Uploaded July 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 days ago
A compilation of seven classic detective stories with a shared theme of conspiracy and intrigue, by authors including Arthur Conan Doyle, R. Austin Freeman, Catherine Louisa Pirkis, Arthur Morrison and L. T. Meade. See below for a list of stories and timestamps. Curated and narrated by Simon Stanhope for Bitesized Audio.
Note: these stories are available individually on the channel if you prefer to listen that way, but I've taken the opportunity while compiling this anthology to re-edit and remaster the older recordings. This is volume 1 of 3. Volumes 2 (Murder Mysteries) and 3 (Ingenious Thefts) to follow.
Timestamps:
00:00:00 Introduction and list of contents
00:01:20 To Prove an Alibi, by L. T. Meade and Robert Eustace
01:01:29 The Solitary Cyclist, by Arthur Conan Doyle
01:51:02 The Stranger's Latchkey, by R. Austin Freeman
02:46:42 The Case of Laker, Absconded, by Arthur Morrison
03:46:45 The Brighton Mystery, by Baroness Emma Orczy
04:27:51 A Princess's Vengeance, by Catherine Louisa Pirkis
05:17:35 A Race with the Sun, by L. T. Meade and Clifford Halifax
06:18:00 Credits, thanks and further listening
If you enjoy this content and would like to help me keep creating, there are a few ways you can support me:
* Occasional/one-off support via Buy Me a Coffee: buymeacoffee.com/bitesizedaudio
* Monthly support on Patreon: patreon.com/bitesizedaudio
* Donate via PayPal: paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=HMMUWZ7URN26A
* 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: bitesizedaudio.bandcamp.com
* Become a Bitesized Audio Classics member on YouTube, from $1 / £1 / €1 per month:
youtube.com/c/BitesizedAudioClassics/join
About the stories:
00:01:20 To Prove an Alibi, by L. T. Meade and Robert Eustace
Arthur Cressley returns from making his fortune in Australia to take possession of his historic family seat, Cressley Hall in Derbyshire. He confides his fears about the sinister legend surrounding the Cressley heirs to John Bell, the "ghost exposer" – are supernatural forces at work, or could Cressley be the victim of a more material plot? First published in Cassell's Magazine, November 1897.
01:01:29 The Solitary Cyclist, by Arthur Conan Doyle
One of the best-known Sherlock Holmes stories, in which Miss Violet Smith, a young teacher of music, is disturbed by a stranger who follows her on a bicycle as she cycles along a lonely stretch of road on her way to the railway station... First published in London in December 1903 in The Strand Magazine (in the issue dated January 1904), and in Collier's magazine in the United States (26 December 1903 issue). It was subsequently printed in book form as part of the short story collection 'The Return of Sherlock Holmes', published in 1905.
01:51:02 The Stranger's Latchkey, by R. Austin Freeman
Dr. Jervis is taking a break from medical jurisprudence to work as a locum country physician. It's not long though before he becomes embroiled in a mystery, which requires Dr. Thorndyke's forensic skills to interpret the clues provided by footprints and a lost latchkey... First published in Pearson’s Magazine, January 1909.
02:46:42 The Case of Laker, Absconded, by Arthur Morrison
Martin Hewitt is called in to investigate the mystery surrounding Charles Laker, a clerk who has vanished with £15,000 of his bank's money. All the evidence suggests he has bolted to the continent, but he may have left a false trail. Can Hewitt trace his steps, track him down and recover the cash? First published in The Windsor Magazine, May 1895.
03:46:45 The Brighton Mystery, by Baroness Emma Orczy
Sitting at his usual corner table, the old man unravels a new mystery for Polly Burton, involving kidnap, blackmail and fraud, in which a wealthy businessman disappears in the popular seaside resort of Brighton. First published in The Royal Magazine, July 1902.
04:27:51 A Princess's Vengeance, by Catherine Louisa Pirkis
Dyer's Detective Agency is consulted by Major Druce, who is concerned at the mysterious disappearance of his mother's attractive Swiss secretary, Lucie Cunier. Mr. Dyer assigns his best female detective, Loveday Brooke, to unravel the network of relationships caught up in the case... First published in the Ludgate Monthly, May 1893.
05:17:35 A Race with the Sun, by L. T. Meade and Clifford Halifax
A rip-roaring and frankly slightly bonkers tale of derring-do from 1897; the shadow of war looms and foreign spies abound. Scientist and inventor Paul Gilchrist finds himself embroiled in a devilish plot devised by "fiends in human shape", culminating in a breathtaking race against time for his very survival... First published in The Strand Magazine, January 1897.
Original recordings © Bitesized Audio 2021–25; this compilation © Bitesized Audio 2025
A compilation of seven classic detective stories with a shared theme of conspiracy and intrigue, by authors including Arthur Conan Doyle, R. Austin Freeman, Catherine Louisa Pirkis, Arthur Morrison and L. T. Meade. See below for a list of stories and timestamps. Curated and narrated by Simon Stanhope for Bitesized Audio.
Note: these stories are available individually on the channel if you prefer to listen that way, but I've taken the opportunity while compiling this anthology to re-edit and remaster the older recordings. This is volume 1 of 3. Volumes 2 (Murder Mysteries) and 3 (Ingenious Thefts) to follow.
Timestamps:
00:00:00 Introduction and list of contents
00:01:20 To Prove an Alibi, by L. T. Meade and Robert Eustace
01:01:29 The Solitary Cyclist, by Arthur Conan Doyle
01:51:02 The Stranger's Latchkey, by R. Austin Freeman
02:46:42 The Case of Laker, Absconded, by Arthur Morrison
03:46:45 The Brighton Mystery, by Baroness Emma Orczy
04:27:51 A Princess's Vengeance, by Catherine Louisa Pirkis
05:17:35 A Race with the Sun, by L. T. Meade and Clifford Halifax
06:18:00 Credits, thanks and further listening
If you enjoy this content and would like to help me keep creating, there are a few ways you can support me:
* Occasional/one-off support via Buy Me a Coffee: buymeacoffee.com/bitesizedaudio
* Monthly support on Patreon: patreon.com/bitesizedaudio
* Donate via PayPal: paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=HMMUWZ7URN26A
* 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: bitesizedaudio.bandcamp.com
* Become a Bitesized Audio Classics member on YouTube, from $1 / £1 / €1 per month:
youtube.com/c/BitesizedAudioClassics/join
About the stories:
00:01:20 To Prove an Alibi, by L. T. Meade and Robert Eustace
Arthur Cressley returns from making his fortune in Australia to take possession of his historic family seat, Cressley Hall in Derbyshire. He confides his fears about the sinister legend surrounding the Cressley heirs to John Bell, the "ghost exposer" – are supernatural forces at work, or could Cressley be the victim of a more material plot? First published in Cassell's Magazine, November 1897.
01:01:29 The Solitary Cyclist, by Arthur Conan Doyle
One of the best-known Sherlock Holmes stories, in which Miss Violet Smith, a young teacher of music, is disturbed by a stranger who follows her on a bicycle as she cycles along a lonely stretch of road on her way to the railway station... First published in London in December 1903 in The Strand Magazine (in the issue dated January 1904), and in Collier's magazine in the United States (26 December 1903 issue). It was subsequently printed in book form as part of the short story collection 'The Return of Sherlock Holmes', published in 1905.
01:51:02 The Stranger's Latchkey, by R. Austin Freeman
Dr. Jervis is taking a break from medical jurisprudence to work as a locum country physician. It's not long though before he becomes embroiled in a mystery, which requires Dr. Thorndyke's forensic skills to interpret the clues provided by footprints and a lost latchkey... First published in Pearson’s Magazine, January 1909.
02:46:42 The Case of Laker, Absconded, by Arthur Morrison
Martin Hewitt is called in to investigate the mystery surrounding Charles Laker, a clerk who has vanished with £15,000 of his bank's money. All the evidence suggests he has bolted to the continent, but he may have left a false trail. Can Hewitt trace his steps, track him down and recover the cash? First published in The Windsor Magazine, May 1895.
03:46:45 The Brighton Mystery, by Baroness Emma Orczy
Sitting at his usual corner table, the old man unravels a new mystery for Polly Burton, involving kidnap, blackmail and fraud, in which a wealthy businessman disappears in the popular seaside resort of Brighton. First published in The Royal Magazine, July 1902.
04:27:51 A Princess's Vengeance, by Catherine Louisa Pirkis
Dyer's Detective Agency is consulted by Major Druce, who is concerned at the mysterious disappearance of his mother's attractive Swiss secretary, Lucie Cunier. Mr. Dyer assigns his best female detective, Loveday Brooke, to unravel the network of relationships caught up in the case... First published in the Ludgate Monthly, May 1893.
05:17:35 A Race with the Sun, by L. T. Meade and Clifford Halifax
A rip-roaring and frankly slightly bonkers tale of derring-do from 1897; the shadow of war looms and foreign spies abound. Scientist and inventor Paul Gilchrist finds himself embroiled in a devilish plot devised by "fiends in human shape", culminating in a breathtaking race against time for his very survival... First published in The Strand Magazine, January 1897.
Original recordings © Bitesized Audio 2021–25; this compilation © Bitesized Audio 2025
