Buy on CD:

Download in MP3 format:

File size: 136.2 MB
Catalogue no: NA640712D
Price: £17.50

• IMPORTANT
  Clicking the ‘Buy Download’ button above signifies you have read, understand, and agree to the
  Terms and Conditions of purchasing Naxos AudioBooks digital downloads.

See also the Download Shop Frequently Asked Questions and How It Works.

Review by Roger Johnson, The Newsletter of the Sherlock Holmes Society of London

Naxos AudioBooks have released the antepenultimate set in David Timson’s recording of the complete Canon: His Last Bow – or as Naxos entitles it Reminiscences of Sherlock Holmes (His Last Bow): The Adventure of Wisteria Lodge and other stories.‘The Cardboard Box’ was correctly reinstated in The Memoirs, so the current volume contains just seven stories. What stories they are, though, and what an opportunity for a first-class reader! Mr Timson makes the most of it; his intonation and timing are impeccable. His handling of the humour in ‘Wisteria Lodge’ is as precise as that of the tragedy of ‘The Devil’s Foot’ and of the sheer excitement of ‘The Bruce-Partington Plans’. That last is a favourite of mine, featuring as it does fog, espionage, the London Underground, Brother Mycroft, Inspector Lestrade, and Holmes and Watson on their best form. It lacks only Mrs Hudson. So when I encounter a particularly fine treatment of the story, I rejoice. My one quibble with this set is that, in ‘His Last Bow’, Von Herling and Von Bork speak to each other in German-accented English, a cliché that has, perhaps, had its day. But that’s a minor point. Nicolas Soames’s production is immaculate, David Timson provides full and pertinent notes, and the reading is enhanced by incidental music by Mendelssohn. I have no hesitation in recommending this grand six-CD set. And we still have The Valley of Fear and The Casebook to look forward to!

▲ Back to top