Dorothy L. Sayers: Lord Peter Wimsey, Montague Egg & more

A BBC Radio Classic Crime Collection

By: Dorothy L. Sayers

Narrated by: Gary Bond, William Eedle, Simon Russell Beale, Emma Fielding, Stephen Critchlow, Geoffrey Beevers, Richard Hurndall, Sheila Mitchell, John Cater, Full Cast

Crime classics featuring the gentleman detective Lord Peter Wimsey and amateur sleuth Montague Egg, plus a bonus short story and two programmes about the iconic Dorothy L. Sayers

One of the four Golden Age ‘Queens of Crime’, Dorothy L. Sayers is best known as the creator of Lord Peter Wimsey. Included here are dramatisations of three of her classic Wimsey novels, with full casts including Gary Bond, Simon Russell Beale, John Cater, William Eedle and Emma Fielding.

In Whose Body?, the aristocratic sleuth probes the mystery of a dead body in a bath, while The Nine Tailors sees him investigating a mystery involving a group of bellringers and an emerald necklace. And in Strong Poison, he must prove the innocence of the woman he loves – before she is hanged for a crime she did not commit…

Also featured are a trio of stories featuring her other detective, travelling wine salesman Montague Egg, all read by Geoffrey Beevers. In The Poisoned Dow ’08, Monty discovers a customer has been poisoned by a bottle of the eponymous vintage. Murder in the Morning sees him going out of his way to talk to a prospective client, only to find the man lying dead on the kitchen floor. In Sleuths on the Scent, Monty is holed up in a pub when a radio description of a wanted murder suspect seems to fit almost anyone in that room…

The Man Who Knew How is a sinister short story about two strangers who meet on a train, read by Richard Hurndall.

Concluding the collection are two illuminating programmes about on Dorothy L. Sayers herself. Cursed with Both Head and Heart presents a selection of the author’s letters, read by Sheila Mitchell. In Great Lives, Stella Rimington tells Matthew Parris why she finds the paradoxes and contradictions in Sayers’ life so fascinating.

Contents
Whose Body?
The Nine Tailors
Strong Poison
The Poisoned Dow ‘08
Murder in the Morning
Sleuths on the Street
The Man Who Knew How
Cursed with Both Head and Heart
Great Lives: Dorothy L. Sayers

NB: Due to the age of these recordings, the sound quality may vary

With thanks to Keith Wickham and the Radio Circle for sourcing some of these recordings

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