Inspector Hanaud: At the Villa Rose & House of the Arrow: Two Full-Cast BBC Radio Crime Dramatisations

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

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Lydbog: 10. oktober 2024