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The best places to write your novel according to authors: tried and tested

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What you should read, according to your taste in ice cream

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How Agatha Christie turns readers into bestselling novelists

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

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Semi-colons; or, learning to love literature’s most misunderstood punctuation

From Jane Austen's Chawton to Bram Stoker's Whitby, this is the definitive literary tour of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

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A literary tour of the United Kingdom

Literature's strangest real-life mysteries 

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Literature’s biggest unanswered mysteries

Seven full-cast BBC radio dramatisations

More of Poirot's Finest Cases

John Moffatt stars as the Belgian detective Hercule Poirot in seven more BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisations.

John Moffatt stars as the great Belgian detective Hercule Poirot in seven more BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisations. 
 
Evil Under the Sun: On holiday in Devon, Poirot becomes embroiled in the murder of a glamorous American starlet. 
 
Sad Cypress: A poison pen letter begins a chain of events which is to end in tragedy. 
 
Murder in Mesopotamia: When death occurs at an archaeological site in the Iraqi desert, Poirot is on hand to dig for clues. 
 
Lord Edgware Dies: Lord Edgware is found brutally stabbed, his wife the prime suspect. But did she murder him? 
 
Hallowe’en Party: The sleuth investigates the death of a girl drowned in an apple-bobbing tub on All Hallows’ Eve. 
 
Murder on the Links: Summoned urgently to France, Poirot finds his wealthy client dead. Can he trace the killer? 
 
Five Little Pigs: A bride-to-be hires Poirot to solve a sixteen-year-old case and prove her mother innocent of murder. 
 
These BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisations find Poirot pitting his ‘little grey cells’ against a variety of cunning criminals. Based on Agatha Christie’s original novels, these superb adaptations feature a host of distinguished actors including Iain Glen, Fiona Fullerton, Stephanie Cole and Stephen Tompkinson. 
 © 2017 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. ? 2017 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

A radio investigation into the Queen of Crime

Agatha Christie Close Up

A fascinating collection of archive radio programmes focussing on the life and work of the bestselling crime author.

A fascinating collection of archive radio programmes focusing on the life and work of crime fiction's grande dame and featuring Agatha Christie in her own words. 
 
Dame Agatha Christie published 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections in her lifetime, but to the public she remained an enigmatic figure. This quartet of BBC radio programmes looks at the woman behind the books, and explores the career of one of Britain's most famous mystery writers. 
 
Agatha Christie in Close-Up (1955) tells the story of the celebrated author, with contributions from Richard Attenborough, Allen Lane, Margaret Lockwood and Peter Saunders; while in The Mysterious Dame Agatha (1975), Cliff Michelmore presents an 85th birthday tribute with Peter Saunders, Nigel Stock and Julian Symons. Women of Mystery: Queen of Crime (1982) sees Jessica Mann investigating women crime writers and Christie in particular; and in Agatha Christie: Speaking Her Own Words (2015), we hear specially selected excerpts from the initial, dictated version of Christie's autobiography. Recorded in 1965, these unedited personal tapes were discovered by her grandson Matthew Prichard, who introduces the programme. 
 
Featuring the voices of fellow writers, friends, family and the Queen of Crime herself, this wide-ranging collection sheds new light on the bestselling novelist of all time. Duration: 2 hours approx.

Twelve BBC Radio 4 dramatisations

Agatha Christie: Twelve Radio Mysteries

12 BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisations of short stories by the Queen of Crime.

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.

Twelve classic Christie short stories are given a modern spin in these BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisations. 
 
Agatha Christie is the acknowledged 'Queen of Crime', and these twelve short stories showcase her skilful plotting and talent for producing compelling mysteries. First broadcast in the early 2000s, the stories were adapted and brought up-to-date for a contemporary audience. 
 
Among the star cast are Tom Hollander, Emilia Fox, Patricia Routledge, Julia McKenzie, Neil Dudgeon, Richard Griffiths, Rebecca Front and Andrew Sachs. 
 
Unconventional detective Parker Pyne features in two of the stories, all twelve of which are infused with Agatha Christie's trademark tension and suspense. These tantalising tales of revenge, jealousy, love and death will thrill her many fans. 
 
The stories are: 
 
Philomel Cottage 
Swan Song 
Magnolia Blossom 
Witness for the Prosecution 
The Gates of Baghdad 
The Hound of Death 
In a Glass Darkly 
The Dressmaker's Doll 
The Case of the Perfect Carer 
The £199 Adventure 
The Gypsy 
The Last Séance 
 
Duration: approx 5 hours 30 minutes

Classic Drama from the BBC Radio Archives

Marple's Casebook

June Whitfield stars as Miss Marple in eight full-cast BBC Radio 4 dramatisations.

June Whitfield stars as Miss Marple in eight thrilling full-cast BBC Radio 4 dramatisations. 
 
A Pocket Full of Rye A spate of unusual deaths is linked to the nursery rhyme 'Sing a Song of Sixpence'. 
 
4.50 from Paddington After witnessing a murder on a train, Mrs McGillicuddy calls on Miss Marple. 
 
At Bertram’s Hotel Crime lurks beneath the surface of a respectable Mayfair hotel. 
 
The Body in the Library A mysterious blonde is found murdered in Dolly Bantry’s library. 
 
The Mirror Crack’d from Side to Side At a benefit held at Gossington Hall, harmless Mrs Badcock is fatally poisoned. 
 
A Caribbean Mystery Bored in paradise, Miss Marple finds her interest aroused by an old soldier’s tale. 
 
Murder at the Vicarage Everyone in St Mary Mead detested Colonel Protheroe – but who killed him? 
 
A Murder is Announced A startling entry in a local paper’s personal column leads to a deadly shooting. 
 
These BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisations feature eight of Miss Marple’s most complex and intriguing cases. Based on the original novels by Agatha Christie, they are performed by a stellar cast. 
 
Duration: 16 hours approx.

Three new BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramas

Miss Marple's Final Cases

June Whitfield returns as the deceptively mild spinster sleuth in three full-cast BBC Radio 4 dramatisations.

June Whitfield returns as the deceptively mild spinster sleuth in three full-cast BBC Radio 4 dramatisations. 
 
Specially broadcast to mark the 125th anniversary of Agatha Christie’s birth, these brand new dramas are based on three of her best short stories. 
 
Tape-Measure Murder: When Mrs Spenlow is murdered in St Mary Mead, the village gossips all agree that her husband must have killed her – until Miss Marple is called as an alibi… 
 
The Case of the Perfect Maid: Miss Marple investigates the problem of a lady’s maid who has been mysteriously sacked – while also helping her crime writer nephew Raymond West to cure his writer’s block. 
 
Sanctuary: Miss Marple and her god-daughter Bunch are horrified when they discover a dying man in the local church. Can Miss Marple deduce his identity – and his killer – from his last words? 
 
First published in the collection Miss Marple’s Final Cases, these three delightfully clever tales will keep you guessing till the end. Starring June Whitfield – reprising her role as Miss Marple for the first time since 2001 – they are dramatised for BBC Radio 4 by Joy Wilkinson. 
Duration: 1 hr 30 mins approx.

Three BBC radio full-cast dramas: Butter in a Lordly Dish, Murder in the Mews & Personal Call

Agatha Christie: The Lost Plays

A triple bill of archive BBC radio dramas, believed lost for over half a century and only recently rediscovered.

A triple bill of archive BBC radio dramas, believed lost for over half a century and only recently rediscovered. Butter in a Lordly Dish, written specially for radio in 1948, features Richard Williams as Sir Luke Enderby KC, whose infidelities lead him into trouble when he goes to meet his latest flame. Williams also stars as Hercule Poirot in Murder in the Mews, a 1955 adaptation of a short story. A young woman is found dead in her flat, the day after Guy Fawkes night. Did she die by her own hand, or someone else's? In Personal Call, also written specially for radio by Agatha Christie, a disturbing telephone call from a woman named Fay has consequences for both Richard Brent and his wife Pam. This 1960 production stars Ivan Brandt and Barbara Lott.

Agatha Christie

June Whitfield

Full Cast

Full-cast BBC Radio 4 dramatisations

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 
 
 
 ©2018 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2018 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

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