Sherlock Holmes: The Definitive Collection

By: Stephen Fry - introductions, Arthur Conan Doyle

Narrated by: Stephen Fry

Length: 71 hrs and 57 mins

Publisher's Summary

Now updated to include Chapter Name Information, so you can easily find your favourite story or novel

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

©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)

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.

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!

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.

A gem to take in doses

Just shy of 72 hours, this is not a “book” (it is a collection of books) to listen to continuously. Sherlock Holmes stories can become a bit boilerplate, so it is good to listen to some, and then it it aside for a while, though many times when you think you figured it out, you missed something. But every one is delightful in itself, and I recommend that you definitely add this to your library, and then listen to a few stories at a time, especially when you need a break from whatever might be getting you down. You couldn’t get a better deal (and I think I got it on some sale), penny per amount of pleasurable listening. Stephen Fry is magical. In the introduction he tells us that he is a big fan, and you can hear the enchantment in his superlative rendition. (Even his American accent is not bad!) I felt truly privileged to listen to him read to me.
I would not be responsible, though, if I did not express my usual dismay at the bits of racism and anti-Semitic tropes found here and there in these stories. It is no surprise - it is pretty standard for literature of the time, but I squirmed when a particular thug, who happened to be black (why am I told this at all? Why the dialect?) was described as a savage, or his hair as wooly. We read of a “Jew peddler” and other such tropes, and, in the very last story, The Case of Shoscombe Old Place, we repeatedly hear about “the Jews”, when the intent is creditors. In fact, Sir Robert - a bad guy in deep debt - says that his “chief creditor” is Sam Brewer, which doesn’t sound like a Jewish name at all. But even if he is Jewish, Sir Robert is not “in the hands of the Jews”. He owes a lot of money to Sam Brewer. Like much other literature that is otherwise worthy, my own approach is that we should call it out, we should express our discomfort and hopes that it is history and that readers today recognize these attitudes for the bigotry that they were, but we can still enjoy the books. In the case of this collection, these are definitely minor warts (unlike, for example, Shylock or Fagin). There are essays and articles that address Arthur Conan Doyle’s attitudes to people who were not white and to Jews - they are worth looking at to put a historical context on this problem.

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.

For a sherlock holmes fan , just the best

Stefen Fry is a great interpreter for audio books and this collection contains all of the original stories,

just loved it

Holmes & Fry can't go wrong

although the Holmes stories are not all world class 90 % are and Fry is always 100 %

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!

A narrator to fit the story.

The immortality of the stories about the adventures of Sherlock Holmes and John Watson speaks for themselves.
What makes this collection special is the narration of Stephen Fry. He makes the characters come to life and gives them personality with his splendid performance. A truly extraordinaire storyteller.
His forewords too are filled with passion for the Sherlock-saga, personal anecdotes and information about the author, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
I can only recommend this!

Absolutely Enthralling

Have you ever binge watched your favorite series and when you finally get to the last episode, you feel a bit lost and sad that you have finished the series. That's how I felt after listening to the epic stories that make up this amazing audio book. I loved every story, so brilliantly told by Stephen Fry who is an absolute genius in his narrating. Rather than become old and dated, Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes is as clever and entertaining as he was when he first appeared on paper. I cannot state how much I enjoyed listening to these stories in the car, on my walks, while running, while cooking.. just whenever I could get away with having earphones attached to my head. This is the most worthwhile audio book I have ever bought!

Annoyance about chapters

It was annoying that the chapters did not have titles so that you could not remember which chapter and story you had heard and so did not know where to pick up from later. I had to keep starting each chapter one after another to find out if I had already heard it. Even then if I had stopped listening part way through a chapter just listening to the beginning of a chapter would mislead me into thinking that I had heard the whole of the chapter.

This was made worse since the audible voice gave chapter numbers which did not correlate with the numbers listed on the chapter page. If you have any ideas about how to overcome this I would be happy to hear of them.

This interrupted any enjoyment of Stephen Fry’s ability to use his voice convincingly to represent each of the many characters in the book. He was so good that if you did not know it was him you may not have known it was him.

Lilliana

Audible has been a chaotic mess.

Audible is a chaotic mess. Thank goodness I found out on my free trial and cancelled before paying anything. The Sherlock Holmes collection has been impossible to get all six parts. I won't go in to details but you would have thought that after several weeks of exchanging emails with "Customer Service" things would be sorted. No. Not at all. It is now far worse than when I complained. It's appalling.

Irritating beyond belief

I love this collection of stories. But the badly curated and non titled chapters makes it so irritating to listen to. Sort it out Audible...

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.

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

Excellent

I’m bereft now it’s finished. Can’t recommend it highly enough. Stephen Fry is a marvel!

spectacular performance by Stephen fry

I am unable to express satisfactorily, how spectacular Stephen fFry's performance is in this collection. It is without doubt, the best read audible book I've ever listened to. It is therefore with such disappointment that this should be so marred by such a terrible implementation of such a wonderful reading. The collection, some 70 hours, is downloaded in 6 parts. These have seemingly no identifying chronology. The first part plays and finishes mid sentence and the whole thing grinds to a halt, with no automated continuation to the next section. As these are unmarked, there's no way of knowing which 13 hr section comes next or where the rest of the tale may be. I'm sure Mr Fry, after putting in such a bravura performance would be very upset to hear what a colossal pig's ear audible have made of carving up his work. Very poor!!

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

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.

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....