An 1874 murder opens the door to Sherlock Holmes's astonishing return.
The episode begins with the 1874 murder of Ronald Adair, then draws Watson into a trail of suppressed facts and the impossible return of Sherlock Holmes.
The Return of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
26 episodes listed below
Listen to the show on
PRESS PLAY
Find your next episode
In their own words
A young gambler is found shot dead in a closed room. Dr. Watson, who still mourns the disappearance of his famous friend is intrigued enough to step out of his house and take a look at the crime scene. A crowd has gathered there, curiously gazing up at the room where the crime is supposed to have taken place. Watson inadvertently jostles against an elderly, deformed man and knocks a stack of books from the fellow's hand. The man curses Watson vilely and disappears into the throng. It suddenly occurs to Watson that one of the books that he had helped the stranger pick up had seemed familiar... Thus begins the first thrilling story, The Adventure of the Empty House, in The Return of Sherlock H…
Why you'd press play
A bloody thumbprint looks conclusive, until Holmes's suppressed laugh makes you doubt your own eyes.
Press play if you want
- to share Watson's shock when a bookish stranger turns out to be Holmes
- to see Lestrade's certainty collide with Holmes's inconvenient instincts
Talks about
Best episodes of The Return of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A wax silhouette helps Holmes stage his return and draw Colonel Sebastian Moran into a trap.
Holmes's return hinges on a neatly staged deception. Watson spots a familiar shape at the window, only to discover that the figure is a wax bust made by M. Oscar Meunier of Grenoble and placed there by Holmes.
A measured Sherlock Holmes case turns a sudden will and a burned crime scene into an arrest at Baker Street.
Sherlock Holmes has found London dull since Moriarty's death, until John Hector MacFarlane bursts into Baker Street with a murder charge closing in around him.
A matching thumbprint seems to hand Lestrade the case, until Holmes spots the trick inside the evidence.
A bloody thumbprint seems to seal John McFarlane's fate, with Lestrade ready to accept the matching wax impression as the last word. The pleasure lies in watching Sherlock Holmes regain command just when the evidence appears to have cornered him: he returns haggard and anxious,…
Dancing-figure ciphers pull Holmes from quiet deduction into a crime he fears is already near.
A chemical experiment, Holmes's sharp reading of Watson's thoughts on South African securities, and Hilton Cubitt's anxious visit open a case built around a cipher of dancing figures.
Podcasts like The Return of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
The Haunted Hotel, A Mystery of Modern Venice by Wilkie Collins.Popular Culture and Religion.Victorian dread, read with grave restraint.
Episodes
- 1
01 – The Adventure of the Empty House, part 1
Hidden gemHolmes explains that he was never in the "abyss" and that Moriarty fell in a struggle at the cliff edge.
Jan 2, 2022·26m·1 clip - 2
02 – The Adventure of the Empty House, part 2
Hidden gemHolmes identifies Colonel Sebastian Moran as the marksman behind the air-gun attack and names the exact mechanism.
Jan 1, 2022·23m·1 clip - 3
03 – The Adventure of the Norwood Builder, part 1
Hidden gemSherlock Holmes and Dr.
Dec 31, 2021·24m·1 clip - 4
04 – The Adventure of the Norwood Builder, part 2
Hidden gemSherlock Holmes and Dr.
Dec 30, 2021·28m·1 clip - 5
05 – The Adventure of the Dancing Men, part 1
Hidden gemSherlock Holmes and Dr.
Dec 29, 2021·28m·2 clips - 6
06 – The Adventure of the Dancing Men, part 2
Dec 28, 2021·32m - 7
07 – The Adventure of the Solitary Cyclist, part 1
Dec 27, 2021·23m - 8
08 – The Adventure of the Solitary Cyclist, part 2
Dec 26, 2021·26m - 9
09 – The Adventure of the Priory School, part 1
Dec 25, 2021·34m - 10
10 – The Adventure of the Priory School, part 2
Dec 24, 2021·31m - 11
11 – The Adventure of Black Peter, part 1
Dec 23, 2021·23m - 12
12 – The Adventure of Black Peter, part 2
Dec 22, 2021·26m - 13
13 – The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton, part 1
Dec 21, 2021·25m - 14
14 – The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton, part 2
Dec 20, 2021·19m - 15
15 – The Adventure of the Six Napoleons, part 1
Dec 19, 2021·18m - 16
16 – The Adventure of the Six Napoleons, part 2
Sherlock Holmes investigates the mysterious destruction of Napoleon busts, linking them to a larger crime.
Dec 18, 2021·29m - 17
17 – The Adventure of the Three Students, part 1
Dec 17, 2021·19m - 18
18 – The Adventure of the Three Students, part 2
Dec 16, 2021·17m - 19
19 – The Adventure of the Golden Pince-Nez, part 1
Dr.
Dec 15, 2021·22m - 20
20 – The Adventure of the Golden Pince-Nez, part 2
Dr.
Dec 14, 2021·33m - 21
21 – The Adventure of the Missing Three-Quarter, part 1
Dec 13, 2021·19m - 22
22 – The Adventure of the Missing Three-Quarter, part 2
Dr.
Dec 12, 2021·23m - 23
23 – The Adventure of the Abbey Grange, part 1
A dramatized reading of a Sherlock Holmes mystery where Holmes and Watson investigate a suspicious death at Abbey Grange.
Dec 11, 2021·29m - 24
24 – The Adventure of the Abbey Grange, part 2
A dramatic reading of Part Two of 'The Adventure of the Abbey Grange' from The Return of Sherlock Holmes, where Holmes investigates a locked-room murder.
Dec 10, 2021·25m - 25
25 – The Adventure of the Second Stain, part 1
A dramatic reading of the first part of The Adventure of the Second Stain, a Sherlock Holmes mystery by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
Dec 9, 2021·32m - 26
26 – The Adventure of the Second Stain, part 2
A reading of Part II of The Adventure of the Second Stain, a Sherlock Holmes mystery by Arthur Conan Doyle.
Dec 8, 2021·35m