Customer Reviews

The Return of Sherlock Holmes (The Oxford Sherlock Holmes)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

As an Englishman. resident in the United States, what do I miss most? The BBC. As a little boy I looked forward to all the broadcast plays every week. The BBC cast performed about 6 hours of radio plays every week. They still do, haven't you also noticed the number of TV plays broadcast by A and E? Most of them originate in the United Kingdom, Hornblower, ETC.. Now we can enjoy the performances by means of these Bantam Double Day releases. Very well done, by a very experienced cast, you can let your imagination run riot as you picture the various scenes in your mind. These are the classic stories by Sir Arther Conan Doyle. They have been around for 100 years or so, and time has not diminished their appeal. On this Audio Book you have 4 stories, each about 45 minutes long. If you haven't heard these before, then I don't wish to spoil the story line. If you know the stories then you will not be disappointed. Each story is presented in the time period of around the 1900's, you can almost smell the gas lighting, not to mention the foggy november weather, the horses, and so on. Order these from Amazon, and search for more of the BBC plays, they are great.

A previous collection of Doyle's stories, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, brought so much pleasure that I couldn't wait for more. Here they are in THE RETURN OF SHERLOCK HOLMES stunningly presented by Simon Prebble.. If you've not yet heard a reading by Prebble, sit down and prepare to be well entertained.

The British born Prebble, an experienced stage, television, and film, actor came to our country in 1990. Since then he has narrated some 350 audio books and has garnered every possible award (some numerous times) - A Golden Voice and Voices of the Century by AudioFile, 24 Earphone awards, 5 Listen Up awards...well, you get the idea, he's terrific.

This collection of 13 Holmes stories was initially published during the years 1903 - 1904. It is the first collection to appear since Holmes supposedly died in "The Adventure of the Final Problem," and represents Doyle at his best. Among the 13 we find everything from The Adventure of the Empty House (which features the return of Holmes and his explanation of miraculously surviving a to the death struggle with Professor Moriarity) to The Adventure of the Second Stain.

The redoubtable Watson is, of course, by Holmes's side throughout offering his memorable comments and questions.

THE RETURN OF SHERLOCK HOLMES is truly a classic and one that detective fiction aficionados will want to hear again and again.

- Gail Cooke

Instead of showing images of things referred to in text it simply states "GRAPHIC". Have to look them up online which usually gives away the case ending.

Although he also wrote several novels featuring the world's greatest fictional detective Sherlock Holmes, it was especially in his short stories that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle perfected the Holmes formula. "The Return of Sherlock Holmes" (published in 1905) is the third of the five collections of Holmes short stories. Along with the second collection ("The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes"), "Return" is generally regarded as inferior to the superlative first collection ("The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes), but easily better than the last two in the series ("His Last Bow" and "The Case Book of Sherlock Holmes"). After Doyle had apparently killed Holmes in the last story of "Memoirs" (The Final Problem), the popular outcry which followed the disappearance of the legendary detective eventually led Doyle to resurrect his character in the first story of this new collection (The Empty House). But with "Return", Doyle perhaps even surpassed the earlier effort of "Memoirs", with excellent stories such as The Empty House, The Dancing Men, The Prioriy School, and the Six Napoleons, and other favorites like The Norwood Builder, Charles Augustus Milverton, The Golden Pince-Nez, and The Second Stain. In my view, fans of "Adventures" will find that the dozen stories of "Return" are a great second choice, and not much far behind the brilliance of the first collection.

Here's a list of the stories in this collection (with the better stories marked with stars):

**The Empty House, 1903 - One of the top ten stories, the presumed dead Holmes is "resurrected" to solve the murder of Ronald Adair, a card player. More interesting than this mystery, however, is the mystery of the account of Holmes own escape from death.

*The Norwood Builder, 1903 - John Hector McFarlane is arrested for allegedly murdering Jonas Oldacre, who has just included McFarlane in his will, and it is up to Holmes to prove McFarlane's innocence and expose the events as a plan by Oldacre for revenge.

**The Dancing Men, 1903 - A top ten favorite, as Sherlock Holmes needs to decode the threatening notes with mysterious symbols of dancing men received by Hilton Cubitt's wife.

The Solitary Cyclist, 1903 - The mystery surrounding Violet Smith, who is regularly pursued by a strange cyclist, perhaps one of the various lovers who is after her hand in marriage.

**The Priory School, 1904 - The only son of the Duke of Holdernesse is abducted from his private school, and Holmes uncovers what really happened to the boy, as well as the missing German schoolmaster.

Black Peter, 1904 - The seaman Captain Peter Carey, known as Black Peter, was a nasty man, but who harpooned him to the wall of his outhouse and why?

*Charles Augustus Milverton, 1904 - Charles Augustus Milverton is a reputed blackmailer who specializes in "selling" sensitive letters which reveal the dark secrets of the upper class - but he meets his match with Holmes who is enlisted by Lady Eva Blackwell shortly before her marriage to the Earl of Dovercourt.

**The Six Napoleons, 1904 - In this top ten favorite, Holmes uncovers the perplexing mystery of why various busts of Napoleon are being strangely smashed, apparently the result of a lunatic with an obsession against Napoleon, but actually linked to a jewel theft.

The Three Students, 1904 - Which of the three students was guilty of stealing a copy of the important Greek exam from Professor Hilton Soames' office?

*The Golden Pince-Nez, 1904 - A very good story, as Holmes unravels the murder of Professor Coram's secretary Willoughby Smith, and links it to Coram's Russian wife and his Russian past.

The Missing Three-Quarter, 1904 - Holmes is enlisted to solve the strange disappearance of football star Godfrey Staunton the day before a critical game.

The Abbey Grange, 1904 - Who murdered the wealthy alcoholic tyrant Sir Eustace Brackenstall? It takes Holmes to discover the involvement of a mysterious seaman.

*The Second Stain, 1904 - Two important statesmen enlist Holmes' aid to discover the whereabouts of a stolen document that could result in a war in Europe. Is it coincidental that the theft occurred around the same time as the violent death of the nobleman Eduardo Lucas? With the help of a stain beneath a carpet, Holmes puts all the pieces of the puzzle together.

- GODLY GADFLY

A good collection of short Sherlock Holmes stories. Considering this book was written 100+ years ago, I think this must be one of the first Hollywood-like resurrections of a main character that was killed off in a previous episode. The stories are good, but not as interesting or facinating as previous Sherlock Holmes adventures. For the most part, the mysteries are easily solved without much mental exertion. Definitely worth reading because of the classic nature of the literature, but definitely not the best collection of Sherlock Holmes' adventures in the catalog.

This is cut-price luxury. It is more than 12 hours' worth of absolutely marvellous old stories read to us by an absolutely marvellous old narrator. It is also very nicely recorded and it does not cost very much. On top of that I was able to add a feeling of environmentalist virtue to the other pleasures by turning off my little reading lamp and enjoying being read to in the darkness.

Conan Doyle had tried to kill off Sherlock Holmes, but by popular demand he had to bring him back from the missing-presumed-dead, and he did it rather skilfully. 13 stories in total are packed into 10 discs, with the sixth tale ending neatly at the end of the fifth disc, which is obviously a convenient presentation for standard cd carousels with 5 bays. Doyle's narrator is, as everyone knows, Dr Watson, and Derek Jacobi has absolutely the right voice for him. He modulates his tones for the other parties such as Holmes and Lestrade, but I think he is right not to overdo this. Watson himself would hardly have been any expert mimic, and the thing to aim at is avoiding monotony, not being some kind of rival to Alistair McGowan or John Culshaw. I suppose no American really ever sounded like Abe Slaney and no rough Scottish whaler talking like Patrick Cairns here would have convinced other Scottish whalers, but the general idea is good enough. There is a German as well, and a Russian who features in a story I shall not even name for fear of spoiling the plot. I experienced a moment's misgiving in The Abbey Grange when the refined Australian lady spoke in refined Surrey English, but my anxieties were allayed when her lady's-maid came out with some fine old Strine after all.

The recorded sound is easy on the ear, and I think the only minor request I would have to the BBC producers would be to provide the track-# for the start of each story. Otherwise well done the Beeb. Lord Reith would have approved, and I pay you my licence-fee with a light heart.

When last we heard of Sherlock Holmes, he had plummeted from Reichenbach Falls along with the evil Professor Moriarty.

But after years of fans badgering him to bring Holmes back, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle finally relented in "The Return of Sherlock Holmes." The stories in here aren't quite as gripping as the previous collections, but there's still plenty of striking, mind-bending mysteries for the legendary detective to unwind.

A few years after Holmes' death, Watson has settled into a routine as a regular doctor, although he becomes interested in the locked-room murder of the Honourable Ronald Adair. But then a strange old man comes into Watson's office, and reveals himself to be none other than Sherlock Holmes. Watson promptly faints from the shock.

But when he wakes up, Holmes reveals that he has been traveling the world and avoiding Moriarty's equally nasty confederates. And before he can resume normal life at Baker Street, he and Watson must catch the last of these evil men -- which may be connected to Adair's death.

After that, Holmes and Watson fall back into solving cases: a young man who is accused of murdering his strangely friendly client; a string of stick figures, a music teacher followed by a cyclist, a boy kidnapped from his school, a harpoon impalement, blackmail and high society scandal, shattered Napoleonic busts, stolen exams, a Russian lady, a rugby player's disappearance, a brutal murder that isn't what it seems, and a missing document that could lead to a massive war.

"The Return of Sherlock Holmes" occasionally feels a little unenthusiastic, probably because Doyle had really intended to kill off Holmes because he wanted to focus on "important" novels. Fortunately, even lesser Holmes mysteries are still brilliant -- there are twisted crimes, malevolent schemers, and some puzzles that only Holmes can unravel.

And as usual, Doyle crafts two kinds of crimes/mysteries -- the ones that are ultra-simple but turn out to have hidden kinks, and the ones that seem impossible to solve but are actually shockingly simple. But things don't always end in the same way ("The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton" ends in a really shocking manner), and the culprits aren't always dealt with in the same way.

It's also really fun to see Watson and Holmes working together again, especially after Holmes makes such a dramatic, energetic reentry in the very first story. And it's very cute to see Watson pass out because he's so shocked and thrilled that Holmes is alive. The characters seem even faster friends, especially when it's revealed that Watson has gotten Holmes off of cocaine (which was still used medicinally at the time).

"Return of Sherlock Holmes" suffers from a few patches of unenthusiastic writing, but Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's mysteries are still brilliant brain-benders. The Great Detective is back.

Sometimes, an author's fictional creation proves so popular that it cannot be escaped. Such proved to be the case for Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who killed Sherlock Holmes in an earlier story, only to be pressured by fans into reviving him, first in a novel called "The Hound of the Baskervilles," which was set before the death, then finally in this subsequent collection of short stories that brings him back from the dead. If Doyle was thoroughly sick of writing Holmes stories, he disguises it well here. The overall quality may be a bit below that of previous collections (the revelation of "The Six Napoleons" is particularly easy to anticipate), but I was still immensely entertained by these tales of Victorian era detection.

A cause for great rejoicing, an event as momentous as this one. The Great Detective is back. Imagine the hype and hoopla if this was happening in the 21st century! After his presumed death at Reichenbach and the hands of the man many readers would have happily throttled, he lives! Take that, Moriarty, you dastardly cur! Again, more Sherlock is fantastic, and on to 'The Adventure of the Empty House'

Return of Sherlock Holmes : 01 The Adventure of the Empty House - Arthur Conan Doyle
Return of Sherlock Holmes : 02 The Adventure of the Norwood Builder - Arthur Conan Doyle
Return of Sherlock Holmes : 03 The Adventure of the Dancing Men - Arthur Conan Doyle
Return of Sherlock Holmes : 04 The Adventure of the Solitary Cyclist - Arthur Conan Doyle
Return of Sherlock Holmes : 05 The Adventure of the Priory School - Arthur Conan Doyle
Return of Sherlock Holmes : 06 The Adventure of Black Peter - Arthur Conan Doyle
Return of Sherlock Holmes : 07 The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton - Arthur Conan Doyle
Return of Sherlock Holmes : 08 The Adventure of the Six Napoleons - Arthur Conan Doyle
Return of Sherlock Holmes : 09 The Adventure of the Three Students - Arthur Conan Doyle
Return of Sherlock Holmes : 10 The Adventure of the Golden Pince-Nez - Arthur Conan Doyle
Return of Sherlock Holmes : 11 The Adventure of the Missing Three-Quarter - Arthur Conan Doyle
Return of Sherlock Holmes : 12 The Adventure of the Abbey Grange - Arthur Conan Doyle
Return of Sherlock Holmes : 13 The Adventure of the Second Stain - Arthur Conan Doyle

Murder, Moran and Moriarty = Holmes Back In Town.

5 out of 5

Identity change means the lawyer is actually a good guy.

4 out of 5

Death threat doodle.

3.5 out of 5

Bikes, broads, bullets and a bundle of cash to be had.

5 out of 5

Duke's heir departed due to dastardly deviants.

5 out of 5

Not every day that you get murder by harpoon.

4.5 out of 5

Blackmailed babes happy Holmes on the job.

4 out of 5

Bonaparte bust bashers have a good reason.

4 out of 5

Exam nickers busted.

3.5 out of 5

Murderers should go for plain eyewear.

3.5 out of 5

Boyfriend from aussie trip preferred to husband.

3.5 out of 5

Diplomatic document disaster.

3.5 out of 5

So everyone thought he was dead, murdered at the hands of Professor Moriarty. Not so of course (although Conan Doyle had intended to cease writing about Holmes - but a public outcry forced him to reconsider). In this highly affordable collection Holmes and Watson continue to pit their highly developed intellect against the not so refined minds of the criminal underworld - although Holmes does give them due credit for their duplicity. The only problem I find with Conan Doyle's writing is that it is a bit lacking in decent female characterisation - rather a sign of the times than a fault in his writing however.