Gaudy Night

When Harriet Vane attends her Oxford reunion, known as the 'Gaudy', the prim academic setting is haunted by a rash of bizarre pranks: scrawled obscenities, burnt effigies and poison-pen letters - including one that says, 'Ask your boyfriend with the title if he likes arsenic in his soup.' Some of the notes threaten murder and one of them involves a long Latin quotation, which makes Harriet suspect that the perpetrator is probably a member of the Senior Common Room. But which of the apparently rational, respectable dons could be committing such crazed acts? 
 
When a desperate undergraduate, at her wits' end after receiving a series of particularly savage letters, attempts to drown herself, Harriet decides that it is time to ask Lord Peter Wimsey for help. And when the mystery is finally solved, she is faced with an agonising decision: should she, after five years of rejecting his proposals, finally agree to marry Lord Peter? 
 
Also included on this release is a bonus interview with top crime novelists P. D. James and Jill Paton Walsh about Gaudy Night, conducted by Henny Fordham.

Busman's Honeymoon

Ian Carmichael stars as Lord Peter Wimsey, with Sarah Badel as Harriet Vane, and co-starring Peter Jones, Rosemary Leach and Peter Vaughan in a BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation.

Society’s eligible women are in mourning. Lord Peter Wimsey has married at last, having finally succeeded in his ardent pursuit of the lovely mystery novelist Harriet Vane. The two depart for a tranquil honeymoon in a country farmhouse but find, instead of a well-prepared love nest, the place left in a shambles by the previous owner.   His sudden appearance, dead from a broken skull in the cellar, only prompts more questions. Why would anyone have wanted to kill old Mr Noakes? What dark secrets had he to hide?   The honeymoon is over, as Lord Peter and Harriet Vane start their investigations. Suspicion is rife and everyone seems to have something to hide, from the local constable to the housekeeper. Wimsey and his wife can think of plenty of theories, but it’s not until they discover a vital fact that the identity of the murderer becomes clear.

Clouds Of Witness

Ian Carmichael stars as Lord Peter Wimsey in this BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation.

In a shocking scandal, the like of which has not been seen in the English aristocracy since the eighteenth century, Lord Peter Wimsey's elder brother, the Duke of Denver, stands accused of murder.   Lord Peter is determined to prove his brother's innocence, yet finds him strangely uncooperative. Furthermore, other family members apparently oppose Peter's attempts to get to the truth. His sister, Lady Mary, seems to know more than she is letting on - could the Duke be protecting her? In collaboration with Inspector Parker, Wimsey slowly uncovers a web of lies and deceit within his own family, and finds himself faced with the unhappy alternative of sending either his brother or his sister to the gallows. Until he himself becomes a target...   Patricia Routledge plays the Dowager Duchess in this classic dramatisation, alongside Maria Aitken as Lady Mary and Miriam Margolyes as Mrs Hardraw.

Five Red Herrings

The elegant, intelligent amateur sleuth Lord Peter Wimsey is one of detective literature's most popular creations. Ian Carmichael is the personification of Dorothy L. Sayers' charming investigator in this BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatization.

The elegant, intelligent amateur sleuth Lord Peter Wimsey is one of detective literature’s most popular creations.  Ian Carmichael is the personification of Dorothy L. Sayers’ charming investigator in this BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation.   When Sandy Campbell's body is found at the foot of a cliff near the small town of Kircdubright, the local constabulary are convinced that the argumentative painter is the victim of a tragic accident.   But when Lord Peter Wimsey turns up, the hunt begins for an ingenious killer. Faced with six men, all of whom have a motive for murder, the aristocratic amateur sleuth must deduce which are the five red herrings and which has blood on his hands.

Have His Carcase

The elegant, intelligent amateur sleuth Lord Peter Wimsey is one of detective literature's most popular creations. Ian Carmichael is the personification of Dorothy L. Sayers' charming investigator, with Maria Aitken as his companion Harriet Vane, in this BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation.

Dorothy L. Sayers was born in Oxford in 1893. She published her first detective novel, Whose Body?, in 1923, introducing Lord Peter Wimsey to the world. Ten more 'Wimsey' novels and four collections of short stories followed, as well as many other works of crime fiction, non-fiction and plays. Her translation of Dante's Divine Comedy is highly acclaimed, as is her cycle of twelve plays on the life of Jesus, The Man Born to be King, which was broadcast on the BBC Home Service in 1941-1942. She died in 1957, leaving behind notes and fragments of an unfinished 'Wimsey' story - Thrones, Dominations - which was subsequently completed by Jill Paton Walsh and published in 1998. Paton Walsh has since written three other Lord Peter Wimsey books.

Two years after the trial for the murder of her lover, the blaze of publicity surrounding mystery writer Harriet Vane has begun to die away and Harriet decides it's time for a break. But the peace of a North Devon walking tour is rudely shattered when she discovers the body of a man on the beach, his throat slit from ear to ear.   The moment the story breaks, Harriet’s old friend Lord Peter Wimsey is on the scene to lend his powers of detection. Can the two of them discover who the murderer is?

Strong Poison

The elegant, intelligent amateur sleuth Lord Peter Wimsey is one of detective literature's most popular creations. Ian Carmichael is the personification of Dorothy L. Sayers' charming investigator in this BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation.

The elegant, intelligent amateur sleuth Lord Peter Wimsey is one of detective literature’s most popular creations. Ian Carmichael is the personification of Dorothy L. Sayers’ charming investigator in this BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation.   When mystery writer Harriet Vane is accused of the murder of her lover, the evidence seems pretty damning. But Lord Peter Wimsey is not convinced – and when, five hours later, no verdict has been returned, it seems the jury may not be either.   But if Harriet didn't murder Philip Boyes, who did?

Whose Body?

Ian Carmichael is Lord Peter Wimsey, with Patricia Routledge as his mother, in this BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation. Dorothy L. Sayers' first Lord Peter Wimsey tale introduces many of the author's best-known characters.

Ian Carmichael is Lord Peter Wimsey, with Patricia Routledge as his mother, in this BBC radio 4 full-cast dramatisation.   Dorothy L. Sayers’ first Lord Peter Wimsey tale introduces many of the author’s best-known characters.   Wimsey’s mother, the Dowager Duchess of Denver, rings her son with news of ‘such a quaint thing’. She has heard through a friend that Mr Thipps, a respectable Battersea architect, found a dead man in his bath - wearing nothing but a gold prince-nez.   Lord Wimsey makes his way straight over to Mr Thipps’, and a good look at the body raises a number of interesting questions. Why would such an apparently well-groomed man have filthy black toenails, flea bites and the scent of carbolic soap lingering on his corpse?   Then comes the disappearance of oil millionaire Sir Reuben Levy, last seen on the Battersea Park Road. With his beard shaved he would look very similar to the man found in the bath - but is Sir Levy really dead?

Unnatural Death

This was the second Lord Peter Wimsey story to be adapted for radio in the mid-1970s. Broadcast May 5 to June 16 1975, it was adapted by Chris Miller and produced by Simon Brett.

This was the second Lord Peter Wimsey story to be adapted for radio in the mid-seventies. Broadcast May 5th to June 16th 1975, it was adapted by Chris Miller and produced by Simon Brett.   The case of Agatha Dawson is closed, but Lord Peter Wimsey is not satisfied. With no clues to work on, he begins his own investigation. Then Agatha's maid is suddenly murdered.   The episode titles are:   1) ‘No Sign of Foul Play’ 2) ‘Death in Epping Forest’ 3) ‘The Will’ 4) ‘Hallelujah’ 5) ‘The Property Act’ 6) ‘Vera Findlater’ and 7) ‘Miss Climpson Investigates’.    This will be the ninth, and probably the last, Radio Collection release of the Lord Peter Wimsey stories starring Ian Carmichael.

The Nine Tailors

Stormbound over the New Year at a Fenland rectory, Lord Peter Wimsey willingly lends a hand in the ringing of a New Year's Eve peal of the church bells. Some months later a handless, disfigured corpse is discovered in a fresh grave in the churchyard.

Dorothy L. Sayers was born in Oxford in 1893. She published her first detective novel, Whose Body?, in 1923, introducing Lord Peter Wimsey to the world. Ten more 'Wimsey' novels and four collections of short stories followed, as well as many other works of crime fiction, non-fiction and plays. Her translation of Dante's Divine Comedy is highly acclaimed, as is her cycle of twelve plays on the life of Jesus, The Man Born to be King, which was broadcast on the BBC Home Service in 1941-1942. She died in 1957, leaving behind notes and fragments of an unfinished 'Wimsey' story - Thrones, Dominations - which was subsequently completed by Jill Paton Walsh and published in 1998. Paton Walsh has since written three other Lord Peter Wimsey books.

Storm-bound over the New Year at a Fenland rectory, Lord Peter Wimsey willingly lends a hand in the ringing of a New Year's Eve peal of the church bells. Some months later, a handless, disfigured corpse is discovered in a fresh grave in the churchyard. Lord Peter receives a plea for help from the rector and embarks on one of his most complicated investigations - for this is not the first crime the village has experienced. Fifteen years ago the Wilbraham Emeralds were stolen, and they are still missing. Can there be any link?

The Unpleasantness At The Bellona Club

The elegant, intelligent amateur sleuth Lord Peter Wimsey is one of detective literature's most popular creations.

The dignified calm of the Bellona Club is shattered when Lord Peter Wimsey finds General Fentiman dead in his favourite chair. A straighforward death by natural causes? Perhaps... but why can no-one rememeber seeing the general the day he died? And who is the mysterious Mr Oliver? Lord Peter moves between London and Paris, salon and suburbs, to unfold the intriguing case.   The elegant, intelligent amateur sleuth Lord Peter Wimsey is one of detective literature’s most popular creations. Ian Carmichael is the personification of Dorothy L. Sayers’ charming investigator in this BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation.

A BBC Radio 4 Full-Cast Production

Murder Must Advertise

When copywriter Victor Dean falls to his death on the stairs of Pym's Advertising Agency, everyone assumes it was an unfortunate accident. His replacement doesn't think so and begins asking a lot of questions.

When copywriter Victor Dean falls to his death on the stairs of Pym's Advertising Agency, no one seems to mind. That is, until Lord Peter joins the firm incognito as Dean's replacement and starts asking questions which lead him into a network of blackmailers, drug pushers and one of the most deadly plots of crime fiction.   However, before the crimes can be solved and the truth revealed, five more people must die...  The elegant, intelligent amateur sleuth Lord Peter Wimsey is one of detective literature’s most popular creations. Ian Carmichael is the personification of Dorothy L. Sayers’ charming investigator in this BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation.

Dorothy L. Sayers

Full Cast

Gabriel Woolf

John Westbrook

Norman Shelley

Mary Wimbush

Miriam Margolyes

John Laurie

A BBC Radio 4 drama collection

Dorothy L. Sayers' classic play cycle based on the life and times of Jesus 
 
 Dorothy L. Sayers was best known for her mystery novels featuring aristocratic amateur sleuth Lord Peter Wimsey. But she was also a poet, playwright and committed Christian, and in The Man Born to Be King she combined art and evangelism to powerful effect, making the story of Christ accessible, relevant and every bit as thrilling as her detective fiction. 
 
 Written specially for the BBC Radio, the play cycle caused huge controversy for its depiction of Christ as a character, and its use of contemporary speech instead of Biblical language. However it proved extremely popular with listeners, who wrote in to thank Sayers for making Jesus real to them and reigniting their interest in his remarkable story. 
 
 Based on the four Gospels, it includes one story of the Nativity, six plays about Jesus' life and ministry, and five Passion Plays telling of Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem, the Last Supper, Jesus' arrest and trial before Pontius Pilate, the Crucifixion and the Resurrection. Backed up with a sweeping musical score, these immersive dramas surprise and shock us anew and provide fresh, illuminating insight into 'the greatest story ever told'. 
 
 The plays included are Kings in Judea, The King's Herald, A Certain Nobleman, The Heirs to the Kingdom, The Bread of Heaven, The Feast of Tabernacles, The Light and The Life, Royal Progress, The King's Supper, The Princes of This World, King of Sorrows and The King Comes to His Own. 
 
 Cast and credits 
 Written by Dorothy L Sayers 
 Adapted by/Producer: Raymond Raikes 
 The Evangelist (John Bar-Zebedee): Gabriel Woolf 
Jesus: John Westbrook 
Joseph/ Jacob Ben-Issachar: Norman Shelley 
Simon Bar-Jonah (Simon Peter): Stephen Jack 
Judas Iscariot: Alan Wheatley 
Matthew: Nigel Stock 
Herod The Great: Robert Eddison 
Nicodemus: John Wyse 
Ephraim: Denys Blakelock 
Shadrach: Malcolm Hayes 
Rabbit Solomon: John Gabriel 
Phoebe: Caroline Monkhouse 
Flavius: Trader Faulkner 
Calpurnia: Penelope Lee 
Mary Virgin: June Tobin 
Mary Magdalen: Mary Wimbush 
Martha: Marjorie Westbury 
Lazarus: Richard Hurndall 
Benjamin Ben-Hadad: Ralph Truman 
Joseph, kinsman to Jesus: Haydn Jones 
Simeon, kinsman to Jesus: Wilfrid Carter 
Baruch the Zealot: Francis de Wolff 
Baruch's Wife: Vivienne Chatterton 
Gestas: John Laurie 
Dysmas: Russell Napier 
Simon of Cyrene: Rodney Dias 
Proclus, a Roman Centurion: Trevor Martin 
Roman soldier: Bruce Beeby 
Roman soldier: Harvey Hall 
Joseph of Arimathea: Howieson Culff 
Calaphas, High Priest of Israel: Heron Carvic 
Salome, mother to James and John: Henzie Raeburn 
Mary Cleophas: Molly Rankin 
Balthazar, King of Ethiopia: Paul Danqdah 
Melchior/ A Zealot: Michael Kilgarriff 
Casper: James Dale 
Claudia Procula, wife to Pilate: Mary Law 
Pontius Pilate, Governor of Judaea: Alec Clunes 
Philip: Rolf Lefebvre 
Thomas Didymus/ Father: Philip Leaver 
Mother: Wynne Clark 
Miriam, child: Elizabeth Proud 
Isaac, child/a slave boy: Daniel Rose 
Hannah: Hester Paton-Brown 
James Bar-Zebedee: John Glen 
Andrew Bar-Jonah: John Boxer 
Hezekiah, secretary/ Roman Soldier: John Baker 
Annas, father-in-law to Caiaphas: Edward Atienza 
Captain Elihu: Keith Alexander 
Eunice, a Syro-Phoenician: Elizabeth Morgan 
Cleophas: Harry Hutchinson 
Portress at the High Priest's House: Miriam Margolyes 
Zillah, her daughter: Jo Manning-Wilson 
Issacher, servant: Hugh Dickson 
Susannah, mother to the Bride groom: Betty Baskcomb 
Rebecca, friend to Susannah: Gladys Spencer/ Janet Burnell 
Other cast: Ian Frost, Janette Richer, Nan Marriott-Watson, Janette Richer, Peter Marinker, Raf de la Torre, James Thomason, John Forrest, Michael Goldie 
First broadcast BBC Home Service 19th, 26th Jan, 2nd, 9th , 16th, 23rd Feb, 2nd, 9th, 16th, 23rd, 28th, 30th March 1975 
 ©2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Dorothy L. Sayers

Books by Dorothy L. Sayers

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