Sherlock Holmes is the greatest detective the world has ever seen, and he knows it. As the famous bank-robber, John Clay, says to him, 'You think of everything, Mr Holmes. You're very clever.' People come to him with problems that no one, not even the police, can solve. Holmes sits, and thinks, and smokes his pipe, and in the end he finds the answer.
In these plays, based on two of his stories, Holmes, helped by his old friend, Dr Watson, uses his great intelligence to solve two unusual and interesting cases.
Arnold Bennett is famous for his stories about the Five Towns and the people who live there. They look and sound just like other people, and, like all of us, sometimes they do some very strange things. There's Sir Jee, who is a rich businessman. So why is he making a plan with a burglar? Then there is Toby Hall. Why does he decide to visit Number 11 Child Row, and who does he find there? And then there are the Hessian brothers and Annie Emery - and the little problem of twelve thousand pounds.
Allegra is an unusual name. It means 'happy' in Italian, but the little girl in this story is sometimes very sad. She is only five years old, but she tells Adrian, her new friend, that she is going to die soon. How does she know? And who is the other Allegra? The girl in a long white nightdress, who has golden hair and big blue eyes. The girl who comes only at night, and whose hands and face are cold, so cold . . .
"The bride wore a long white dress, with flowers in her hair. After the wedding, there was a party, and people gave presents to the bride and groom." This wedding was nearly two thousand years ago, in Rome. Some things don't change. But some things do. Today you can have a wedding on a mountain, or under the sea, or "Elvis" can sing for you. And different things happen in different places. Little birds made of paper, small trees, money in the bride's shoe, and lots of noise - they are all important for weddings somewhere. Welcome to the wonderful world of weddings!
Three different parts of the world, but all of them dangerous, lonely places. Three different women, but all of them adventurous and determined.Robyn Davidson walked nearly 3,000 kilometres across the Australian desert -- with a dog and four camels.Arlene Blum led a team of ten women to the top of Annapurna -- one of the highest mountains in the world. Only eight came down again.Naomi James sailed around the world alone, on a journey lasting more than 250 days.
