Sherlock Holmes: The Definitive Collection

By: Arthur Conan Doyle, Stephen Fry - introductions

Narrated by: Stephen Fry

Length: 71 hrs and 57 mins

Publisher's Summary

Winner of Audible's 2017 Members' Choice Award

"...it was reading the Sherlock Holmes stories as a boy that first turned me on to the power of writing and storytelling." (Stephen Fry)

Ever since he made his first appearance in A Study In Scarlet, Sherlock Holmes has enthralled and delighted millions of fans throughout the world. Now Audible is proud to present Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes: The Definitive Collection, read by Stephen Fry. A lifelong fan of Doyle's detective fiction, Fry has narrated the complete works of Sherlock Holmes - four novels and five collections of short stories. And, exclusively for Audible, Stephen has written and narrated nine insightful, intimate and deeply personal introductions to each title.

Stephen Fry is an English actor, screenwriter, author, playwright, journalist, comedian, television presenter, film director and all round national treasure. He is the acclaimed narrator of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter audiobooks and most recently recorded The Tales of Max Carrados for Audible Studios. Stephen has contributed columns and articles to newspapers and magazines, appears frequently on radio and has written four novels and three volumes of autobiography.

Part 1
Chapter 1: Opening Credits and Introduction to A Study in Scarlet
Chapters 2-15: A Study in Scarlet
Chapter 16: Introduction to The Sign of Four
Chapters 17-21: The Sign of Four, Part 1
Part 2
Chapters 1-7: The Sign of Four, Part 2
Chapter 8: Introduction to The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
Chapters 9-21: The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Part 1
Part 3
Chapter 1: The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Part 2
Chapter 2: Introduction to The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes
Chapters 3-14: The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes
Chapter 15: Introduction to The Hound of the Baskervilles
Chapters 16-21: The Hound of the Baskervilles, Part 1
Part 4
Chapters 1-9: The Hound of the Baskervilles, Part 2
Chapter 10: Introduction to The Return of Sherlock Holmes
Chapters 11-21: The Return of Sherlock Holmes, Part 1
Part 5
Chapters 1-2: The Return of Sherlock Holmes, Part 2
Chapter 3: Introduction to The Valley of Fear
Chapters 4-18: The Valley of Fear
Chapter 19: Introduction to His Last Bow
Chapters 20-21: His Last Bow, Part 1
Part 6
Chapters 1-7: His Last Bow, Part 2
Chapter 8: Introduction to The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes
Chapters 9-20: The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes and Closing Credits

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2017 Stephen Fry (introductions); original text public domain (P)2017 Audible, Ltd

Critic Reviews

"The pairing of Fry and Holmes is a bit of a marriage made in heaven...." ( New York Times)
"[Fry] gets into character with his habitual genius..." ( The Times)
"Sherlock Holmes. Narrated by Stephen Fry. Need I say more? Honestly though, what a perfect way to get away from it all while you're cooking dinner, commuting, or tidying up this weekend." (Buzzfeed)
"If you're a fan of Sherlock Holmes, Stephen Fry, or the simple pleasure of the audiobook, today's your lucky day. Audible have unveiled a brand new reading of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's entire Sherlock Holmes catalogue, all performed by Fry's dulcet tones." ( Evening Standard)
"If you've ever listened to the Harry Potter audiobooks, you'll know that Stephen Fry is responsible for the cosy and eternally reassuring voice that plays out during the recording of J.K Rowling's iconic books. Now, he's turned his talents to a brand new reading of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's entire Sherlock Holmes catalogue - and the thought of it has already got us clambering to pull up a comfy armchair in front of a roaring fire." ( Metro)
"Having already narrated one of the world's best-selling book series in the form of Harry Potter, Stephen Fry has returned to the recording booth to take on another hugely popular series." (BBC)
"It doesn't get much more British than Stephen Fry talking about Sherlock." (Mashable)
"Sherlock Holmes is the unfading literary icon - as beloved and as relevant as he was over 120 years ago. To celebrate his currency, Audible has released Sherlock Holmes: The Definitive Collection; Arthur Conan Doyle's complete adventures of the famed detective, as narrated by lifelong fan Stephen Fry, including nine personal introductions exclusive to Audible." (The Independent)

Outstanding!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would recommend this to anyone without hesitation.

What about Stephen Fry’s performance did you like?

Stephen Fry is truly a treasure. His style and technique are simply perfect. He is clear and his tone is steady and consistent. His voice characterizations are realistic and do not, in any way, irritate me like so many other readers. Additionally, Mr. Fry provides commentary at the start of each section. His comments are humorous and intelligent. I can't think of anyone else of this calibre. It is so easy to see that this is truly a work of love for Mr. Fry.

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

It is impossible to listen to 71 hours in one sitting!

Any additional comments?

I have read the original stories many times. I also have many variations of Sherlock Homes, either radio productions or voiced reading. By far and above, this is absolutely the finest collection and reading made. For anyone who wants a "definitive" version which will be their "go to" version, this is it. Hands down. I will be listening to this collection for many years.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Stephen Fry's mastery performance

The stories are magical. The performance is splendid. One of my best listening experiences ever. Fry's different voices gives life to the great detective and his partner in a way that you think you're in the opposite chair.

7 of 8 people found this review helpful

WOW

I could listen to Stephen Fry all day, and I did, for multiple days, weeks even. This is a truely massive collection of stories and well worth the money!

7 of 8 people found this review helpful

Excellent production

Previously bought Charlton Griffiths production of Sherlock Holmes.
Bought this one as I would like to listen to Stephen Fry’s narration.

Did an excellent job of pronunciation, characterisation including excellent Australian, South African and German accents.
The female voices were believable and added to the story.
Particularly liked the tone and inflection of the narration which fit with the speech. Eg Sherlock chuckled resulted in the passage being read with a chuckle.

Things which could have been added that I enjoyed Charlton Griffiths production were certain sound effects. Eg the gunshots during the narration of the killing of the despicable blackmailer Augustus Milverton.

Other than that very minor point would highly recommend to anybody wanting to transport themselves to a different age as I found it highly immersive.

I now press play to hear it again.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Best bang for credit!

Oh-my-god! Best purchase ever, 1 credit for 70+ hours of audio book! Stephan Fry is an amazing reader, he is a big fan of Sherlock Holmes and it shows!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

technical issues

What disappointed you about Sherlock Holmes: The Definitive Collection?

After Chapter 40, it is impossible to choose any of the next 60 or so chapters at random. The default selection is chapter 40. Don't try rewinding either after Chapter 40. Love Stephen Frye. Hate the quality of the audiobook. I want my money back.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Great value for money

This was one of the best buys iv had on audible. It took me nearly a year to get through and I enjoyed it from start to finish. I loved Steven Frys narration.

Genuinely one of my most treasured possessions

Engaging and insightful, a pure joy. Stephen Fry could not be held in higher esteem for his skills and input.

It's great!

The voice of Stephen Fry creates vivid images in mind and his comments are very complementary to the adventures of Sherlock Holmes. I wish there was some afterword too.
Someone very perspicacious brought these brilliant people together... thank you so much! ))

Amazing

The stories are so fantastic and Stephen Fry's narration is perfection. Very entertaining. Highly recommend!

Brilliant audio book, shame about the navigation.

Sherlock Holmes has deserved an audiobook of this standard for a long time. Fry's narration is superb, his skills as an actor giving depth to all of the different characters that crop up in Conan Doyle's work. It's just such a shame that Audible don't seem to be able to divide the various books and parts that make up this epic book in a sensible way. The first part, consisting of 21 chapters, contains all of A Study in Scarlet, but only half of The Sign of Four. Why not just bundle both books into the first part, or have them in their own separate parts? It makes navigation very confusing, and the lack of a viewable guide in the audible app makes navigation extremely annoying. To find a favourite story, you either have to adopt a tiring method of trial and error, or look up the chapter divisions on the website. It's a shame that something so avoidable has let down what will become the definitive narration of Conan Doyle's masterpiece.

Update: Audible have created and sent out a brilliant chapter guide to accompany this audition, so it is now much easier to navigate. Thank you audible.

316 of 335 people found this review helpful

Location Location Location....

Love Stephen Frys narration
Loved the books for 50 years
Very good marketing by Audible, I bought it immediately and listened to Mr Frys introductions. He rightly points out that you can start anywhere but this isn't quite the case with the audiobook version. Whilst there is a chapter list on the website and on each download part the chapter numbers restart with each volume so the chapter numbers don't correlate. Also chapter numbers don't assist in finding a particular or favourite story. This is a terrible weakness for any compilation so I'd request audible to give it some thought and come up with a PDF file at leat to assist in. Avocation

265 of 294 people found this review helpful

Dreadful organization of stories

Is there anything you would change about this book?

There is no way to see the order of the books, no chapter headings, no named books...it seems to be a start at the beginning and go all the way through..The book is divided into 9 parts, fair enough...it's a lot to download at one time, but the order is impossible to follow...for example Section 3, Chapter 3 was Silver Blaze Chapter 13 is the adventure of the Naval Treaty Chapter 19 is called Chapter 4 of Hound of the Baskervilles Chapter 7 of Hound of the baskervilles is the first part of section 4....and so it goes on

67 of 74 people found this review helpful

Navigation Navigation Navigation...

What disappointed you about Sherlock Holmes: The Definitive Collection?

This is an amazing work with a great performance from Stephen Fry - HOWEVER... The chapter navigation is impossible to use - try scanning through 71+hours of audio to find the beginning of the short stories....

138 of 157 people found this review helpful

NAVIGARTION, NAVIGATION, NAVIGATION, TERRIBLE

Any additional comments?

Excellent stories, brilliantly read. HOWEVER YOU CANNOT FIND YOUR WAY ROUND OVER 70 HOURS OF RECORDING. AUDIBLE YOU MUST SORT THIS. The whole production is RUINED by poor navigation because it is IMPOSSIBLE to find any particular book or short story unless you search the whole 70 hours of recording.

100 of 114 people found this review helpful

Layout is an issue

Any additional comments?

This would have been an undoubtable 5-star review. Sherlock Holmes read by Stephen Fry - of course - 5 star! However it is very difficult to navigate to individual books let alone stories and practically impossible on Alexa.

96 of 110 people found this review helpful

Over 70 hours of pure brilliance.

Would you consider the audio edition of Sherlock Holmes: The Definitive Collection to be better than the print version?

100%. Stephen Fry brings such love to the writings.

What other book might you compare Sherlock Holmes: The Definitive Collection to, and why?

No other

Which character – as performed by Stephen Fry – was your favourite?

The works. You cannot pick a winner here.

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

Yes.

Any additional comments?

If you are reading this you are already interested in the writings of SACD. Let me tell you now, when you listen to this you will be truly blown away. The story telling genius of Mr Fry excels anything you have heard before and he raises the bar very high, very high indeed.I too like Stephen Fry enjoyed reading the stories as a child, but this performance blew me away! Let me explain. I am a 47 year old who listens to audio books whilst travelling the length and breadth of the UK with my job whilst driving. This reading was paused after the first 5 minutes of the introduction because I wanted to indulge on every word. From the opening gambit the listener is drawn into Victorian London, you can almost taste the vile stench of poverty and feel almost embarrassed about sitting in the opulence of 221b Baker Street watching the unraveling of peoples lives. John Watson takes you through the memoirs of the worlds greatest "consulting" detective with such realism, the performance is immense. I won't write anymore as I do not wish to be branded a reviewer for Amazon. Just take my word for it, if you are a fan, or even a passing visitor to the world of Sherlock Holmes, just buy it.

53 of 61 people found this review helpful

Navigation

The design for navigating many chapters and for bookmarking needs revision, it is difficult to know where Titles as opposed to chapters begin, this becomes significant in large works encompassing multiple books

129 of 153 people found this review helpful

Surely the definitive narration..?

Would you listen to Sherlock Holmes: The Definitive Collection again? Why?

Without a doubt. I've read the books and have another audio version of the oeuvre, but Stephen Fry's narration is superb.

What does Stephen Fry bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

His voice has the right timbre; it's mellifluous and just wonderful to listen to. He's added a new dimension to stories I'm familiar with and can now hear with a different voice to the one that comes through whilst reading.

Any additional comments?

As a child in the 1950's, Doyle was one of my favourite authors. I loved his books which took me into different worlds. I was transfixed by Holmes who could deduce from seemingly little. He taught me the value of quiet observation and deduction. But aside from that, these are belting good stories which stand the test of time. This edition, narrated by Fry is, to my mind, definitive. I'm only part way through, but absolutely engrossed and I'll listen to these stories again. Outstanding value.

51 of 60 people found this review helpful

Great story & narration - poor navigation

What does Stephen Fry bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

Stephens warm familiar voice, enthusiasm and passionate characterisations bring the stories alive

Any additional comments?

This format (a single file over 2Gb) for such a large work is unnavigable and spoils the book, 13 hours into a chapter it takes over 5 minutes for a Sansa clip to pick up from pause. As a previous commentator has mentioned try scanning through a file this size to find a short story.

8 of 9 people found this review helpful