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This Penguin Classic is narrated by award-winning actor Christopher Eccleston who is best known for his lead role in the 2005 revival of Doctor Who. Most recently Eccleston has starred in the critically acclaimed BBC drama The A Word. This definitive edition features an introduction by Peter Ackroyd.

As a dense yellow fog swirls through the streets of London, a deep melancholy has descended on Sherlock Holmes, who sits in a cocaine-induced haze at 221B Baker Street. His mood is only lifted by a visit from a beautiful but distressed young woman - Mary Morstan, whose father vanished ten years before. Four years later she began to receive an exquisite gift every year: a large, lustrous pearl. Now she has had an intriguing invitation to meet her unknown benefactor and urges Holmes and Watson to accompany her. And in the ensuing investigation - which involves a wronged woman, a stolen hoard of Indian treasure, a wooden-legged ruffian, a helpful dog and a love affair - even the jaded Holmes is moved to exclaim, 'Isn't it gorgeous!'

© Introduction Peter Ackroyd 2001 (P) Penguin Audio 2020