Fully dramatised adaptations of all 60 Sherlock Holmes stories, brought to life with a full cast of actors, sound effects and music

Arthur Conan Doyle's legendary detective Sherlock Holmes and his dear friend Dr Watson are among the most enduringly popular fictional characters ever created. Their adventures have been dramatised countless times on radio, TV and film, but until BBC Radio 4 took on the challenge in 1989, no one had ever attempted to adapt all sixty stories.

Beginning with A Study in Scarlet and concluding with The Hound of the Baskervilles, their epic project took over 8 years to complete - and this landmark collection contains the extraordinary result of their labours. Here is the world's first ever fully dramatised Sherlock Holmes canon: 56 short stories and 4 novels, all made by the same team of directors, producers, dramatists and leading actors, and packed with the high production qualities of a film or TV drama that set it apart.

Starring one of radio's great double acts, Clive Merrison and Michael Williams, as Holmes and Watson, and with guest stars including Brian Blessed, Judi Dench, Maurice Denham, Andrew Sachs, Peter Davison, Robert Glenister and Harriet Walter, this definitive collection contains over 48 hours of enthralling listening.

Also included is a bonus interview with Adrian Conan Doyle about his father, Sir Arthur, and some fascinating behind-the-scenes revelations from the series' head writer, Bert Coules, about the making of the radio adaptations.

Cast

Sherlock Holmes - Clive Merrison

Dr John Watson - Michael Williams

Mrs Hudson - Anna Cropper/Mary Allen/Joan Matheson/Judi Dench

Inspector Gregson - John Moffatt

Inspector Lestrade - Donald Gee/Stephen Thorne

Mary Morstan/Mary Watson - Moir Leslie/Elizabeth Mansfield/Hannah Gordon

Irene Adler - Sarah Badel

Inspector Jones - Nigel Carrington

Colonel Moran - Fraser Kerr/Frederick Treves

Mycroft Holmes - John Hartley

Professor Moriarty - Michael Pennington

Production credits

Written by Arthur Conan Doyle

Dramatised by Bert Coules with David Ashton, Michael Bakewell, Roger Danes, Robert Forrest, Denys Hawthorne, Gerry Jones, Peter Ling, Vincent McInerney and Peter Mackie

Produced and directed by Ian Cotterell, David Johnston, Patrick Rayner and Enyd Williams

Musicians: Alexander Balanescu, Leonard Friedman, Richard Friedman, Michael Haslam, Ian Humphries and Abigail Young

Contents

A Study in Scarlet, The Sign of the Four, The Hound of the Baskervilles, The Valley of Fear, 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 Yellow Face, The Stockbroker's Clerk,The Gloria Scott, The Musgrave Ritual, The Reigate Squires, The Crooked Man, The Resident Patient, The Greek Interpreter, The Naval Treaty, The Final Problem, 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 Three Students, The Golden Pince-Nez, The Missing Three-Quarter, The Abbey Grange, The Second Stain, His Last Bow,Wisteria Lodge, The Cardboard Box, The Red Circle, The Bruce-Partington Plans, The Dying Detective, The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax,The Devil's Foot, His Last Bow, 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 Creeping Man, The Lion's Mane, The Veiled Lodger, Shoscombe Old Place, The Retired Colourman

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 between November 1989 and March 1995