police cannot get to the bottom of it. And so, they call for the greatest detective in all England, Sherlock Holmes. However, what Holmes finds out is certain to surprise everyone.

This story was first published in Strand Magazine in December of 1892. It is an excellent story and a great addition to the Holmes canon. The mystery was quite complex, and the identity of the killer was a very nice twist. Overall, I really enjoyed this story, and highly recommend it!

A follow-up to his massive study of Robert Louis Stevenson on the screen, this is another of Scott Nollen's meticulous works chronicling the process of filmmaker's attempts to film the works of a great Victorian author. A lifelong devotee of Sherlock Holmes, Nollen also covers Arthur Conan Doyle's non-Holmes stories such as THE WHITE COMPANY and THE LOST WORLD. Conan Doyle's fascinating life is covered in detail, as well as all his stories and all the major films adapted from them. A terrific read, with a great foreword by 7% SOLUTION author Nicholas Meyer, who also contributed material to a couple chapters in the book. As with Nollen's ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON: LIFE, LITERATURE AND THE SILVER SCREEN, this book features many rare photos from the author's collection. A beautiful hardcover worth every penny!

This audio drama contains four short stories by great authors such as Henry James and Oscar Wilde. In my opinion, Wilde's Canterville Ghost is the best of the four. The special sound effect are both scary and humourous. Wilde's weird sense of humor about a British old ghost meets his match of an American family is perfectly interpreted in audio form by the producer of this audiobook.

This is the story of a young Doctor in Victorian Britain. In this collection of letters written to an american friend, Stark Munro tells of the trials and tribulations that face him as he tries to build his practice. This book gives a fascinating insight into lower middle class life in Victorian Society. It is semi autobiographical and Conan Doyle uses the novel to discus his views on Religion.

This book was published first in 1895, and the setting is in various small cities in England of that time. The author believed that the public gave too much attention to the character he created, Sherlock Holmes, and neglected his other works. He undoubtedly was justified in this opinion. This novel is an important work because Doyle has been quoted as saying much of the book is based on his relations with an earlier acquaintance. It is therefore possible that the book is at least semi-autobiographical and may be an indicator of some of Doyle's beliefs and attitudes toward his times. It is an epistolary novel, written in the form of letters, "edited and arranged" by Doyle, according to the title page. An introductory note, ostensibly by the fictional Herbert Swanborough, to whom the letters have been sent, claims the letters are herewith published with the thought that some other young man might benefit from the story, and the views, of John Stark Munro. Each letter contains two elements: one part is the narrative of events in the life of a young medical graduate in his efforts to set up a practice, as his own man, with a very little assistance from anyone else; the other part of each letter is didactic, presented as his friendly arguments with his close friend Swanborough. The didactic portions may be genuine expressions of Doyle's belief about religion, politics, ethics, and society. Munro nevertheless is presented as an interesting character, as well as a person who would have been a benefit to society and the world he lived in. Doyle deserves respect as a serious writer of the turn of the century, and not alone for the "entertainments" of the Sherlock Holmes stories.
Lloyd Beldon Lacy

This story deservedly has lasting appeal; it favours an unlikely hero, a nondescript cricketer plucked from obscurity thanks to his own ingenuity and perseverance.The story tantalises because the story is plausible: it could have happened; indeed, it should have happened! For anyone who has fantasised about being summonsed from the crowd to answer a club/ country's moment of crisis. Doyle writes knowledgeably about cricket, and the characters are sketched with warmth and wryness. Read it and it'll haunt you; you'll wish it could be you -even if you're old and untalented. Better yet, the Aussies are on the receivng end.

A Study in Scarlet

This story introduced the world to John H. Watson M.D., who was wounded in the second Afghan war and then suffered from enteric fever. He was invalided back to England. He is looking for reasonable lodgings. A friend tells him about Sherlock Holmes who is also looking for someone to share expenses. Holmes is described as cold-blooded in outlook. Holmes is excited by his discovery of a test for old bloodstains (Chapter 1). Holmes explains the reasoning for his deductions. Then a letter requests help. A man was found dead in an empty house, no wound on the body, but blood in the room. Holmes & Watson go there to inspect the scene. Holmes explained his deductions (Chapter 4). An advertisement is placed in the "Found" column. Watson loads his revolver to deal with the claimant. The claimant used a cab to escape her shadow! Detective Gregson visits Holmes to explain how he solved the murder. Lestrade arrives to tell of another murder: Stangerson, the secretary of Drebber! Gregson's suspect could not have done it. Holmes shows his brilliance by the surprise introduction of the murderer!

Part 2 tells about the background of the events that resulted in the murders. In 1847 a man and a girl were lost in a desert. They were rescued by Mormons on their way to a new land. Years later Lucy Ferrier was rescued by Jefferson Hope, and they fell in love. The leader of the Mormons commanded Lucy to marry a man she did not love. John Ferrier rejected this ruling. Jefferson Hope returned at night to lead them to Nevada and freedom. But after going hunting Hope found Lucy was captured and John killed and buried. Lucy's husband inherited John's property. Poor Lucy pined away and soon died. Hope planned his cold revenge. Chapter 6 contains Jefferson Hope's story, and his end in jail. Chapter 7 explains Holmes' actions in reasoning backwards.

This story introduced Sherlock Holmes to an audience that never tired of these stories. Note the intermix of dialogue followed by explanatory comments. More modern stories used mostly dialogue to carry the story along and bring out the facts. The solution occurs in the last chapters. The use of exotic American locales was a way to add interest, although Doyle's knowledge came from second hand sources (as in "The Valley of Fear"). Background descriptions are sparse. I wonder what stories from America inspired this novel? Note how it tells the readers why a man can have a "florid face", a medical fact.

Study in Scarlet / 1-420-92553-9

The world's first introduction to Sherlock Holmes, A Study in Scarlet encompasses the detective's first adventure in a whole book, rather than in the later short story format that Doyle favored. The first half of the book follows Holmes' normal case-solving routine, with the second half explaining the background and motive of the captured criminal - an unusual detail since, in later stories, the motive was usually summed up in a few brief sentences and it is left to the reader to decide whether to sympathize with the captured villain.

The book and the mystery is quite gripping and fascinating, like all Holmes stories, but the reader should be warned that certain members of the early Church of Latter Day Saints (or Mormons) are shown in an extremely unfavorable light. Without giving away the plot, several leading members of the community in the story are murderers and rapists, and this view may cause some readers discomfort. I, personally, feel that Doyle's works should not be taken literally with regards to historical accuracy, particularly American historical accuracy. In fact, in one story (the Five Orange Pips, I believe), Holmes isn't sure which American state is known as 'the Lone Star state' - Watson has to point out that the state in question is Texas, which Holmes shrugs off as a point not worth remembering. This cavalier attitude of Doyle towards American history confirms in my opinion that Doyle was less interested in making Mormons look bad, and more interested in not letting any facts get in the way of a good story.

In summary, if you love Holmes and bad historicity won't bother you, check out A Study in Scarlet, just remember that it's fiction, not fact.