Stephen Fry records Sherlock Holmes audio books

Stephen Fry has recorded the complete collection of Sherlock Holmes mysteries. Picture: Getty Images

All four novels and 56 short stories created by the Edinburgh-born author have been turned into new audio books.

And the actor and comedian has also created his own introductions for each book in the new series.

Born in 1859, Conan Doyle studied medicine at Edinburgh University and was said to have partly based his famous character on one of his tutors, Dr Joseph Bell.

Holmes was introduced to the world in 1887 when he appeared in Beeton’s Christmas Annual in the story A Study in Scarlet.

Fry, who played the brother of Sherlock Holmes in the Guy Ritchie film A Game of Shadows, recorded the entire collection of Conan Doyle’s original stories over 23 different sessions for the firm Audible.

Fry, who has previously recorded audio books for the Harry Potter series, said: “I think it was reading the Sherlock Holmes stories as a boy that first turned me on to the power of writing and storytelling.

“I felt myself inside the world of Baker Street, sitting alongside Holmes and Watson in their snug quarters, listening to a new case being told them by a new client. Now to be able to read those stories again, but this time out loud, is giving me more pleasure than ought to be allowed. A job of work really shouldn’t be so delightful.

“Popular fiction offers different kinds of superhero to save the world by restoring order to the chaos, confusion and criminality of our times. Heroes with remarkable gifts are as in vogue now as they’ve been since they first appeared, perhaps even more in vogue.”

Laurence Howell, content director at Audible, said: “The tales of Sherlock Holmes have been told and re-told, and the characters re-imagined in film, television and even video game adaptations.

“We’re thrilled to be working with Stephen, the nation’s favourite storyteller, to bring these timeless stories to life.”