Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective of the late 19th and early 20th centuries who made his first published appearance in 1887. He was devised by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Holmes is famous for his prowess at using logic and astute observation to solve cases. He is perhaps the most famous fictional detective, and indeed one of the best known and universally recognizable literary characters. Conan Doyle wrote four novels and fifty-six short stories featuring his creation. Almost all were narrated by Holmes' friend and biographer, Dr. John H. Watson, with the exception of two narrated by Holmes himself and two more written in the third person. The stories first appeared in magazine serialization, notably in The Strand, over a period of forty years. This was a common form of publication at the time: Charles Dickens' works were issued in a similar fashion. The stories cover a period from around 1878 up to 1903, with a final case in 1914.

With the development of portable cassette recorders audiotapes had become very popular and by the late 1960s libraries became a source of free audio books on cassettes. Instructional and educational recordings came first followed by self-help tapes, and then by literature and fiction. In 1970 Books on Tape Corporation started rental plans for audio books distribution. The company expanded their services selling their products to libraries. Audio books gained more and more popularity. By the middle of 1980s the audio publishing business grew to several billion dollars a year. The new companies, Recorded Books and Chivers Audio Books, were the first to develop integrated production teams and to work with professional actors. And since libraries made up the largest segment of their market space, Chivers Audio Books established close connections with them from the very beginning of the company's existence.