Seven stories featuring the blind detective Max Carrados, one of the most popular "rivals of Sherlock Holmes", created by Ernest Bramah in 1913. Narrated/performed by me, Simon Stanhope, for Bitesized Audio on YouTube. These stories are already available on the channel as individual uploads (originally recorded episodically between 2021 and 2024), but I've put this anthology together for those who like a longer listen.

Timestamps:
00:00:00 Introduction
00:01:28 The Coin of Dionysius
00:40:07 The Tragedy at Brookbend Cottage
01:38:15 The Last Exploit of Harry the Actor
03:02:35 The Missing Actress Sensation
04:10:45 The Comedy at Fountain Cottage
05:12:17 The Secret of Dunstan's Tower
06:14:10 The Ghost at Massingham Mansions
07:23:56 Credits, thanks and further listening

Story teasers and more information about the author below.

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The Coin of Dionysius | The very first story in the series, in which Private Inquiry agent Mr. Carlyle is in search of specialist advice for his latest case: someone who can identify a forgery. He is referred to an expert who can help, but is surprised to discover that the man is blind.

The Tragedy at Brookbend Cottage | Max is called in by his friend Mr Carlyle to advise a man who believes his sister is at imminent risk of being murdered by her husband at their lonely cottage on the rural fringe of London.

The Last Exploit of Harry the Actor | The Lucas Street Safe Deposit proudly claims itself to be impregnable, with multiple layers of security to gain access. But Max perceives sounds and smells which lead him to suspect that an audacious theft is in preparation.

The Missing Actress Sensation | A young actress making her London debut in the west end becomes an overnight star after earning rave reviews on the opening night. But days later her name is in the newspapers again for a very different reason.

The Comedy at Fountain Cottage | Elsie Belmark's quiet enjoyment of a brand new cottage is blighted by an anti-social neighbour who throws stewed kidneys over the garden fence.

The Secret of Dunstan's Tower | 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 Ghost at Massingham Mansions | Max has one particular advantage over other people who have investigated reports of a ghost in a modern block of flats: he's not afraid of the dark.

About the author: Ernest Bramah (1868–1942) was born Ernest Bramah Smith, probably in or near Manchester, where he attended grammar school. An intensely private man, very little information is known about his personal life. His early career included a stint as assistant to Jerome K. Jerome; his first success as a writer came as a contributor of humorous sketches somewhat in the manner of Jerome, to newspapers and periodicals, and he later became editor of one of Jerome's magazines.

As an author Bramah is best remembered for creating two characters: Kai Lung, a Chinese storyteller who appeared in a number of humorous stories from 1900; and Max Carrados, the blind detective, created in 1913. He also wrote science fiction, and his 1907 novel 'What Might Have Been' (also known as 'The Secret of the League') is a dystopian story which was acknowledged by George Orwell as a major influence on his own 'Nineteen Eighty-four'. Orwell was also a great admirer of the Max Carrados stories, bracketing them with Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes and Freeman's Dr Thorndyke as "the only detective stories since Poe that are worth re-reading".

The character of Carrados appeared in more than 25 short stories and novels between 1913 and 1934, and by the 1920s was more popular than Sherlock Holmes (whose later cases appeared alongside Carrados in The Strand Magazine). His blindness proves no obstacle to his detective skills; indeed his other senses are heightened and he regularly outwits criminals and fellow detectives alike.

Ernest Bramah Smith died in June 1942, aged 74, in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset. He was survived by his wife Lucy Smith.

Original recordings © Bitesized Audio 2021–24

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