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Brother Cadfael Mysteries: Dead Man's Ransom (BBC Radio Crimes)
- Narrated by: Philip Madoc, Michael KItchen, Susannah York
- Length: 2 hrs and 14 mins
- Categories: Mystery, Thriller & Suspense, Mystery
Non-member price: $18.74
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Cadfael: The Virgin in the Ice (BBC Radio Crimes)
- By: Ellis Peters
- Narrated by: Philip Madoc
- Length: 2 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Shrewsbury, 1139. The bloody civil war between King Stephen and Empress Maud has swept through the country towards the rural security of Brother Cadfael’s monastery. The citizens of Worcester have fled, among them two orphaned children of noble stock, together with their tutor, a young nun. A Benedictine monk in whose care Lady Ermina and her brother Ives were left, comes to the Abbey to ask if the children have been seen.
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Surpassing great.
- By mrsvee on 01-03-2018
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Monk's-Hood
- The Third Chronicle of Brother Cadfael
- By: Ellis Peters
- Narrated by: Stephen Thorne
- Length: 7 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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Gervase Bonel, with his wife and servants, is a guest of Shrewsbury Abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul when he is suddenly taken ill. Luckily, the Abbey boasts the services of clever and kindly Brother Cadfael, a skilled herbalist. Cadfael hurries to the man's bedside, only to be confronted by two very different surprises. In Master Bonel's wife, the good monk recognises Richildis, whom he loved many years ago before he took his vows. And Master Bonel has been fatally poisoned by a dose of deadly monk's-hood oil from Cadfael's herbarium.
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Characters that come alive
- By Craig on 08-07-2019
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The Heretic's Apprentice
- The Sixteenth Chronicle of Brother Cadfael
- By: Ellis Peters
- Narrated by: Sir Derek Jacobi
- Length: 3 hrs and 1 min
- Abridged
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It is June in the Year of Our Lord 1143 when Elave, young clerk to William of Lythwood, returns from a pilgrimage to the Holy Land with his elderly master's body. His mission is twofold, to bury William in his home abbey of St. Peter and St. Paul, and to deliver a dowry to William's adopted daughter Fortunata. But Elave, suspected of harboring views inimical to church doctrine, is held for ecclesiastical trial. And when Aldwin, the Lythwood family clerk hired in Elave's absence, is stabbed to death, Elave is incarcerated not only for heresy, but for murder. Fortunata's dowry, an intricately carved box with mysterious contents, holds the key to the mysteries that spring up around Elave and the Lythwood family. Shrewd and patient, Brother Cadfael is at his best here. Performed by Tony Award-winning actor Derek Jacobi, this sixteenth chronicle of Brother Cadfael is sure to delight old friends and new fans.
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An adventure of morals
- By LloydW on 19-04-2019
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Monk's Hood: A Brother Cadfael Mystery
- Cadfael: Monk's Hood
- By: Ellis Peters
- Narrated by: Philip Madoc
- Length: 2 hrs and 27 mins
- Original Recording
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After the violence of civil war in the spring, Shrewsbury has enjoyed a quiet summer and a good harvest. But, as Cadfael reflects ruefully, such a peaceful state of affairs cannot be expected to last. He's right. The trouble begins when Gervase Bonel, rich lord of the manor, proposes to sign all his property over to the Abbey. A welcome gift, but when Bonel is found poisoned, foul play is suspected somewhere along the line.
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A Morbid Taste For Bones
- By: Ellis Peters
- Narrated by: Stephen Thorne
- Length: 7 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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Performance
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In 1137 the ambitious head of Shrewsbury Abbey has decided to acquire the remains of Saint Winifred for his Benedictine order. Brother Cadfael is part of the expedition sent to her final resting place in Wales, where they find the villagers passionately divided by the Benedictines' offer for the saint's relics. Canny, wise and all too worldly, Cadfael isn't surprised when this taste for bones leads to bloody murder. The leading opponent to moving the grave has been shot dead with a mysterious arrow, and some say Winifred herself dealt the blow.
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Very enjoyable
- By Amazon Customer on 14-06-2020
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The Devil's Novice
- The Eighth Chronicle of Brother Cadfael
- By: Ellis Peters
- Narrated by: Vanessa Benjamin
- Length: 8 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Outside the pale of the Abbey of Saint Peters and Saint Paul, in September of the year of our Lord 1140, a priestly emissary for King Stephen has been reported missing. But inside the pale, what troubles Brother Cadfael is a proud, secretive 19-year-old novice. Brother Cadfael has never seen two men more estranged than the Lord of Aspley and Meriet, the son he coldly delivers to the abbey to begin a religious vocation. Meriet, meek by day, is so racked by dreams at night that his howls earn him the nickname the Devil's Novice. Shunned and feared, Meriet is soon linked to the missing priest's dreadful fate. Only Brother Cadfael believes in Meriet's innocence, and only the good sleuth can uncover the truth before a boy's pure passion, not evil intent, leads a novice to the noose.
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Spoilt by awful narration
- By Betty on 04-11-2017
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Cadfael: The Virgin in the Ice (BBC Radio Crimes)
- By: Ellis Peters
- Narrated by: Philip Madoc
- Length: 2 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Shrewsbury, 1139. The bloody civil war between King Stephen and Empress Maud has swept through the country towards the rural security of Brother Cadfael’s monastery. The citizens of Worcester have fled, among them two orphaned children of noble stock, together with their tutor, a young nun. A Benedictine monk in whose care Lady Ermina and her brother Ives were left, comes to the Abbey to ask if the children have been seen.
-
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Surpassing great.
- By mrsvee on 01-03-2018
-
Monk's-Hood
- The Third Chronicle of Brother Cadfael
- By: Ellis Peters
- Narrated by: Stephen Thorne
- Length: 7 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Gervase Bonel, with his wife and servants, is a guest of Shrewsbury Abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul when he is suddenly taken ill. Luckily, the Abbey boasts the services of clever and kindly Brother Cadfael, a skilled herbalist. Cadfael hurries to the man's bedside, only to be confronted by two very different surprises. In Master Bonel's wife, the good monk recognises Richildis, whom he loved many years ago before he took his vows. And Master Bonel has been fatally poisoned by a dose of deadly monk's-hood oil from Cadfael's herbarium.
-
-
Characters that come alive
- By Craig on 08-07-2019
-
The Heretic's Apprentice
- The Sixteenth Chronicle of Brother Cadfael
- By: Ellis Peters
- Narrated by: Sir Derek Jacobi
- Length: 3 hrs and 1 min
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It is June in the Year of Our Lord 1143 when Elave, young clerk to William of Lythwood, returns from a pilgrimage to the Holy Land with his elderly master's body. His mission is twofold, to bury William in his home abbey of St. Peter and St. Paul, and to deliver a dowry to William's adopted daughter Fortunata. But Elave, suspected of harboring views inimical to church doctrine, is held for ecclesiastical trial. And when Aldwin, the Lythwood family clerk hired in Elave's absence, is stabbed to death, Elave is incarcerated not only for heresy, but for murder. Fortunata's dowry, an intricately carved box with mysterious contents, holds the key to the mysteries that spring up around Elave and the Lythwood family. Shrewd and patient, Brother Cadfael is at his best here. Performed by Tony Award-winning actor Derek Jacobi, this sixteenth chronicle of Brother Cadfael is sure to delight old friends and new fans.
-
-
An adventure of morals
- By LloydW on 19-04-2019
-
Monk's Hood: A Brother Cadfael Mystery
- Cadfael: Monk's Hood
- By: Ellis Peters
- Narrated by: Philip Madoc
- Length: 2 hrs and 27 mins
- Original Recording
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Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
After the violence of civil war in the spring, Shrewsbury has enjoyed a quiet summer and a good harvest. But, as Cadfael reflects ruefully, such a peaceful state of affairs cannot be expected to last. He's right. The trouble begins when Gervase Bonel, rich lord of the manor, proposes to sign all his property over to the Abbey. A welcome gift, but when Bonel is found poisoned, foul play is suspected somewhere along the line.
-
A Morbid Taste For Bones
- By: Ellis Peters
- Narrated by: Stephen Thorne
- Length: 7 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1137 the ambitious head of Shrewsbury Abbey has decided to acquire the remains of Saint Winifred for his Benedictine order. Brother Cadfael is part of the expedition sent to her final resting place in Wales, where they find the villagers passionately divided by the Benedictines' offer for the saint's relics. Canny, wise and all too worldly, Cadfael isn't surprised when this taste for bones leads to bloody murder. The leading opponent to moving the grave has been shot dead with a mysterious arrow, and some say Winifred herself dealt the blow.
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Very enjoyable
- By Amazon Customer on 14-06-2020
-
The Devil's Novice
- The Eighth Chronicle of Brother Cadfael
- By: Ellis Peters
- Narrated by: Vanessa Benjamin
- Length: 8 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Outside the pale of the Abbey of Saint Peters and Saint Paul, in September of the year of our Lord 1140, a priestly emissary for King Stephen has been reported missing. But inside the pale, what troubles Brother Cadfael is a proud, secretive 19-year-old novice. Brother Cadfael has never seen two men more estranged than the Lord of Aspley and Meriet, the son he coldly delivers to the abbey to begin a religious vocation. Meriet, meek by day, is so racked by dreams at night that his howls earn him the nickname the Devil's Novice. Shunned and feared, Meriet is soon linked to the missing priest's dreadful fate. Only Brother Cadfael believes in Meriet's innocence, and only the good sleuth can uncover the truth before a boy's pure passion, not evil intent, leads a novice to the noose.
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Spoilt by awful narration
- By Betty on 04-11-2017
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St. Peter's Fair
- The Fourth Chronicle of Brother Cadfael
- By: Ellis Peters
- Narrated by: Sir Derek Jacobi
- Length: 2 hrs and 42 mins
- Abridged
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Overall
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It is Summer in the Year of Our Lord 1139 when the grand festive event, St. Peter's Fair, is held in the town of Shrewsbury. The event brings pause to the ongoing civil war, as tradesman from across England and beyond arrive in the town for some much needed gaiety. That is, until the body of a wealthy trader is found in the River Severn. Was Thomas of Bristol the victim of murderous thieves? And if so, why were his valuables abandoned nearby? Brother Cadfael offers to help the merchant's lovely niece Emma. But while he is searching for the killer, the man's wares are ransacked and two more men are murdered. Emma almost certainly knows more that she is telling, as others will soon realise. Cadfael desperately races to save the young girl, knowing that in a country at war with itself, betrayal can come from any direction, an even good intentions can kill. Performed by Tony Award-winning actor Derek Jacobi, this fourth chronicle of Brother Cadfael weaves history and intrigue into an intricate web of adventure.
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Proof pisitive!
- By mrsvee on 09-01-2019
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Brother Cadfael's Penance
- The Twentieth Chronicle of Brother Cadfael
- By: Ellis Peters
- Narrated by: Sir Derek Jacobi
- Length: 3 hrs and 6 mins
- Abridged
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It is nearing the end of the Year of Our Lord 1145. A monk vows to abandon all earthly ties, but how can Brother Cadfael obey when his son is captured in battle? Olivier de Bretagne is one of many young knights taken prisoner in the current power dispute in Britain, but he is also Cadfael's son, and the monk cannot be objective. A council is planned at Coventry to try to appease the warring factions, and Brother Cadfael asks leave to attend, knowing he must do all in his power to find and deliver his son. This most thrilling and humane of Ellis Peters's novels is filled with excitement, intrigue, and a meticulously depicted medieval background.
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Brother Cadfael's Stories
- By Pauline on 30-11-2020
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The Potter's Field
- The Seventeenth Chronicle of Brother Cadfael
- By: Ellis Peters
- Narrated by: Sir Derek Jacobi
- Length: 3 hrs and 1 min
- Abridged
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It is the Summer and Autumn of the Year of Our Lord 1143 in which the gentle monk, Brother Cadfael, is forced to leave the tranquility of his herb garden to find the whole truth behind the murder of a young women whose body was unexpectedly discovered in a newly tilled field recently acquired by the Shrewsbury Abbey in a land exchange.
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Excellent
- By Ruth Gibbs on 25-07-2019
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The Raven in the Foregate
- The Twelfth Chronicle of Brother Cadfael
- By: Ellis Peters
- Narrated by: Vanessa Benjamin
- Length: 7 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Christmas, 1141 A.D. Abbot Radulfus returns from London, bringing with him a priest for the vacant living of Holy Cross (known as the Foregate), a man of presence, scholarship and discipline, but neither humility nor the common touch. When he is found drowned in the mill-pond, suspicion is cast in many directions, not least toward a young man who came in the priest's train, sent to work in Brother Cadfael's garden. For he has little obvious priestly calling. Indeed, he soon attracts the friendship of a girl both beautiful and formidable. To Brother Cadfael, once wordly, now dedicated, if gently cynical, is left the familiar task of sorting the complicated strands which define guilt and innocence.
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No, not a female reader for Cadfael.
- By mrsvee on 29-06-2016
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One Corpse Too Many
- The Second Chronicle of Brother Cadfael
- By: Ellis Peters
- Narrated by: Stephen Thorne
- Length: 8 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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Story
In the summer of 1138, war between King Stephen and the Empress Maud takes brother Cadfael from the quiet world of his garden to the bloody battlefield. Not far from the safety of the Abbey walls, Shrewsbury Castle falls, leaving its ninety-four defenders loyal to the empress to hang as traitors. With a heavy heart, Brother Cadfael agrees to bury the dead, only to make a grisly discovery: 95 bodies lie in a row, and the extra corpse tells Cadfael that the killer is both clever and ruthless. But one death among so many seems unimportant to all but the good Benedictine.
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Disappointing
- By Carol Anne Harvey on 27-03-2018
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Lord Peter Wimsey: BBC Radio Drama Collection, Volume 3
- Four BBC Radio 4 Full-Cast Dramatisations
- By: Dorothy L Sayers
- Narrated by: full cast, Ian Carmichael
- Length: 11 hrs and 14 mins
- Original Recording
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Ian Carmichael stars as Lord Peter Wimsey in these classic BBC radio dramatisations of Dorothy L Sayers' Golden Age crime novels. Gentleman detective Lord Peter Wimsey starred in a number of novels and short stories by Dorothy L Sayers. These full-cast adaptations - first broadcast on BBC radio between 1979 and 2010 - are cherished by crime aficionados worldwide. The stories featured are Murder Must Advertise, The Nine Tailors, Gaudy Night, and Busman's Honeymoon.
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Just perfect!
- By beaver on 24-01-2019
Publisher's Summary
A BBC Radio 4 dramatisation of Ellis Peters' thrilling mystery, featuring medieval monk Brother Cadfael.
It is 1141. In Shrewsbury, civil war is tearing the country apart as the bitter feud between King Stephen and Maud shows no sign of abating. Cadfael, safe within the peaceful walls of the Abbey, does not expect to be drawn on to the battlefield - but when a Welsh prisoner of war is brought to him for treatment of a sword-wound, he finds himself embroiled in the conflict. The young soldier is the foster son of the Prince of North Wales, and a prized possession. In fact, he is so valuable that he can be offered in exchange for Gilbert Prescott, the Sheriff of Shrewsbury, who has been captured by the Welsh.
A swap is duly arranged, but when one of the prisoners is found dead before the transaction takes place, the community learns the horrifying truth: there is a murderer in the monastery. Can Cadfael find out who it is?
Starring Philip Madoc, Michael Kitchen and Susannah York, and dramatized by Bert Coules. This recording was previously released on cassette in 1995 and 2000.
More from the same
What listeners say about Brother Cadfael Mysteries: Dead Man's Ransom (BBC Radio Crimes)
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- mrsvee
- 01-03-2018
Rarely bettered.
The combination of author and production studios turns a good book into a wonderful listening experience.
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- Sybil
- 28-07-2015
Ruined by editing
This is a fair story ruined by the lack of editing out the radio trailers at the beginning and end of what was obviously a radio serialisation. I didn't need the flow of the story to be interrupted with these over and over again nor to hear the last scene repeated a few minutes after hearing it. It may well be a contractual problem but it should have been sorted as it really impacted on the enjoyment of the story. In defence of the actors they were good, especially Philip Madoc who was excellent as Cadfael
7 people found this helpful
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- Guy Ransom
- 20-02-2015
Classic whodunit Well Portrayed
This is another great Cadfail story of death and honour in medieval times. the cast carry the story fluently and convincingly. A thoroughly enjoyable story.
2 people found this helpful
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- Mikeymc
- 05-01-2021
Why did the BBC only commit to three?
Simply a great one. A classic dramatisation of a great book. Shame only 3 were done by the BBC.
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- ADScott
- 17-12-2019
Badly edited from radio broadcast.
I personally found this very difficult to listen to. Primarily because I often tend to listen for more than 20/30 mins at a time. And with this production they stop every broadcast episode, which does not feel long at all, to firstly play (very loud and grating) medieval sounding music, and to then list the entire cast of the production. They then at the beginning of the new episode go through an update of events of the last episode, which you literally just listened to. All this really killed my immersion in the story. I felt like I was listening more to cast names, title music, and updates than actual story. I found this all so grating that I literally couldn't finish what is a very short audiobook. The story underneath all this seemed good though.
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- Meefam
- 06-11-2019
Mega Full Cast
Great special effects, and actors, this is a good story, but for me not the best Cadfael story.
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- Amazon Customer
- 20-01-2016
Voice over
loved Cadfaels voice.......just perfect...and whole recording great.its story kept me riveted.and music was inkeeping with the period .
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- Mr. E. A. Shanks
- 28-09-2015
A wonderful medieval mystery
These actors really bring to life these medieval mysteries. These are well worth a listen.
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