The Complete Stories of Sherlock Holmes, Volume 1

By: Arthur Conan Doyle

Narrated by: Charlton Griffin

Length: 20 hrs and 17 mins

Publisher's summary

First appearing in print in 1890, the character of Sherlock Holmes has now become synonymous worldwide with the concept of a super sleuth. His creator, Conan Doyle, imbued his detective hero with intellectual power, acute observational abilities, a penchant for deductive reasoning and a highly educated use of forensic skills. Indeed, Doyle created the first fictional private detective who used what we now recognize as modern scientific investigative techniques.

Doyle ended up writing four novels and 56 short stories featuring Holmes and his companion, Dr. Watson. All but four are told in the first person by Watson, two by Holmes, and two are written in the third person. Together, this series of beautifully written Victorian literature has sold more copies than any other books in the English language, with the exceptions of the Bible and Shakespeare.

Volume 1 in this series consists of two novels, A Study in Scarlet and The Sign of Four, followed by a collection of short stories entitled The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.

Public Domain (P)2009 Audio Connoisseur

A fine set of stories that are well narrated...

I read a few Sherlock Holmes stories many years ago but had no idea that so many were written by Conan Doyle. The stories are of a length that is easy to digest and the excellent narration by Charlton Griffin (tops in my book, up there with Frank Muller and Simon Vance) brings the stories to life with his various character impersonations. I probably like Griffin's narration with a woman's voice the best of any narrator. The women often sound somewhat fickle, but for the late 1800s this wouldn't be too out of step with the times.

The length of each story is such that it can be "read" at a good pace leading to excitement to hear the next story. The voice characterization for Holmes is spot on. Having seen the older movies that featured Basil Rathbone as Holmes, I found myself picturing him as the Holmes character thanks to Griffin's narration.

You will find humor in these stories as well, especially when Holmes must tolerate the incompetence of others around him. At such a cheap price with good audio quality, a top-shelf narration by Griffin, and intriguing stories, this is a must-buy.

A Towering Delight...And a Pair of Small Caveats

“I made a blunder, my dear Watson. Which is, I am afraid, a more common occurrence than anyone would think who only knew me through your memoirs.”

Holmes makes this comment at the beginning of the second series of these marvelous recordings. But it applies to the first series as well, of course. Having only known Holmes at an even farther remove than Watson’s memoirs—via movies and TV—it is a revelation to meet the real Holmes, blunders and all, regardless of his quibbles about the good doctor’s literary efforts.

Like reading Ian Flemming’s Bond novels only after steeping oneself in the movies (yes, I made that mistake too), we discover a far more human, cantankerous and fragile person than is revealed even in Jeremy Brett’s masterful performances. And it was a great treat to finally learn how Holmes and Watson were originally thrown together. Like ham and eggs or rum and Coke, theirs is an association so long established and so seemingly natural that we forget they had to have had a first meeting.

About stories that have stood the test of popular opinion as well as these, leaving the reading public consistently agog since their first appearance 126 years ago, nothing need be said. The character of Holmes seems an apogee of High Victorianism: a complete faith in science, progress and the power of rationalism, totally devoid of that other trait we associate with late 19th Century England, sentimentalism. Against this sheer cliff of cold deduction, we flounder along with Doctor Watson, ensnared in conclusions we leap at too quickly and obvious facts we too blithely overlook and a sentimentalism that leads us to do odd things like fall in love and get married. Watson has his moments too, bringing his specialized medical knowledge to bear on wounds and poisons, but he’s usually as in the dark as you or me. Ultimately, I’d rather be like Watson than Holmes—convenient that, since I already am—but Holmes is still fascinating to watch.

And in these recordings he’s fascinating to listen to as well. Without sounding like Basil Rathbone or Jeremy Brett, Charlton Griffin gives us a distinct and vibrant Holmes. His milder, self-deprecating Watson is perfect, as is all the supporting cast except the female characters. Someone else has mentioned that Griffin’s women sound idiotic. While I wouldn’t go quite that far, they do sound a bit too helpless and simple.

Another quibble: the American side of “A Study in Scarlet”, the second part of which takes place among the Mormons of Utah, is something of a challenge for Griffin. True, Conan Doyle’s writing slips off the track here as well—it sounds as if he’s writing about a country and a people he’s only known through stereotypes and hearsay. But Griffin’s wild-west accents only make it worse.

But these are minor points when set against an otherwise masterful performance. Beginning the second series, I seem to detect the women sounding a little brighter, too. Thanks to Audible for making these available and giving me the chance, as with The Count of Monte Cristo and Don Quixote, to catch up on the classics I sidestepped in my callow youth.

A great way to experience Sherlock Holmes.

Great collection. I liked the fact the stories are told in the order written. I have all three volumes and they are great. The stories do tend to sound the same but the time volume three rolls around, which is why I only rated the story as a 4. What is interesting is how different, yet the same, the books are from the movies. Except for a few brief mentions, Sherlock's brother Mycroft hardly makes an appearance. And Dr. Moriarty is a minor figure at best in the books. And the best stories are the ones that don't have any Holmes or Watson in them, such as the second part of The Sign of the Four. Still, I enjoyed them. The narrator is very good though his female voices were grating at times.

Fun easy listening

Where does The Complete Stories of Sherlock Holmes, Volume 1 rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

The stories and characters are very engaging and entertaining but the stories can be a touch repetitive. In all a fun read and interesting to read the originals after so many movie and TV versions.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Complete Stories of Sherlock Holmes, Volume 1?

The very open way the use of cocaine is described and discussed. In particular Dr Watson's succinct reasons to Holmes of what damage he was doing to his brain. They are consistent with modern research.

What about Charlton Griffin’s performance did you like?

The reader does and excellent job of reading in character.

Recommended

What about Charlton Griffin’s performance did you like?

Great narrator.

Any additional comments?

Enjoyed these stories, and was amused. I'd never read Sherlock Holmes, and hadn't realized the humor within. Very entertaining. I'm glad the two-for-one deal on classics encouraged me to purchase this one.

Highly recommended

If you could sum up The Complete Stories of Sherlock Holmes, Volume 1 in three words, what would they be?

You will enjoy

Who was your favorite character and why?

Sherlock of course. It is all about him.

What about Charlton Griffin’s performance did you like?

Very strong performance with only draw being the way he does female voices - all sound the same. Male characters are interpreted flawlessly

Classic

Where does The Complete Stories of Sherlock Holmes, Volume 1 rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It is so far the best I've heard. It's so long, yet it never gets boring!

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

For me, the pleasure is in the dialogue. The lines exchanged between Holmes and Watson are priceless. The plot is always interesting and ends with a surprising twist.

Have you listened to any of Charlton Griffin’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I've only listened to the Sherlock Holmes books.

Who was the most memorable character of The Complete Stories of Sherlock Holmes, Volume 1 and why?

Sherlock Holmes. Who could compete with such an interesting character? He has the rare combination of cool intellect and gentlemanly charm.

Any additional comments?

Perhaps the manner of speech in this book was commonplace when it was written, but it is very refreshing to anyone who is sick of lazy writing in many modern productions.

Great story, unfortunate narration

I actually stopped listening to this and bought an alternate version because the narration had begun to bother me so much that it interfered with my enjoyment of the stories. Griffin has a fine reading voice, but he is clearly not a native Briton--his non-English pronunciation of such words as "inquiry" (a word that occurs frequently in Sherlock Holmes stories!) "clerk" and "secretary" repeatedly punctured my suspension of disbelief. A real shame, as the stories are classics.

Even my wife and kids liked it

listened to this on the way back from Disney - usually my wife and kids aren't into audio books - but this one captured their interest. I've never read Sherlock Holmes so this was a treat for me. On to volume 2!

Brilliant, Holmes!!

What did you love best about The Complete Stories of Sherlock Holmes, Volume 1?

The stories of Sherlock Holmes are both entertaining and intellectually stimulating. From listening to these stories, I have found that both my writing and vocabulary skills have greatly improved.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Complete Stories of Sherlock Holmes, Volume 1?

At the beginning of

Have you listened to any of Charlton Griffin’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I had never heard of Charlton Griffin before. Overall, I was pleased with his performance. He is quite a skilled narrator. He does a wonderful job of distinguishing between the various British accents and his American accents are also quite good. My only issue is that it was often difficult to distinguish between the female characters because many of them sounded the same.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I certainly did WANT to listen to the whole book at once, but I didn't have the time. I tend to listen to my books when I'm at work for the most part, so I saved this one for when I was working and it lasted me a whole three days.

Any additional comments?

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is quickly becoming my favorite author of all time!