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From the Orient Express to Bullet Train: why crime loves a locomotive

A BBC Radio Reading

Benedict Cumberbatch Reads Thrilling Stories of the Railway

Benedict Cumberbatch reads five stories featuring the famous vegetarian railway detective, Thorpe Hazell, as heard on BBC Radio 4.

Victor L. Whitechurch was a British author born in 1868. He became first a curate and then, in 1904, vicar of St Michael’s church in Blewbury, Berkshire. In his later career he was Chaplain to the Bishop of Oxford and, from 1918, Rural Dean of Aylesbury. His first novel, The Course of Justice, was published in 1903, and a prolific writing career followed. 
 
Whitechurch’s detective Thorpe Hazell was a vegetarian railway detective, written as an antidote to Sherlock Holmes. Stories featuring Hazell were featured in Strand Magazine, Railway Magazine and Pearson’s and Harmsworth’s magazines.

Benedict Cumberbatch reads five stories featuring the famous vegetarian railway detective, Thorpe Hazell, as heard on BBC Radio 4. 
 
In The Affair of the German Dispatch-Box, Hazell hatches a daring plan to retrieve a highly sensitive government document before it reaches the German Ambassador. 
 
In Sir Gilbert Murrell's Picture, When an entire wagon containing valuable paintings disappears from a goods train, Hazell's skill is needed. 
 
In The Affair of the Corridor Express, a multimillionaire's son disappears from a moving train. Hazell must find the kidnappers before the boy is lost forever. 
 
In The Stolen Necklace a lady begs Hazell to help when the diamond necklace that she borrowed is stolen from her suitcase. 
 
In The Affair of the Birmingham Bank, customers keep drawing money from a Midlands bank, so gold reserves are sent by train. Hazell must guard against train robbery.

G.K. Chesterton

A. E. W. Mason

Victor Whitechurch

Edgar Wallace

Marie Belloc Lowndes

Anna Katharine Green

Josephine Tey

Andrew Sachs

Richard Pasco

Olivier Pierre

Crawford Logan

Moir Leslie

Benedict Cumberbatch

Alexander John

David Davis

Brenda Bruce

Mary O'Farrell

Teresa Gallagher

Julia Foster

Joan Sims

Full Cast

Seven BBC Radio Adaptations of Classic Crime Mysteries

A collection of thrilling tales from the Golden Age of Detective Fiction, including six full-cast dramas and a short story read by Benedict Cumberbatch 
 
In the first half of the 20th century, the detective story exploded in popularity. Innovative authors penned whodunits, whydunits and clue-puzzle stories, and introduced iconic sleuths, creating works that would later become classics. This Golden Age, which reached its height during the 1920s and ’30s, saw the crowning of the ‘Queens of Crime’, the formation of the Detection Club and the laying down of new rules of crime writing – and the fiction produced during this period has had lasting appeal and influence, fundamentally shaping the ‘cosy crime’ novels of today. 
 
This collection gathers together seven sensational stories from Golden Age authors – some well-known, others unjustly overlooked – beginning with three by founding members of the Detection Club. The Blue Cross by G.K. Chesterton features the first appearance of one of the best-loved detectives in fiction: Father Brown, as he pursues arch-villain and master of disguise Flambeau. Andrew Sachs stars as the insightful cleric, with Olivier Pierre as his wily nemesis. 
 
In The House of the Arrow by A.E.W. Mason, starring Richard Pasco and Moir Leslie, a young woman living in Dijon is accused of murder, leading her lawyer to call in the Sûreté’s best officer, Inspector Hanaud. 
 
Narrated by Benedict Cumberbatch, The Affair of the German Dispatch-Box by Victor Whitechurch sees daring Edwardian sleuth Thorpe Hazell using his locomotive expertise to solve an ingenious and audacious railway crime. 
 
A legendary assassin and vigilante returns from the dead in The Ringer by Edgar Wallace, and Scotland Yard must find him before he exacts his revenge. David Davis stars as the ‘Gaunt Stranger’, and Alexander John as the tenacious Inspector Wembury. 
 
In An Unrecorded Instance by Marie Belloc Lowndes, Hetty Mingle ignores her dying mother's advice about fortune hunters – but will she end up regretting it? Starring Mary O’Farrell and Brenda Bruce. 
 
The Golden Slipper by Anna Katharine Green finds New York debutante (and reluctant detective) Violet Strange tasked with investigating four rich young women suspected of multiple thefts. Teresa Gallagher stars as the socialite sleuth, with Crawford Logan as her client, Driscoll. 
 
Concluding this collection is Miss Pym Disposes by Josephine Tey, which finds psychologist Lucy Pym investigating a death at a women’s physical education college. Starring Julia Foster as Miss Pym and Joan Sims as her friend, headmistress Henrietta Hodge, this dark, engrossing psychological thriller is a late Golden Age gem. 
 
First published 1910 (The Blue Cross), 1912 (The Affair of the German Dispatch-Box), 1915 (The Golden Slipper), 1924 (The House of the Arrow, An Unrecorded Instance), 1929 (The Ringer), 1946 (Miss Pym Disposes) 
 
© 2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

The Golden Age: Mystery and Murder

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