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The Sign of the Four full cast audiobook

by Arthur Conan Doyle · Sherlock Holmes, Book 2

Released · Updated · 4h 07m · 18 voices

The story (no spoilers)

Dr. Watson, an army surgeon invalided home from Afghanistan, shares rooms in Baker Street with Sherlock Holmes, the brilliant consulting detective who craves a problem worth his mind. One arrives in the person of Miss Mary Morstan, a young governess in 1880s London. Her father, an army officer, vanished without trace years ago. Since then she has received a single large, lustrous pearl through the post every year, from a sender she cannot name. Now a new letter summons her to meet an unknown benefactor outside a London theatre on a foggy evening, and it promises that she is a wronged woman who will be given justice. She is told to bring two friends, and she chooses Holmes and Watson. What waits at the end of that carriage ride leads them into a tangle of old debts, hidden treasure and a pursuit through the shadowed streets and along the river. Watson, meanwhile, finds that the case holds more than one kind of danger for him.

The cast

13 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, slicked-back black hair, receding at temples, a mouse-grey frock coat with a deep-blue silk cravat

    Sherlock Holmes

    Male, about thirty-four years old, an Englishman in London in 1888, a middle-class independent consulting detective. He speaks with clipped educated received pronunciation. His voice is a lean, light baritone, crisp and slightly nasal, from a wiry, sinewy man. He speaks in precise, quick, didactic phrases, drifting dreamy and slow when idle. Cool, nonchalant, analytical and confident, with a small vanity and sudden eagerness.

  • Illustrated portrait of Watson: about 35, short sandy-brown hair, neatly parted, a tweed jacket in russet brown with a high white collar and olive-green tie

    Watson

    Male, about thirty-six years old, an Englishman in London in 1888, a middle-class army doctor in private practice. He speaks with a mild, educated received pronunciation. His voice is a warm, mellow, medium-low baritone, steady and rounded, from a sturdy man with a stiff leg. He speaks at a measured, unhurried pace, sometimes dropping to a whisper. Loyal, observant, diffident and kindly, with occasional irritation.

  • Illustrated portrait of Jonathan Small: about 50, wild grey-streaked black hair, unkempt, a rough orange-brown canvas sailor's jacket with a red neckerchief

    Jonathan Small

    Male, about fifty-six years old, a Worcestershire-born former soldier and labourer who lived abroad, in England in 1888, a working-class rough working man with a wooden leg. He speaks with a broad West Country burr. His voice is a thick, foggy, gravelly baritone, weathered by years outdoors. He speaks in short gruff phrases, then in a rushing whirl when stirred. Stoic, defiant and proud, breaking into passion.

  • Illustrated portrait of Athelney Jones: about 50, thinning ginger hair combed over a balding crown, a bottle-green overcoat with a thick brown scarf

    Athelney Jones

    Male, about forty-eight years old, an Englishman in London in 1888, a middle-class police inspector of heavy build. He speaks with a plain Midlands English accent. His voice is a husky, mid-pitched baritone, broad and a little muffled, from a bulky man with heavy shoulders. He speaks briskly and loudly in blustery bursts, sometimes dropping to a confidential murmur. Self-assured, sneering at theories, sociable and pleased with himself.

  • Illustrated portrait of Thaddeus Sholto: about 45, sparse fine pale-blond hair, balding on top with a fringe at the sides, a plum-purple velvet smoking jacket with a saffron-yellow silk scarf

    Thaddeus Sholto

    Male, about forty-two years old, an English-born gentleman of South London in 1888, a wealthy, fussy collector of art living in comfort. He speaks with a refined, mannered received pronunciation. His voice is a high, thin, piping tenor, slightly reedy, from a frail and anxious man. He talks quickly and incessantly, rising in pitch when agitated. Nervous, hypochondriac, courtly, excitable and easily alarmed.

  • Illustrated portrait of Miss Morstan: about 26, light brown hair pinned up neatly, a dove-grey dress with a white collar and a teal ribbon

    Miss Morstan

    Female, about twenty-six years old, an Englishwoman in London in 1888, a respectable middle-class governess. She speaks with soft, clear, educated received pronunciation. Her voice is a gentle, clear mezzo-soprano, light and pleasant, with a slightly pale, delicate quality. She speaks calmly and evenly at a moderate pace, lowering to a whisper at times. Composed, resolute, kindly and self-controlled.

  • Illustrated portrait of Mrs. Smith: about 40, faded brown hair scraped back under a cap, a faded blue-checked apron over a brown dress

    Mrs. Smith

    Female, about thirty-five years old, a Londoner living by the Thames in 1888, a working-class boat-owner's wife and mother. She speaks with a broad Cockney accent, dropping aitches and endings. Her voice is a bright, rather sharp, high-mid soprano, a little worn from calling across the yard. She speaks quickly and chattily, in short bursts. Protective, worried, talkative and wary.

  • Illustrated portrait of Mr. Sherman: about 68, thin white hair, long and straggly over the ears, a tan corduroy jacket with a mustard-yellow neckcloth

    Mr. Sherman

    Male, about seventy-two years old, a Londoner in Lambeth in 1888, a working-class animal keeper and bird-stuffer. He speaks with a rough Cockney accent, dropping aitches. His voice is a reedy, cracked, wheezy tenor from a lanky, lean, stooping old man. He speaks in loud, abrupt, gruff bursts, softening and slowing for friends. Crusty, blunt and fond of animals.

  • Illustrated portrait of McMurdo: about 42, cropped iron-grey hair, thinning at the crown, a navy porter's coat with brass buttons and a crimson waistcoat

    McMurdo

    Male, about thirty-eight years old, a Londoner in 1888, a working-class former prize-fighter now serving as a porter. He speaks with a London working-class accent, saying ain't and o'. His voice is a deep, gravelly bass with a thick-necked, heavy build. He speaks slowly and bluntly, in flat, even phrases. Dutiful, strict about orders and plain-spoken.

  • Illustrated portrait of Mrs. Bernstone: about 70, thin white hair under a cap, a lavender shawl over a black dress

    Mrs. Bernstone

    Female, about seventy years old, an Englishwoman in South London in 1888, a working-class elderly housekeeper. She speaks with a soft Hampshire country accent. Her voice is a thin, quavering, breathy soprano from a frail old woman. She speaks in tumbling, repetitive rushes, with a catch in her voice. Fearful, effusive, dependent and easily flustered.

  • Illustrated portrait of Mrs. Hudson: about 52, greying auburn hair in a bun, a burgundy dress with a white fichu collar

    Mrs. Hudson

    Female, about fifty-two years old, an Englishwoman in London in 1888, a respectable lower-middle-class landlady. She speaks with a soft, polite London accent of the better sort. Her voice is a low, warm, slightly husky alto, settled and motherly. She speaks slowly and deferentially, often dropping into an impressive whisper and saying sir. Concerned, discreet and kindly.

  • Illustrated portrait of Wiggins: about 13, tousled straw-blond hair, a patched green waistcoat over a collarless shirt

    Wiggins

    A twelve-year-old English boy, a street runner in the 1880s, with a broad Cockney accent. His voice is mid-high and still unbroken, slight, with quick, sharp energy. He is cheeky, streetwise.

  • Illustrated portrait of Cecil Forrester: about 45, auburn hair streaked with grey, in an elegant upswept style, an emerald-green evening gown with a lace collar

    Cecil Forrester

    Female, about forty years old, an Englishwoman in London in 1888, a wealthy upper-middle-class lady of a household. She speaks with a light, polished upper-class received pronunciation. Her voice is a bright, clear, high-mid soprano, animated and ringing. She speaks quickly and lightly, with lively lilts. Romantic-minded, teasing, enthusiastic and warm.

Chapters

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

  1. Chapter 1: The Science of Deduction
  2. Chapter 2: The Statement of the Case
  3. Chapter 3: In Quest of a Solution
  4. Chapter 4: The Story of the Bald-Headed Man
  5. Chapter 5: The Tragedy of Pondicherry Lodge
  6. Chapter 6: Sherlock Holmes Gives a Demonstration
  7. Chapter 7: The Episode of the Barrel
  8. Chapter 8: The Baker Street Irregulars
  9. Chapter 9: A Break in the Chain
  10. Chapter 10: The End of the Islander
  11. Chapter 11: The Great Agra Treasure
  12. Chapter 12: The Strange Story of Jonathan Small

Series

Book 2 of 10 in Sherlock Holmes. 4 released so far.

About this recording

Narrator
Told in Watson's own character voice
Runtime
4h 07m (complete and unabridged)
Voices
18
Channel
Driving Audiobooks on YouTube
Released
Updated
Author
Arthur Conan Doyle
First published
1890
Kind
detective novel
Source edition
Project Gutenberg eBook #2097
Public domain (US)
The Sign of the Four (1890) by Arthur Conan Doyle is in the public domain in the United States; text from Project Gutenberg.