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The Tales of Max Carrados
- Narrated by: Stephen Fry
- Length: 11 hrs and 11 mins
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Publisher's Summary
Exclusive audio collection. Eleven Max Carrados stories - narrated by national treasure Stephen Fry.
Max Carrados featured in a series of mystery stories that first appeared in 1914. Carrados featured alongside Sherlock Holmes in The Strand magazine, in which they both had top billing. The character often boasted how being blind meant his other senses were heightened.
- 'The Coin of Dionysus'
- 'The Game Played in the Dark'
- 'The Holloway Road Flat Tragedy'
- 'The Curious Circumstances of the Two Left Shoes'
- 'The Secret of Headlam Height'
- 'The Mystery of the Vanished Crown'
- 'The Ingenious Mind of Mr Rigby Lacksome'
- 'The Strange Case of Cyril Bycourt'
- 'The Crime at the House in Culver Street'
- 'The Bunch of Violets'
- 'The Missing Witness Sensation'
Critic Reviews
What listeners say about The Tales of Max Carrados
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- KhanakDebYadav
- 26-12-22
Great listen
It’s a good detective fiction. Stephen fry’s voice lends it much character. My major quibble is that the ciril bycort chapter is incomplete. Maybe audible would look into that.
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- Legal Eagle
- 13-06-21
Worth listening to just for Stephen Fry.
Stephen Fry's narration is gold. The beautifully plotted short stories are a bonus. If you'd like a trip back to Edwardian England, on a rainy afternoon, this is the ticket.
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- John
- 30-11-16
A Very Difficult Thing to Do Properly
Decades before Ironside or Longstreet, the handicapped sleuths who enlivened my early TV viewing, there was Max Carrados, the blind connoisseur and crime-solver who gave Sherlock Holmes a run for his money starting in 1914.
I had never heard of Ernest Bramah or of his most successful creation until I stumbled across this collection while searching for vintage mysteries. Tucked away in my wish list in anticipation of the next sale, last August it suddenly appeared as a Daily Deal.
Admittedly, part of the interest was Stephen Fry. Long a fan of his work with Hugh Laurie (Fry & Laurie, Jeeves and Wooster) and his brilliant supporting roles in Rowan Atkinson’s Black Adder series, I wanted to hear what he could do behind a microphone.
At first that presented a problem. I couldn’t help seeing Max Carrados as Stephen Fry. Or Lord Melchett. Or Jeeves. Or simply admiring the way Fry turned a phrase or served up a sentence—all the while losing the thread of the story. I got over it eventually. And when I did the fun really began.
Here we have a superb reader presenting superb stories. This selection of eleven “tales” range from situations that look criminal (but aren’t) to situations that look innocuous (but aren’t). Like P. G. Wodehouse, whose own writing career was starting to gather steam as Max Carrados hit the pages of The Strand Magazine, Bramah likes his characters; he enjoys human nature and can sketch it for us true-to-life without ever getting nasty. There is always—with the exception of one scene of real mortal peril—a gentle humor in this collection that leavens all the crime and duplicity. Fry’s persona is the perfect vehicle for this sort of good-natured craftsmanship. I wonder what he could do with a Wodehouse novel.
And there is craftsmanship of a high order here. Even without Fry’s expert amplification, the writing would be a delight. Unless you jot them down as they occur, it’s hard to recall all the bon mots in an audiobook. But one does stick in my memory—or at least enough of it did so that I was able to Google it up later:
“Now with regard to murder, experience had imbued the blind man with two convictions: the first that it is a very easy thing to do, and the second that it is a very difficult thing to do properly.”
It’s an observation worthy of Lord Peter Wimsey. My hope is that the other Carrados yarns not included in this collection (according to Wikipedia there are still 16 out there) might find their way to a recording booth. Preferably one containing Stephen Fry.
Carrados’ blindness plays an interesting part in these tales. While we stand in open-mouthed admiration of Holmes’ deductions from a bit of mud on a boot or the wear on the back of a watch case, Bramah achieves the same sort of wonder on a smaller (yet somehow larger) scale with Carrados’ feats of navigation about strange rooms or ability to perceive cardinal clues through his other, heightened senses.
Like the Baker Street sagas, these stories happen in a world of men who are gentlemen, women who are ladies and crime that, even when serious, never descends to the lurid; in short, all the reasons why I prefer my criminal fiction to be of a more reverend vintage. In the shadow of Arthur Conan Doyle, Ernest Bramah created a sleuth more likeable than Holmes with an entirely new way to display a Holmes-like knack for uncanny deductions. And that was a very difficult thing to do properly, too.
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84 people found this helpful
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- Carol Mello
- 22-06-16
Stephen Fry is excellent narrator, of course
I have read a different set of Max Carrados tales. So when I saw this audio book of Max Carrados tales narrated by Stephen Fry how in the world could I resist. Bravo to Mr. Fry. Another well done acting job, by voice only. The man is a national treasure both in the UK and in the U.S. too.
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39 people found this helpful
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- Anne Georgiadis
- 27-03-16
Old time radio listener
Excellent mystery and adventure program. As always, Stephen Frey just adds icing on the cake.
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37 people found this helpful
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- Bethany
- 30-05-16
Great listen with Stephen Fry
One of my favorite narrators is ideal voice(s) match for this series. I enjoyed the author's style quite a bit.
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29 people found this helpful
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- Richard and Sheryl Rhodes
- 14-07-16
Stephen Fry + great material
Any additional comments?
Stephen Fry adds to the Holmes-like hero and conundrums a stageful of character voices.
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27 people found this helpful
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- J Felix
- 01-09-16
Good det.short stories but must suspend disbelief.
I found I experienced an expanded imagination during those days I listened to the stories. Each chapter is a complete adventure in itself and it's fairly easy to listen to one episode during one sitting.
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19 people found this helpful
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- Clydene
- 19-04-16
,Love to this book
What a great lesson . We really love this back would love to listen to more by Stephen Fry
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19 people found this helpful
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- C Powell
- 29-08-16
Worth a listen
A collection of tales about a brilliant blind man, who cleverly uses his other senses to outwit criminals and solve crimes. Fun reading! For those who hate f-bombs and sordid scenes, this one is recommended.
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13 people found this helpful
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- Margaret
- 10-08-16
most boring detective stories I have ever heard
These stories are contemporaneous with the Sherlock Holmes stories, they say. Well, it is easy to see why the SH stories are still exciting and relevant and these are obscure. Even Stephen Fry's powers of narration are inadequate to save them.
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6 people found this helpful
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- Luna
- 30-08-16
Lovely
Stephen Fry narrates the stories wonderfully. And they are a lovely representation of this type of British story. It's nice to get a break from the modern stuff now and then.
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5 people found this helpful
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- EGM
- 05-11-19
Too much of the stale Old England for me
I got a couple of stories as a Member's gift and thought they were pleasantly quaint and old-fashioned. But I must admit a whole collection of stories proved to contain far too many instances of chauvinism, misogyny, racism, xenophobia, class discrimination and bourgeois prejudice for my 21st century sensitivities, even though I am staunch fan of classic British literature. It's not that there are no such things in other well-loved classics, it's the sheer concentration of them, almost on every sentence.
Stephen Fry thrives on this kind of characters and descriptions and his reading is perfect, but the stories have not aged well at all.
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28 people found this helpful
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- Miss L Wonfor
- 28-04-16
Very enjoyable!
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
Yes, I found the storys very interesting to listen to. How hints as you go along pull the whole investigations together at the end.
Who was your favorite character and why?
Max Carrados, very witty at manoovering situations to benefit his curiostity
What about Stephen Fry’s performance did you like?
Stephen Fry gives all the characters individual voices and gets your imagination working so that you can really imagine what there like.
Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
Yes bits made me chuckle, I liked that Max does his investigations not for money or work, just purely to entertain himself.
Any additional comments?
If you liked Sherlock Holmes i think this is definitely worth a listen.
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25 people found this helpful
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- Linda
- 22-08-16
Tough to Review - but a Great Find
I received a couple of these stories as a gift from audible - and I just loved them - and went on to buy complete 'Tales of'. Yes they can be compared with Sherlock Holmes but I found them much simpler - indeed there were a few occasions where I had actually seen the conclusion (not that it really mattered). What I found odd was that I'd be absolutely enchanted by one story and then the next one was so boring I couldn't even listen until the end - then the next one would be quite superb again... I am a little tired of Stephen Fry as a national treasure and yet I have to say his reading of this is just spot on, it's marvellous. I see other Max Carrados stories are single story downloads, I might well download one and hope its one of the good ones!
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21 people found this helpful
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- Suzy
- 14-05-16
Spiffing
Enjoyed this, with Stephen Fry's narration it was a great. Logical solutions to various puzzles sit around the period of WW1. Nice comfortable listening.
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19 people found this helpful
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- Kelly
- 12-02-16
Narrator is a good choice
Stephen Fry's voice with its well placed inflections and tones make these stories very enjoyable. Where these stories might possibly be a little slow under another narrator they come to life with Mr Fry
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15 people found this helpful
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- Geoff Kendall
- 12-07-16
Awesome Fry performance which brings slightly archaic text to life
These are really good stories whose slightly archaic but cerebral language is a perfect match for the voice of Stephen Fry.
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12 people found this helpful
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- The Wads
- 18-04-16
Fantastic narration from mr fry
Great for car journey the stories are entertaining particularly with Stephen Fry'
s excellent narration to bring them to life
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10 people found this helpful
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- Andy
- 22-11-17
Great performance from Stephen Fry.
thought some stories were good and others not so much, Abrupt ends and some lacked a little explanation
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9 people found this helpful
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- TheZee
- 24-07-16
Antiquated Wonder
I enjoyed this book. The affable treasure that is Stephen Fry makes this book come alive.
I was led into stories of antiquated wonder. I recommend it highly.
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7 people found this helpful
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- R. Benson
- 11-08-16
Excellent performance of some classic stories
Steven Fry has shown himself to be a truly fine narrator. He has done an excellent job in bringing these stories to life with perfect, clear delivery combined with brilliant vocal characterisation. Strongly recommended.
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6 people found this helpful
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- happyretro
- 05-07-18
Interesting
Stephen Fry's performance is excellent. The stories are interesting but quite a few are not plausible given modern scientific knowledge. However it gives a very interesting insight into the beliefs and ideas of the time they were written. So definitely worth a listen regatdless.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Mick
- 20-06-19
Entertaining
For those who enjoy detective stories along the lines of Sherlock Holmes. Stephen Fry is brilliant.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Justin
- 05-01-19
Max Carrados, Stephen Fry just brilliant.
Stephen Fry has been blessed with a golden voice adding to his wide range of talent. Max Carrados opens up to be a detective on par with the Great Sherlock Holmes
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1 person found this helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 09-08-18
No Sherlock
Unfortunately I made the mistake of listening to the profound and amazing Sherlock Holmes compilation before listening to Max. I do understand they are different but it’s just hard to beat the detective that changed everything.
Stephen Fry definitely gives this book something special still, like he always does.
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1 person found this helpful
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- MR E.
- 22-11-23
Thoroughly enjoyable
Stephen Fry is amazing with his storytelling he brought the stories to life. Thoroughly enjoyable but agree the stories do come to an end quickly and leads into other stories.
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- Shaz Ginns
- 25-05-22
Classic old world detective
Terrific narration by Stephen Fry as usual giving an authentic voice to the characters. I hope to see more of Ernest Bramah’s work brought to life soon. His work was wide ranging in the world of fiction.
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- Mel Philpott
- 12-02-22
Ripping good yarns
I will admit firstly, that Stephen Fry could read me the phone book and he would have a rapt audience. I like the old fashionedness of these stories, political intrigue, and people taking over the top remedies for their problems. Also there's lots of stories and I listened twice to block out the scary cyclone all through the night. Calming and kind voice.
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- Anonymous User
- 13-08-18
nice
Love Stephen Fry as the narrator. Quite enjoyed the stories, but sometimes the endings were a bit abrupt.
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