Lord Peter Wimsey - Radio Broadcasts with Ian Carmichael

Ian Carmichael as Dorothy L. Sayers detective Lord Peter Wimsey on BBC Radio.

Lord Peter Wimsey on Radio
Ian Carmichael

First Upload June 2000 Last update November 2001

Created by Dorothy L. Sayers.

During the early 1970's and 80's, a number of the stories were adapted for radio.
This page details the "Ian Carmichael" radio serials.

have issued many of these.

Ian Carmichael	Cast Notes	Harriet Vane
	PeterJones as Bunter Gabriel Woolf as Insp. Charles Parker others to feature prominently: Patricia Routledge, Bernard Archard, Allan Cuthbertson, Martin Jarvis, Philip Latham, Timothy Bateson, Nigel Stock, Peter Vaughan, etc	Ann Bell in Strong Poison Maria Aitken in Have His Carcase (she also gave a notable performance as Lady Mary Wimsey in the earlier Clouds of Witness) Sarah Badel in Busman's Honeymoon

Whose Body?

Broadcast December 30 1973 to January 27 1974
adapted by Chris Miller
produced by Simon Brett

1) The Body In The Bath	2) Disappearance Of A Financier
3) Lunch At Lady Swaffham's	4) Shellshock
5) Bunter Brings A Letter

Lord Peter investigates the connection between the discovery of a corpse in a bath, and the disappearance of financier Sir Reuben Levy.

Clouds of Witness

Broadcast February 3 to March 24 1974
adapted by Peter Jones & Tania Lieven
produced by Simon Brett

1) The Riddlesdale Inquest	2) Mudstains And Bloodstains
3) The Diamond Cat	4) Mary, Quite Contrary
5) The Morning After	6) In A Fog
7) The Barometer Falls	8) The Speech For The Defence

A family affair - Lord Peter must investigate his own family when his brother, The Duke of Denver, is accused of murdering their sister Lady Mary's direputable fiancee, Major Dennis Cathcart. But why are Mary and the Duke so uncooperative? and is Wimsey himself walking into danger?
Issued on Audio Cassette June 2001.

Unnatural Death

Broadcast May 5 to June 16 1975
adapted by Chris Miller
produced by Simon Brett

1) No Sign Of Foul Play	2) Death In Epping Forest
3) The Will	4) Hallelujah
5) The Property Act	6) Vera Findlater
7) Miss Climpson Investigates

The case on Agatha Dawson is closed, but Lord Peter Wimsey is not satisfied. With no clues to work on, he begins his own investigation. Then Agatha's maid is suddenly murdered.

Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club

Broadcast 23 June - 28 July 1975
adapted by Chris Miller
produced by Simon Brett

1) Armistice Night	2) The General's Last Evening
3) Mr Oliver	4) Exhumation
5) At Lady Dormer's	6) Ann Dorland

Lord Peter discovers General Fentiman dead at the Bellona Club, but did he die there? and when did he die? Important questions when there is a large inheritance at stake.

Strong Poison

Broadcast May 17 to June 21 1976
adapted by Chris Miller
produced by Simon Brett

1) Old Bailey	2) Ten Minutes In Bloomsbury
3) Norman Urquhart	4) Miss Murchison
5) Pongo	6) Turkish Delight

Enter Harriet Vane, crime novelist; accused of murdering her former lover Philip Boyes. The case appears open and shut, except to Lord Peter who is convinced of her innocence. Time is not on his side as he searches to find a very cunning murderer, and to save Harriet Vane from the gallows.

The Five Red Herrings

Broadcast January 4 to February 22 1978
adapted by Chris Miller
produced by Simon Brett

1) The Body In The Burn	2) Disappearances
3) Bicycles	4) Bunter Investigates
5) Alibis	6) Evidence Of A Commercial Traveller
7) Council Of War	8) Reconstruction

Painting and Scotland go hand in hand, but not all artists are alike, and the question Lord Peter must face is, did one of his painter friends murder the universally unpopular Sandy Campbell?

Murder Must Advertise

Broadcast January 1 to February 5 1979
adapted by Alastair Beaton
produced by Martin Fisher

1) Death Comes To Pym's Publicity	2) Singular Spotlessness Of A Lethal Weapon
3) Unsentimental Masquerade Of A Harlequin	4) Inexcusable Invasion Of A Ducal Entertainment
5) Sudden Decease Of A Man In Dress Clothes	6) Appropriate Exit Of An Unskilled Murderer

Pym's Publicity is the place. Victor Dean is the victim, was he pushed or did fall down the iron staircase shattering his skull? Enter a new copywriter, Mr Death Bredon, (alias L.P.W) to investigate.

The Nine Tailors

Broadcast October 20 to December 8 1980
adapted by Alastair Beaton
produced by Martin Fisher

1) The Bells Are Rung Up	2) Lord Peter Is Called In
3) Bunter Breaks The Law	4) The Hunt Moves To France
5) A Question Of Identity	6) A Damnable Business
7) All Is Not Explained	8) Nine Tailors Makes A Man

Considered by many to be her best story. The discovery of a dismembered body in the churchyard of Fenchurch St. Paul, leads to many questions, who was he? who murdered him and why? and what significance do the Fenchurch bells themselves have? the Nine Tailors?
Reissued for the first time on CD in June 2001

Have His Carcase

Broadcast October 20 to November 24 1981
adapted by Alastair Beaton
produced by Martin Fisher

1) The Evidence Of The Corpse	2) Lord Peter Sets A Trap
3) A Dutiful Son	4) The Snake In The Grass
5) Too Perfect An Alibi	6) All A Question Of Time

While on holiday, novelist Harriet Vane discovers the body of a man who has had his throat cut with a razor, again she may be a suspect in the murder. Having saved her before, Lord Peter is only to keen to help Harriet tracked down the guilty person.

Gaudy Night

No radio serial made.

Obscene graffiti, poison pen letters and a disgusting effigy greet Harriet Vane on her return to Oxford. A graduate of ten years before and now a successful novelist, this should have been a pleasant, nostalgic visit for her. Lord Peter is again on hand to render assistance.

Busman's Honeymoon

Broadcast January 3 to February 7 1983
adapted by Alastair Beaton
produced by Martin Fisher

1) The Mysteries Of Married Life	2) Credit Where Credit's Due
3) A Policeman's Lot	4) Not Why, But How
5) Crossed In Love	6) A Chain Of Circumstance

Finally married, Lord Peter and Harriet head off for their honeymoon, but in this Dorothy L. Sayers last "Lord Peter" novel (excluding "Thrones, Dominations" the fragment completed by Jill Paton Walsh) you can guess that a corpse is not going to be far away.

Audiobooks
The BBC Radio Collection have issued many of the above on audio cassette, and continue to do so. Also many abridged and unabridged readings have been issued over the years, most notably: Mr Carmichael has recorded many unabridged readings for Chivers Audio ranging from "Whose Body?" right up to "Thrones, Dominations".

Edward Petherbridge (see the TV page for his connection) has also recorded a number of abridged audiobooks featuring Lord Peter. Featured on this page, covers to his Strong Poison, Gaudy Night, Have His Carcase (presumably dating from around the time of the TV series) and more recently Thrones, Dominations.

For availability (not all titles may currently be in print) check your local public library, and the searchable catalogues of Amazon UK & US and others who provide a good, similar service should be helpful.

Audiobook images on this page of releases from , RBC, Listen for Pleasure, Audio Partners, Blackstone Audiobooks, Durkin Hayes & Hodder Headline.

**Special Thanks to Mark McKay for supplying the dates.**

Thank's to BAM for the original cover of "Murder Must Advertise"; Sandy Finlayson for the original cover of "Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club" and the US covers of "Have His Carcase", "Gaudy Night" & "Thrones, Dominations"