A. E. W. Mason

E. W. Hermon

About E. W. Hornung / E. W. Hornung: Ernest William Hornung was born in Middlesborough in 1866 and was educated at Uppingham School. He spent two years in Australia as a private tutor and worked briefly as a clerk in London before devoting his time to writing. Hornung was a member of the same cricket club as the creator of Sherlock Holmes, Arthur Conan Doyle. He eventually married Conan Doyle's sister, Connie. Hornung wrote several novels – including A Bride from the Bush (1890) and Stingaree (1905) – as well as a book of verse, but his fame rests upon his creation of Raffles the gentleman thief, considered the first antihero figure of modern crime fiction.

E. W. Hornung

About W E Bowman: W. E. Bowman (1912-1985) was a civil engineer who spent his free time hill-walking, painting and writing (unpublished) books on the Theory of Relativity.  He was married with two children.

W E Bowman

About W E Johns: Captain W. E. Johns was born in Hertfordshire in 1893. He flew with the Royal Flying Corps in the First World War and made a daring escape from a German prison camp in 1918. Between the wars he edited Flying and Popular Flying and became a writer for the Ministry of Defence. The First Biggles story, Biggles the Camels are Coming was published in 1932, and W. E. Johns went on to write a staggering 102 Biggles titles before his death in 1968.

W E Johns

E M W Tillyard

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BBC dramatisations of two classic detective novels featuring Inspector Gabriel Hanaud of the Paris Sûreté 
 
The brilliant creation of British author A.E.W. Mason, Inspector Hanaud has been hailed as ‘the first major fiction police detective of the Twentieth Century’, and was one of the inspirations for Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot. In these engaging whodunits, France’s cleverest investigator is tasked with proving the innocence of two young women, both accused of murder. 
 
At the Villa Rose – Madame Dauvray is found strangled at her villa, her priceless jewellery stolen. All the evidence points to her English companion Celia Harland, who has since disappeared. Holidaying in Aix-les Bains, Inspector Hanaud is approached by her fiancé Harry, who persuades him to take up the case…First published in 1910, this gripping mystery was the first outing for Inspector Hanaud, played here by Andrew Sachs, with Nicholas Rowe as Harry and Fiona Clarke as Celia. 
 
The House of the Arrow – When a wealthy widow dies suddenly, the finger of suspicion points at her adopted daughter, Betty Harlowe. Her English lawyer, Frobisher, calls in Inspector Hanaud, who has come to Dijon to investigate a spate of poison-pen letters. Can he unravel the mystery surrounding the House of the Arrow? Richard Pasco stars as Hanaud in this adaptation of A.E.W. Mason’s 1924 thriller, alongside Benedick Blythe, Moir Leslie and Deborah Makepeace. 
 
 
At the Villa Rose 
Hanaud – Andrew Sachs 
Ricardo – Ian Masters 
Wethermill – Nicholas Rowe 
Celia – Fiona Clarke 
Madame Dauvray/Marthe/Jeanne – Janet Whiteside 
Helene Vauquiers/Waitress – Alice Arnold 
Perrichet/Lemerre – Stephen Critchlow 
Servattaz/Besnard – Sean Baker 
Adele – Becky Hindley 
Dramatised by David Benedictus 
Directed by Marion Nancarrow 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 30 October 1999 
 
The House of the Arrow 
Inspector Hanaud – Richard Pasco 
Jim Frobisher – Benedick Blythe 
Betty Harlowe – Moir Leslie 
Ann Upcott – Deborah Makepeace 
Francine Rollard – Carole Boyd 
Boris Waberski/Girardot – Alfredo Michelsen 
Carlos Espinosa/Gaston – Clive Panto 
Maurice Thevenet – Mark Jones 
Adapted by Alan Downer 
Directed by Christopher Venning 
Music composed and directed by Terence Allbright 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 4 February 1984 
 
© 2024 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2024 BBC Studios Distribution Lt

Inspector Hanaud: At the Villa Rose & House of the Arrow

Two Full-Cast BBC Radio Crime Dramatisations

G.K. Chesterton

Victor Whitechurch

Edgar Wallace

Marie Belloc Lowndes

Anna Katharine Green

Josephine Tey

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

Seven BBC Radio Adaptations of Classic Crime Mysteries

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