Showing results by narrator "David McCran" in All Categories

The view from John Dowson s living room window is a miniature masterpiece. It reveals Venice in decay; crumbling, soft pink brick, and the ever-changing jade waters of a minor canal. But one morning the composition is marred by an old jacket draped carelessly over the iron railings of the balcony. This almost insignificant alteration to the perfect, arranged order of Dowson s life is just the first of many changes which become more profound as the days pass.

Jabez Wilson, a pawnbroker, consults Holmes about a job, gained only because of his red hair, which took him away from his shop for long periods each day; the job for to simply copy the Encyclopædia Britannica. After eight weeks, he was suddenly informed that the job ended. After some investigation at Wilson's shop, Holmes contacts a police inspector and the manager of a nearby bank. With Watson, they hide in the bank vault and catch two thieves who had dug a tunnel from the shop while Wilson was at the decoy copying job.

"The Greek Interpreter", one of the 56 Sherlock Holmes short stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, is one of 12 stories in the cycle collected as The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes. The story was originally serialised in Strand Magazine in 1893. This story introduces Holmes's elder brother Mycroft. Doyle ranked "The Greek Interpreter" seventeenth in a list of his nineteen favourite Sherlock Holmes stories.

"The Final Problem" is a short story by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle featuring his detective character Sherlock Holmes. It was first published in Strand Magazine under the title "The Adventure of the Final Problem" in December 1893. It appears in book form as part of the collection The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes. This story, set in 1891, introduced Holmes's archenemy, the criminal mastermind Professor James Moriarty. Conan Doyle later ranked "The Final Problem" fourth on his personal list of the twelve best Holmes stories.

"The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" is a collection of twelve short stories by Arthur Conan Doyle, featuring his fictional detective Sherlock Holmes. It was first published on 14 October 1892; the individual stories had been serialised in The Strand Magazine between July 1891 and June 1892. The stories are not in chronological order, and the only characters common to all twelve are Holmes and Dr. Watson.

Once upon a time there lived a woodcutter and his wife; they had seven children, all boys. The eldest was but ten years old, and the youngest only seven. People were astonished that the woodcutter had had so many children in such a short time, but his wife was very fond of children, and never had less than two at a time.

There was once a man who had fine houses, both in town and country, a deal of silver and gold plate, embroidered furniture, and coaches gilded all over with gold. But this man was so unlucky as to have a Blue Beard, which made him so frightfully ugly that all the women and girls ran away from him.

A woodcutter complained of his poor lot. Jupiter (or alternatively, a tree spirit or fairy) granted him three wishes. The woodcutter went home, and his wife persuaded him to put off the wishing until the next day, after he had thought, but while sitting by the fire, he wished for sausages. His wife taxed him for his folly, and angry, he wished for the sausages to attach to her nose. Finally, they agreed to use the last wish to take the sausages off her nose, leaving them no better off than before (apart from having gained the sausages).

"Little Red Riding Hood" is a fairy tale by Charles Perrault about a young girl and a Big Bad Wolf. Its origins can be traced back to several pre-17th-century European folk tales. It was later retold in the 19th-century by the Brothers Grimm. The story has varied considerably in different versions over the centuries, translations, and as the subject of numerous modern adaptations. Other names for the story are "Little Red Cap" or simply "Red Riding Hood". The story centers around a girl named Little Red Riding Hood, named after her red hooded cape that she wears.

In the version by Charles Perrault, a fairy grants an ugly prince named Riquet (Ricky) the gift of intelligence and the ability to confer wit upon the one he loves the most. At birth, Prince Riquet has a small patch of hair on his head, leading to his nickname "of the tuft".

An extremely fortunate and wealthy king lives with his beautiful wife and daughter. The source of the king's riches is his prized, marvelous donkey whose droppings are gold. The king's wife is struck by an illness and dies, but not before making her husband promise not to remarry except to a woman whose beauty and attributes equal hers. The king grieves for a lengthy period, but is finally persuaded to seek another wife. It becomes clear that the only woman who fits the promise is his daughter.

The Sleeping Beauty in the Woods is a fairy tale about a princess cursed by an evil fairy to sleep for a hundred years before being awakened by a handsome prince. A good fairy, knowing the princess would be frightened if alone when she wakes, uses her wand to put every living person and animal in the palace and forest asleep, to awaken when the princess does.

There was, once upon a time, a widow, who had two daughters. The eldest was so much like her in the face and humour, that whoever looked upon the daughter saw the mother. They were both so disagreeable, and so proud, that there was no living with them. The youngest, who was the very picture of her father, for courtesy and sweetness of temper, was withal one of the most beautiful girls ever seen. As people naturally love their own likeness, this mother even doated on her eldest daughter, and at the same time had a horrible aversion for the youngest.

A widower marries a haughty woman with two daughters of her own. The woman and the two daughters hate the man's gentle and beautiful daughter, who they call Cinderella, and treat her cruelly. Cinderella is always assigned to do the chores around the house and forced to sleep in the attic.

Once upon a time there was a miller who left no more riches to the three sons he had than his mill, his ass, and his cat. The division was soon made. Neither the lawyer nor the attorney was sent for. They would soon have eaten up all the poor property. The eldest had the mill, the second the ass, and the youngest nothing but the cat.

Sherlock Holmes is handed a blackmail case shortly before Christmas. Usurer Jacob Marley must pay 10,000 pounds if he wishes to avoid any damages. Holmes and Watson get to work on the investigation.

Baron Collingwood's eldest son and heir to the title dies from a mysterious illness. Shortly thereafter, his brother, the second in line, also falls ill. His condition takes a dramatic turn for the worse, leaving doctors and police stumped. The Baron thus turns to Holmes and Watson for help.

The elderly owner of a Scottish whisky distillery receives an anonymous death threat by mail. Holmes and Watson travel to the Highlands to get to the bottom of it and put an end to this dangerous game.

A treacherous murder rattles the Japanese embassy in London. The in-house secret service agent turns to Sherlock Holmes for help in quickly solving the case before it provokes a diplomatic crisis.

Shortly after the death of renowned socialist theorist Karl Marx, the trustee of his estate, Friedrich Engels, approaches Sherlock Holmes for help. As the mourners arrive in London for Marx's funeral, a mystery unfolds that culminates in a showdown at Highgate Cemetery.