title: Return of Sherlock Holmes I: The Adventure of the Empty House and other stories
author: Arthur Conan, Sir Doyle
description: The lush, romantic notes of an Arthur Foote string quartet welcome listeners to this beautifully produced, thoroughly satisfying rendition of four Holmes stories. English actor David Timson, who has performed six previous Holmes compilations for Naxos, clearly appreciates Conan Doyle's clever writing. Holmes is masterful, but never Basil Rathbonish; Watson is solid, but not stolid; Lestrade is ingratiating, with an accent that reveals his determination to rise socially. Even the minor characters--a stubborn servant, a careful shopkeeper--are placed in context with accents that reveal class and personality. Timson's sensitive pacing and varied intonation make conversations spring to life, intensify dramatic moments, and highlight Conan Doyle's often disregarded humor. The liner, with CD-track detail and story notes written by Timson, is a bonus. A lovely package. A.C.S. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award &copy; AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine-- <i>Copyright &#169; AudioFile, Portland, Maine</i>
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  # The Adventure of the Dying Detective
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ### Arthur Conan Doyle
  
  
  This page copyright © 2002 Munsey's.
  
  
  http://www.munseys.com
  
  Mrs. Hudson, the landlady of Sherlock Holmes, was a long-
  
  
  suffering woman. Not only was her first-floor flat invaded at all
  
  
  hours by throngs of singular and often undesirable characters but her
  
  
  remarkable lodger showed an eccentricity and irregularity in his life
  
  
  which must have sorely tried her patience. His incredible untidiness,
  
  
  his addiction to music at strange hours, his occasional revolver
  
  
  practice within doors, his weird and often malodorous scientific
  
  
  experiments, and the atmosphere of violence and danger which hung
  
  
  around him made him the very worst tenant in London. On the other
  
  
  hand, his payments were princely. I have no doubt that the house might
  
  
  have been purchased at the price which Holmes paid for his rooms
  
  
  during the years that I was with him.
  
  
  The landlady st