Ten Classic Detective Stories | A Bitesized Audio Compilation

A selection of 10 classic stories featuring some of the detective "rivals of Sherlock Holmes" who began to appear in popular periodicals after Conan Doyle apparently killed Holmes off in 1893. Featuring cases for Loveday Brooke, Max Carrados, Father Brown, the Old Man in the Corner, and Dr. Thorndyke. All narrated/performed by me, Simon Stanhope. The stories are already available on the channel as individual uploads if you prefer to listen that way, although I've taken the opportunity while producing this anthology to remaster and re-edit some of my older recordings.

Timestamps:
00:00:00 Introduction and notes by Simon Stanhope
00:02:25 The Redhill Sisterhood by Catherine Louisa Pirkis
01:00:10 The Missing Actress Sensation by Ernest Bramah
02:08:20 The Secret Garden by G. K. Chesterton
03:02:36 The Robbery in Phillimore Terrace by Emma Orczy
03:41:02 Gleanings from the Wreckage by R. Austin Freeman
04:33:37 Drawn Daggers by Catherine Louisa Pirkis
05:26:28 The Secret of Dunstan's Tower by Ernest Bramah
06:28:27 The Oracle of the Dog by G. K. Chesterton
07:26:19 The Fenchurch Street Mystery by Emma Orczy
08:12:34 The Naturalist at Law by R. Austin Freeman
09:21:19 Credits, thanks and further listening
(Story teasers below)

If you enjoy this content and would like to help me keep creating, there are a few ways you can support me (and get access to exclusive content):

* Occasional/one-off support via Buy Me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/bitesize...
* Monthly support on Patreon:   / bitesizedaudio  
* Visit my Bandcamp page to hear more of my performances of classic stories, and you can purchase and download high quality audio files to listen offline: https://bitesizedaudio.bandcamp.com/
* Become a Bitesized Audio Classics member on YouTube, from $1 / £1 / €1 per month:
   / bitesizedaudioclassics  

The Redhill Sisterhood | 00:02:25
Surrey police call in the services of 'Lady Detective' Loveday Brooke, to investigate the activities of a local order of nuns which they suspect may be a cover for a gang of country house burglars.

The Missing Actress Sensation | 01:00:10
A young actress making her London debut in the west end becomes an overnight star after earning rave reviews on the opening night, even though she only plays a supporting role in the piece. But a few days later, her name is in the newspapers again for a very different reason...

The Secret Garden | 02:08:20
One of the most celebrated Father Brown stories, an outdoor "locked room" mystery in which a body is discovered in a sealed garden. But with no access to the outside world how did the victim get into the garden – and how did the murderer get out?

The Robbery in Phillimore Terrace | 03:02:36
A daring double theft of diamonds, from the homes of two dealers who are near neighbours in Kensington, has baffled the police – especially when the prime suspect vanishes under their very noses.

Gleanings from the Wreckage | 03:41:02
On a late-night walk through London, Thorndyke and Jervis are witnesses to a small explosion and fire in a laboratory. Then the widow of a scientist killed in the blast seeks Thorndyke's help to satisfy the insurers that his death was an accident, and not suicide...

Drawn Daggers | 04:33:37
A valuable diamond necklace disappears while its owner, a young heiress, is staying with the Hawke family, but for some reason she seems reluctant to report the loss to the police. Then Mr. Hawke receives the first in a series of cryptic anonymous drawings: could they be a warning? Loveday Brooke investigates...

The Secret of Dunstan's Tower | 05:26:28
Max Carrados is asked by an old school friend to investigate the case of the Aynosfordes, who are apparently haunted by a strange and inexplicable manifestation on the stairs in their ancient family seat, Dunstan's Tower...

The Oracle of the Dog | 06:28:27
The press calls it the "invisible murder case": Colonel Druce was stabbed while alone in his summerhouse – yet multiple witnesses confirm that no-one was seen to enter or leave. And the victim's dog, who was out on a walk at the time of the murder, began to howl inexplicably at just about the time the crime was committed. Could the dog really hold the key to the mystery?

The Fenchurch Street Mystery | 07:26:19
Journalist Polly Burton is initially annoyed to have her lunch disturbed by a strange man who sits at her corner table. But her interest is piqued when he begins to talk to her about a baffling murder case which has confounded the police and the public for more than a year...

The Naturalist at Law | 08:12:34
When a man's body is found drowned in a shallow ditch, it seems a clear case of suicide. But there are several puzzling features: why did he travel miles from home from an area where he was unknown, and how did he get there?

Original recordings © Bitesized Audio 2020–23. This compilation © 2023.