More from Marple's Casebook: Full-cast BBC Radio 4 dramatisations

Christie, Agatha

ISBN 10: 1785296264 ISBN 13: 9781785296260

Publisher: BBC Physical Audio, 2018

Synopsis

June Whitfield stars as Miss Marple in seven suspenseful full-cast radio dramatisations.

The Moving Finger
Miss Marple must find out who is behind an outbreak of hate mail and a tragic death.

They Do It With Mirrors
Visiting an old friend at Stoneygates School, Miss Marple senses danger.

Nemesis
A posthumous letter sends the spinster sleuth on a mystery tour to find a murderer.

Sleeping Murder
What is the dark secret behind Gwenda Reed’s uncanny intuition? Miss Marple investigates...

Tape-Measure Murder
A wife is killed, her husband is under suspicion – and Miss Marple is called to provide an alibi.

The Case of the Perfect Maid
The sharp-witted sleuth looks into the problem of a lady’s maid who has been mysteriously sacked.

Sanctuary
An unknown man dies in the local church – can Miss Marple deduce his identity from
his last words?

These BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisations, based on four novels and three short stories by Agatha Christie, showcase seven of Miss Marple’s most ingenious mysteries.

The Moving Finger, They Do It With Mirrors, Nemesis and Sleeping Murder dramatised by Michael Bakewell and directed by Enyd Williams

Tape-Measure Murder, The Case of the Perfect Maid and Sanctuary dramatised by Joy Wilkinson and directed by Gemma Jenkins

Duration: 10 hours approx.

About this title

About the Author

Agatha Christie, the acknowledged ‘Queen of Crime' (The Observer) was born in Torquay in 1890. During the First World War she worked as a hospital dispenser, and it was here that she gleaned the working knowledge of various poisons that was to prove so useful in her detective stories.

Her first novel was The Mysterious Affair at Styles, which introduced Hercule Poirot to the world. This was published in 1920 (although in fact she had written it during the war) and was followed over the next six years by four more detective novels and a short story collection. However, it was not until the publication of The Murder of Roger Ackroyd that Agatha Christie’s reputation was firmly established. This novel, with its complex plot and genuinely shocking conclusion, attracted considerable public attention and has since been acknowledged by many experts as a masterpiece. In 1930 the sharp-witted spinster sleuth Miss Marple made her first appearance in The Murder at the Vicarage. In all, Agatha Christie published over 80 novels and short story collections.

The brilliance of Christie’s plots, and her enduring appeal, have led to several dramatisations of her work on radio, television and film. In 1930 she was one of a number of crime writers asked to contribute a chapter to a mystery, Behind the Screen, that was broadcast on BBC radio on 21st June that year. More recently, June Whitfield portrayed Miss Marple on BBC Radio 4, whilst John Moffat starred as Hercule Poirot. On screen, Peter Ustinov, David Suchet, Margaret Rutherford, Joan Hickson, Geraldine McEwan and Julia McKenzie have all memorably played Agatha Christie’s famous sleuths.

As her play The Mousetrap (the longest-running play in the history of theatre) testifies, Agatha Christie’s detective stories are likely to appeal for a long time to come.

Agatha Christie was awarded a CBE in 1956 and was made a Dame of the British Empire in 1971. She died in 1976.

Edition details

• Publisher: BBC Physical Audio
• Publication date: 2018
• ISBN 10: 1785296264
• ISBN 13: 9781785296260
• Binding: Audio CD
• Language: English