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The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes full cast audiobook

by Arthur Conan Doyle · Sherlock Holmes, Book 3

Released 11 October 2026 · Updated 12 October 2026 · 9h 34m · 54 voices

The story (no spoilers)

Sherlock Holmes, the sharpest consulting detective in Victorian London, takes on the strange problems that baffle Scotland Yard, with his friend Dr. Watson at his side to record them. From his rooms in Baker Street, Holmes receives visitors no one else can help: a masked nobleman whose royal secret hangs on a single photograph, a pawnbroker paid handsomely to copy out an encyclopaedia, a young governess offered an oddly generous post with one stranger condition, a bride who vanishes on her wedding morning. Each client arrives with a puzzle that seems impossible, and each leaves with a stranger truth than the one they brought. Holmes reads mud on a boot, ash on a cuff and a flicker in a voice as other men read print, insisting that the world is full of things people see but never observe. Twelve cases, from fog-bound streets to lonely country houses, ask how far reason can reach when the facts refuse to fit.

The cast

40 speaking roles are listed; walk-on parts are not. Each voice was designed, or chosen from our library of designed voices, to fit how the book describes the character, and it stays with them from the first chapter to the last. Portraits are illustrated impressions of each character.

Sherlock Holmes
Male, about thirty-eight years old, an Englishman in Victorian London in the 1880s, a middle-class consulting detective. He has a crisp educated London received pronunciation, a lean, light, dry baritone with a clear edge. He speaks in precise, quick, explanatory bursts, languid then suddenly eager, with a cool, amused, analytical temperament.
Dr. Watson
Male, about thirty-six years old, an Englishman in Victorian London in the 1880s, a respectable middle-class family doctor and former army surgeon. He has a warm, plain educated English accent, a mellow medium-low baritone with a sturdy timbre. He speaks at a steady, unhurried pace in friendly, earnest tones, loyal, practical and good-natured.
Miss Hunter
Female, about twenty-six years old, an Englishwoman in Victorian England in the 1880s, a middle-class governess. She has a clear, refined educated English accent, a light, bright mezzo-soprano with a neat timbre. She speaks at a measured, careful pace, formal and polite, anxious but conscientious and resolute underneath.
Mr. Holder
Male, about fifty-five years old, an Englishman in Victorian London in the 1880s, a wealthy City banker. He has a formal, pompous upper-middle-class received pronunciation, a strained, rather thin tenor-baritone, stout and short of breath. He speaks in formal business phrases that grow hurried and urgent, proud, fretful and impatient.
Hatherley
Male, about twenty-six years old, a young Englishman in Victorian England in the 1880s, a middle-class hydraulic engineer. He has a pleasant educated Home Counties accent, a light, bright tenor with a ringing top note, a little weak and tired. He speaks quickly and articulately, polite, plucky and good-humoured, easily excited.
John Openshaw
Male, about twenty-two years old, an English country gentleman's son from Sussex in the 1880s, a well-off young landowner. He has a soft, refined educated Sussex-tinged English accent, a thin, soft, slightly hesitant light tenor. He speaks slowly and courteously, earnest, formal and visibly uneasy.
Miss Stoner
Female, about thirty years old, an Englishwoman from rural Surrey in the 1880s, a genteel but impoverished stepdaughter of a country house. She has a quiet educated English accent, a low, hushed, slightly husky mezzo, thin and tremulous. She speaks slowly and softly, candid, composed and frightened.
Jabez Wilson
Male, about forty-six years old, an Englishman in Victorian London in the 1880s, a working-class tradesman and shopkeeper, a former ship's carpenter. He has a thick London accent with East End vowels, a heavy, slow, rounded baritone and a stout build. He speaks slowly and plainly, good-natured, a little vain and easily impressed.
Lord St. Simon
Male, about forty-one years old, an English nobleman in Victorian London in the 1880s, an aristocratic peer. He has a languid, clipped upper-class received pronunciation, a light, nasal, slightly high baritone. He speaks stately and rather slowly, with a dry drawl, class-conscious, self-regarding and wounded in his pride.
Lestrade
Male, about forty-two years old, an Englishman in Victorian London in the 1880s, a lower-middle-class Scotland Yard detective. He has a sharp, quick London accent edged with Cockney, a wiry, dry tenor with a nasal bite. He speaks in brisk, clipped bursts, confident, sceptical and patronising, sometimes bitter.
Inspector Bradstreet
Male, about fifty-two years old, a Yorkshireman serving in Victorian London in the 1880s, a working-class-born Scotland Yard inspector. He has a gentle Yorkshire accent, a calm, gravelly, low baritone and a solid build. He speaks at an easy, unhurried pace, plain, polite, helpful and good-humoured.
Mrs. St. Clair
Female, about thirty-six years old, an Englishwoman living in a Kent suburb in the 1880s, a comfortable middle-class housewife. She has a plain educated English accent, a warm, round, full alto. She speaks briskly and firmly, hospitable, composed, direct and determined not to be fobbed off.
Mary Sutherland
Female, about twenty-nine years old, a Londoner in the 1880s, a lower-middle-class typist working from home, a large, broad woman. She has a plain south London accent with soft Cockney vowels, a mellow, full, slightly nasal mezzo. She speaks in a chatty, rambling rush, nervous, credulous and good-humoured.
James Ryder
Male, about thirty-seven years old, a Londoner in the 1880s, a lower-class hotel attendant, slight and rat-faced. He has a thin London accent with Cockney vowels, a high, thin, cracked tenor that quavers. He speaks in a whining, hurried, uneven way, cringing, evasive and anxious.
Colonel Lysander Stark
Male, about fifty-two years old, a German-born gentleman living in rural England in the 1880s, a wealthy, secretive man styled Colonel. He has a precise German accent, a dry, cool, mid-range baritone, gaunt and thin. He speaks slowly and quietly with clipped formality, watchful, abrupt and insistent on discretion.
Breckinridge
Male, about forty years old, a Londoner in the 1880s, a working-class Covent Garden salesman with a sharp face. He has a coarse, loud Cockney accent, a harsh, nasal, high-mid baritone, hoarse from shouting wares. He speaks in blunt, quick, rough phrases, brusque, irritable and boastful.
Mary Holder
Female, about twenty-two years old, an Englishwoman in Victorian London in the 1880s, a well-bred banker's daughter. She has a clear, educated upper-middle-class English accent, a bright, young-sounding soprano. She speaks quickly and earnestly with emphatic repetition, loyal, emotional and pleading.
John Turner
Male, about seventy-two years old, an old English landowner in rural Herefordshire in the 1880s, a well-off farmer who once lived in Australia. He has a soft Herefordshire accent worn by years abroad, a weak, hoarse, gravelly baritone, frail and short of breath. He speaks slowly and solemnly, weary, resigned and candid.
Neville St. Clair
Male, about thirty-five years old, an Englishman living in Kent in the 1880s, a respectable middle-class businessman and family man. He has an educated, middle-class English accent, a rich, mid-pitched, tense baritone. He speaks with passionate, rising urgency, proud, ashamed and defiant.
Mr. Rucastle
Male, about fifty-two years old, an English country gentleman in rural Hampshire in the 1880s, a comfortable, well-off, stout landowner. He has a plummy upper-middle-class Hampshire English accent, a deep, smooth, jovial baritone. He speaks in a slow, caressing, soothing manner, genial on the surface and keenly watchful.
Miss Turner
Female, about twenty-one years old, an Englishwoman from rural Herefordshire in the 1880s, a well-off landowner's daughter. She has a soft Herefordshire-tinged educated accent, a warm, lowish, vigorous mezzo. She speaks quickly and with spirit, loyal, intuitive and defiant.
Duncan Ross
Male, about forty-five years old, a Scotsman in Victorian London in the 1880s, a middle-class office official. He has a Lowland Scots accent, a dry, mid-low baritone with a rasp. He speaks slowly, gravely and formally, courteous, officious and solemn.
Arthur
Male, about twenty-two years old, an Englishman in Victorian London in the 1880s, a well-off banker's son and club member. He has an educated London upper-middle-class accent, a light, slightly sulky tenor. He speaks at a clipped, offhand pace, proud, stubborn and touchy about his honour.
Mr. Merryweather
Male, about fifty-eight years old, an Englishman in Victorian London in the 1880s, a wealthy bank director. He has a fussy, precise upper-middle-class received pronunciation, a thin, high, slightly reedy baritone. He speaks formally in a rather prim, fretful way, sceptical and fussy.
James Windibank
Male, about thirty-two years old, an Englishman in Victorian London in the 1880s, a middle-class wine-merchant's travelling clerk. He has a smooth, genteel London accent, a light, crisp, bright tenor. He speaks smoothly and dismissively at a clipped, even pace, cool, brazen and self-possessed.
Vincent Spaulding
Male, about thirty years old, a Londoner in the 1880s, a lower-middle-class shop assistant. He has an eager suburban London accent, a bright, quick, friendly tenor. He speaks fast and chattily, obliging, persuasive and cheerful.
Peter Jones
Male, about forty-six years old, a Londoner in the 1880s, a working-class-born official police agent of heavy build. He has a broad, gruff East London accent, a low, warm, rough baritone. He speaks at a hearty, slow, easy pace, brisk, practical and jocular.
Dr. Grimesby Roylott
Male, about sixty years old, an English gentleman of Surrey in the 1880s, a former doctor from India and landed squire of a decaying estate. He has a gruff upper-class Surrey accent, a very deep, rough, gravelly bass, huge and heavy. He speaks in a low, hard, curt manner, domineering and furious.
Hatty Doran
Female, about twenty-four years old, an American heiress from the Western mining country in London in the 1880s, a wealthy miner's daughter. She has a frank Western General American accent, a bright, slightly husky alto. She speaks quickly and casually with colloquial phrasing, apologetic, frank and breezy.
Mrs. Toller
Female, about fifty-two years old, an Englishwoman in rural Hampshire in the 1880s, a working-class household servant. She has a broad Hampshire rustic accent, a low, rough, warm contralto, stout and worn. She speaks plainly and rather slowly, willing, loyal and straightforward.
Mr. Baker
Male, about fifty-six years old, an Englishman in Victorian London in the 1880s, a gentleman fallen on hard times, once well-to-do. He has a polite, educated London accent, a dry, tired, mid-low baritone. He speaks slowly and formally, dignified, philosophical and resigned.
Irene Adler
Female, about thirty years old, an American-born opera singer living in London in the 1880s, a cultured independent woman of the stage. She has a polished transatlantic stage accent, a rich, low, velvety contralto. She speaks slowly and composed, with a smile in the voice, clever, teasing and self-assured.
John Clay
Male, about twenty-eight years old, an Englishman in Victorian London in the 1880s, a well-educated gentleman of high social polish. He has a silky upper-class received pronunciation, a light, cool, smooth tenor. He speaks with a haughty, ironic ease, often in a half whisper, daring and composed.
Maggie
Female, about twenty-five years old, a Londoner in the 1880s, a working-class goose keeper's daughter. She has a sharp south London Cockney accent, a high, bright, brisk soprano. She speaks briskly in short plain phrases, practical and a little huffy.
Dr. Watson's wife
Female, about twenty-eight years old, an Englishwoman in Victorian London in the 1880s, a gentle middle-class doctor's wife. She has a soft educated received pronunciation, a gentle, light, sweet mezzo. She speaks at a calm, moderate pace in warm tones, kind, hospitable and solicitous.
Isa Whitney
Male, about thirty-four years old, an Englishman in Victorian London in the 1880s, a middle-class former clergyman's son, now worn and pale. He has an educated English accent, a cracked, hoarse, drained baritone. He speaks slowly, dazed and muddled, with a contrite, weary, unsteady manner.
Peterson
Male, about forty-five years old, a Londoner in the 1880s, a working-class commissionaire and former soldier. He has a plain London working-class accent, a gruff, higher-pitched, breathless baritone. He speaks in quick, gasping bursts, excitable and astonished.
Kate Whitney
Female, about thirty years old, an Englishwoman in Victorian London in the 1880s, a middle-class wife. She has an educated London English accent, a breathy, light, thin mezzo. She speaks quickly and apologetically, anxious, urgent and polite.
Julia Stoner
Female, about thirty years old, an Englishwoman from rural Surrey in the 1880s, a genteel young gentlewoman living at a country house. She has a gentle educated English accent, a light, high, bright soprano. She speaks quietly but quickly, sweet and gentle, a light sleeper.
Elise
Female, about twenty-seven years old, a German woman living in rural England in the 1880s, a household member of modest means. She has a clear German accent speaking careful English, a mid-high, taut soprano. She speaks breathlessly and urgently with unusual phrasing, anxious and compassionate.

Chapters

12 chapter markers; each link opens the video on YouTube at that point.

Series

Book 3 of 10 in Sherlock Holmes. 4 released so far.

Previous: The Sign of the Four (Book 2)
Next: The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes (Book 4)

About this recording

Narrator: Told in Dr. Watson's own character voice
Runtime: 9h 34m (complete and unabridged)
Voices: 54
Channel: Driving Audiobooks on YouTube
Released: 11 October 2026
Updated: 12 October 2026
Author: Arthur Conan Doyle
First published: 1892
Kind: detective collection
Source edition: Project Gutenberg eBook #1661
Public domain (US): The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1892) by Arthur Conan Doyle is in the public domain in the United States; text from Project Gutenberg.