A comprehensive collection of the classic Sherlock Holmes stories starring Carleton Hobbs and Norman Shelley - plus bonus documentary.

Legendary actor Carleton Hobbs played the great Baker Street detective for over 17 years between 1952 and 1969, alongside Norman Shelley as Holmes's friend and companion Dr Watson. Their superb incarnations of the crime-fighting duo were exceptionally popular and are now wonderfully nostalgic.

This unique collection contains the existing Sherlock Holmes dramas in chronological order of publication, each a faithful, standalone adaptation of the original tale. Of the 56 short stories in the canon, 51 are included here ('The Adventure of the Yellow Face', 'The Adventure of the Gloria Scott', 'The Adventure of the Veiled Lodger' and 'The Adventure of the Creeping Man' were never made, and 'The Adventure of the Three Students' is missing from the BBC archives). Also featured are dramatisations of the four novels: A Study in Scarlet, The Sign of the Four, The Hound of the Baskervilles and The Valley of Fear. Among the star casts are Grizelda Hervey, Humphrey Morton, Gudrun Ure, Sylvia Coleridge and Rolf Lefebvre.

Concluding our collection is a fascinating 40-minute programme, Chosen Companions: Sherlock Holmes, in which Richard Usborne, one-time assistant editor of The Strand Magazine, selects his favourite extracts from the books (read by Carleton Hobbs) to weave together the story of Sherlock Holmes' development.

NB: Due to the age and nature of some of the recordings, the sound quality may vary.

Credits

Written by Arthur Conan Doyle

Dramatised by Michael Hardwick and Felix Felton

Produced by Norman Wright, Val Gielgud, Martyn C Webster, Graham Gauld, Frederick Bradnum and Robin Midgley

With thanks to Keith Wickham.

First broadcast on BBC Light Programme/BBC Radio 2 12 May 1959 - 10 July 1969

Contents

A Study in Scarlet

The Sign of the Four

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

A Scandal in Bohemia

The Red-Headed League

A Case of Identity

The Boscombe Valley Mystery

The Five Orange Pips

The Man with the Twisted Lip

The Blue Carbuncle

The Speckled Band

The Engineer's Thumb

The Noble Bachelor

The Beryl Coronet

The Copper Beeches

The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes

Silver Blaze

The Cardboard Box

The Stockbroker's Clerk

The Musgrave Ritual

The Reigate Squires

The Crooked Man

The Resident Patient

The Greek Interpreter

The Naval Treaty

The Final Problem

The Hound of the Baskervilles

The Return of Sherlock Holmes

The Empty House

The Norwood Builder

The Dancing Men

The Solitary Cyclist

The Priory School

Black Peter

Charles Augustus Milverton

The Six Napoleons

The Golden Pince-Nez

The Missing Three-Quarter

The Abbey Grange

The Second Stain

His Last Bow

Wisteria Lodge

The Red Circle

The Bruce-Partington Plans

The Dying Detective

The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax

The Devil's Foot

His Last Bow

The Valley of Fear

The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes

The Illustrious Client

The Blanched Soldier

The Mazarin Stone

The Three Gables

The Sussex Vampire

The Three Garridebs

The Problem of Thor Bridge

The Lion's Mane

Shoscombe Old Place

The Retired Colourman

Chosen Companions: Sherlock Holmes

Presented by Richard Usborne

Reader: Carleton Hobbs

Produced by Richard Keen

First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 23 August 1970

Audio files updated as of 13th February 2023