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A Study in Scarlet full cast audiobook

by Arthur Conan Doyle · Sherlock Holmes, Book 1

Released · Updated · 4h 16m · 23 voices

The story (no spoilers)

Dr. John Watson, an army surgeon invalided home from Afghanistan with no friends and little money, agrees to share rooms at 221B Baker Street with a stranger named Sherlock Holmes. His new flatmate is baffling: he can read a man's history from a stain on a trouser leg, yet cannot say whether the earth circles the sun, and he claims to be the world's only consulting detective. Watson doubts him, until a summons arrives from Scotland Yard. In an empty house in Brixton, a well-dressed American lies dead without a wound, and on the wall above him someone has written the word RACHE in blood. Lestrade and Gregson, the Yard's rival inspectors, have no theory that satisfies them. Holmes crouches over the floor with a magnifying glass and begins to follow what he calls the scarlet thread of murder. The trail reaches back to a crime whose roots lie far from London, and Watson is there to record every step.

The cast

16 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.

  • Illustrated portrait of Sherlock Holmes: about 33, raven-black, sleek, combed straight back, mouse-grey frock coat with a deep violet cravat

    Sherlock Holmes

    Male, about thirty-three years old, an Englishman in London in 1881, a middle-class consulting detective and chemist. Educated received pronunciation. A lean, crisp, mid-high tenor with a clear, slightly dry edge. Speaks quickly in precise, explanatory sentences, with sudden bursts of delight and a sardonic turn. Temperament: keen, confident, amused and purposeful, reticent about himself.

  • Illustrated portrait of Dr. Watson: about 30, sandy-brown, short, tousled and wavy, tweed jacket in rust-brown with a navy necktie

    Dr. Watson

    Male, about thirty-one years old, an Englishman in London in 1881, a middle-class army doctor invalided home. Gentle educated English accent. A warm, low baritone, slightly tired from poor health. Speaks plainly at a slow, even, unhurried pace, with friendly candour. Temperament: curious, quiet, honest and good-humoured, a little lonely.

  • Illustrated portrait of Jefferson Hope: long black, unkempt, shoulder-length, buckskin shirt with a crimson neckerchief

    Jefferson Hope

    Male, about thirty-eight years old, an American hunter and prairie guide on the Western frontier in the 1860s, working-class. Western American frontier drawl. A low, gravelly baritone from a tall, weathered frame. Speaks slowly and quietly, in few words with a steady cadence. Temperament: taciturn, patient, resolute and inwardly intense.

  • Illustrated portrait of Gregson: about 42, pale blond, balding crown, thin wisps, bottle-green overcoat over a checked waistcoat

    Gregson

    Male, about forty-six years old, an Englishman in London in 1881, a middle-class Scotland Yard detective. Educated London accent with a plummy, formal polish. A full, rich, chesty baritone from a tall, heavy-handed frame. Speaks at a slow, grand, self-important pace, inflating his phrases. Temperament: pompous, self-satisfied, easily offended and impatient.

  • Illustrated portrait of Lestrade: about 38, dark ginger-brown, thin, oiled flat, brown ulster with a burgundy scarf

    Lestrade

    Male, about thirty-nine years old, an Englishman in London in 1881, a lower-middle-class police detective. London accent with a touch of Cockney. A thin, high, slightly nasal tenor from a lean, wiry frame. Speaks in quick, clipped, grumbling bursts in plain police diction. Temperament: brisk, touchy, self-important and easily put out.

  • Illustrated portrait of John Ferrier: about 56, iron-grey, cropped, receding, mustard-yellow homespun shirt with braces

    John Ferrier

    Male, about fifty years old, an American farmer and former guide among the Mormon settlers of Utah in the 1850s, working-class. Rough rural Kentucky-style frontier accent, with "ye" and dropped endings. A gruff, husky tenor-baritone from a broad, hardy build. Speaks fast and emphatically, with blunt force. Temperament: forthright, protective, stubborn and capable.

  • Illustrated portrait of Lucy Ferrier: about 19, long wavy chestnut, loose over shoulders, sky-blue cotton dress with white collar

    Lucy Ferrier

    Female, about twenty years old, an American farm daughter in Utah in the 1850s, rural working-class. Light Midwestern American accent. A bright, clear, lyrical soprano with a fresh, youthful quality. Speaks at a lively, easy pace, often with a smile in her voice. Temperament: spirited, warm, saucy and affectionate.

  • Illustrated portrait of Stamford: about 26, red-blond, short, tidy, teal-green tweed jacket with grey waistcoat

    Stamford

    Male, about twenty-eight years old, an Englishman in London in 1881, a middle-class hospital dresser. Gentle Home Counties accent. A light, friendly, boyish tenor, softer and less sharp than a detective's. Speaks at an easy, measured conversational pace with ready laughter. Temperament: affable, cautious, fair-minded and a little amused.

  • Illustrated portrait of John Rance: about 45, greying brown, cropped short, dark-navy police tunic with brass buttons

    John Rance

    Male, about forty-two years old, an English police constable in London in 1881, working-class. Broad London accent dropping its aitches and g's. A hoarse, heavy bass-baritone from a stout, burly build. Speaks slowly and stolidly, with an aggrieved, long-winded tone. Temperament: obliging, self-important, easily startled and wary.

  • Illustrated portrait of Brigham Young: about 62, snow-white, long and flowing to the collar, black frock coat with a bronze satin cravat

    Brigham Young

    Male, about fifty-eight years old, an American religious leader in Utah in the 1850s, a prosperous upper-class prophet. New England accent from his Vermont origins. A deep, resonant bass with a heavy, commanding build. Speaks slowly and stately, in formal scriptural phrasing. Temperament: stern, authoritative, composed and intolerant of dissent.

  • Illustrated portrait of Stangerson: about 48, black with grey temples, tall pompadour, charcoal coat with a teal waistcoat

    Stangerson

    Male, about forty-seven years old, an American church elder and wagon-train leader in the 1850s, a middle-class settler. Flat Midwestern American accent. A tight, dry, mid-high tenor with a hard edge from a spare frame. Speaks in clipped, formal phrases at a brisk pace. Temperament: proud, self-assured, rigid and quick to anger.

  • Illustrated portrait of Madame Charpentier: about 52, greying auburn, pinned in a bun, lavender wool dress with a white shawl

    Madame Charpentier

    Female, about fifty years old, an English boarding-house keeper in Camberwell, London, in 1881, lower-middle-class. Respectable London accent. A slightly tremulous mid-range mezzo with a thin, breathy edge. Speaks at a hurried, uneven pace, gulping as she steadies herself, then firm. Temperament: anxious, proper, candid and protective of her family.

  • Illustrated portrait of Drebber: about 30, chestnut-brown, wavy, centre-parted with oiled curls, tan checked suit with a gold waistcoat

    Drebber

    Male, about twenty-eight years old, an American mill owner's son in Utah in the 1850s, wealthy. Nasal Eastern American accent. A smooth, high, nasal tenor with a smug, silky timbre. Speaks at a measured, mannered pace in pious formal phrases. Temperament: vain, smirking, boastful and falsely devout.

  • Illustrated portrait of Mrs. Sawyer: about 72, thin white wisps under bonnet, faded shawl in russet with a patched black dress

    Mrs. Sawyer

    Female, about seventy-two years old, an elderly Cockney widow living in Houndsditch, London, in 1881, poor working-class. Broad Cockney accent. A clear but harsh, cracked, high-pitched voice, wizened with age. Speaks quickly and talkatively, rambling on about her family. Temperament: keen, chatty, eager to help and a little grasping.

  • Illustrated portrait of Cowper: about 40, sandy-red, shaggy and unkempt, olive homespun coat with a faded blue shirt

    Cowper

    Male, about forty-one years old, an American settler in Salt Lake City in the 1860s, working-class. Plain Pennsylvania American accent. A thin, hushed, breathy high tenor with a nervous edge. Speaks quickly in low urgent whispers, glancing about. Temperament: fearful, loyal, anxious and hurried.

  • Illustrated portrait of Alice Charpentier: about 17, golden-blond, braided and pinned up, coral-pink blouse with a white lace collar

    Alice Charpentier

    Female, about seventeen years old, a boarding-house keeper's daughter in Camberwell, London, in 1881, lower-middle-class and honest. She speaks with a clear, respectable London accent. She speaks firmly and steadily, honest and earnest.

Chapters

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

  1. Being a reprint from the Reminiscences of John H
  2. Chapter 1
  3. Chapter 2
  4. Chapter 3
  5. Chapter 4
  6. Chapter 5
  7. Chapter 6
  8. Chapter 7
  9. Chapter 8
  10. Chapter 9
  11. Chapter 10
  12. Chapter 11
  13. Chapter 12
  14. Chapter 13

Series

Book 1 of 10 in Sherlock Holmes. 4 released so far.

About this recording

Narrator
Told in Dr. Watson's own character voice
Runtime
4h 16m (complete and unabridged)
Voices
23
Channel
Driving Audiobooks on YouTube
Released
Updated
Author
Arthur Conan Doyle
First published
1887
Kind
detective novel
Source edition
Project Gutenberg eBook #244
Public domain (US)
A Study in Scarlet (1887) by Arthur Conan Doyle is in the public domain in the United States; text from Project Gutenberg.