Inspector Purbright

Five BBC Radio 4 Full-Cast Crime Dramatisations from The Flaxborough Chronicles

By: Colin Watson

Narrated by: Peter Jeffrey, John Rowe, John Pullen, full cast

A collection of cosy crime dramas adapted from Colin Watson's Flaxborough Chronicles, set in a small Lincolnshire market town in the 1960s and '70s.

Inspector Purbright is a thoroughly English policeman: affable, polite, dogged and decent. Created by award-winning crime writer Colin Watson, he appeared in 12 Flaxborough mysteries, four of which were adapted for BBC TV under the title Murder Most English. These five radio dramatisations star Peter Jeffrey, John Pullen and John Rowe as Purbright.

Coffin, Scarcely Used - When newspaper proprietor Marcus Gwill is found dead under an electricity pylon, shortly after the death of his neighbour, Harold Carobleat, Inspector Purbright investigates. He soon discovers that something very odd is going on in the seemingly respectable town of Flaxborough.

Bump in the Night - Tuesday nights in Chalmsbury are becoming quite explosive: first a drinking fountain is blown to bits, then the statue of Alderman Berry is decapitated, and the following week, a giant glass eye is shattered. On loan from Flaxborough CID, can Purbright find the mystery bomber?

Lonelyheart 4122 - Two middle-aged women have gone missing in Flaxborough, and Purbright's investigations lead him to local marriage bureau Handclasp House. Meanwhile, the resourceful Miss Lucy Teatime has her own interest in the agency....

Charity Ends at Home - The kindly detective probes dark deeds in the world of small-time animal charities - and uncovers a trail of murder and sabotage.

The Naked Nuns - An intercepted telegram hints that Flaxborough is home to human traffickers - and then a tip-off arrives from America that an assassin is on the way. Soon, Inspector Purbright finds himself picking his way through a case of vice and violence....

Content warning: These programmes contain strong language, and some dated attitudes.

©2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Wodehouse lives

I was relaxed and Really listening when I began to
to hear Wodehouse behind some of the humorus chatter and behaviorsI was getting to know. 0n my old list of
humor in mystery writers
I listened to all the great Wodehouse mysteries
laughing most of the way.
Then I eased into this author' work - it felt like
reading Wodehouse. I have a New humor writer: clever plotting,
tongue in cheek character description,
what more is there?

magnificent

superb presentation. actors are amazing. story line is intriguing. the bbc knows how to present an audiobook.

I wish there was more

excellent dramatization of fun and cozy mysteries. the stories and characters were getting better with each “episode”

It passes the time

Not a bad series and I don’t regret listening to it while I did chores but it wasn’t a griping listen and I doubt I will listen to it a second time.

Characters Become Endearing and Stories More Interesting

I liked the development of the characters, they started to grow on me. To the point I’d like to hear another series.

Poor audio

Although the characters and storylines were quite good, the audio itself was awful. Much of the time I had no idea what was being said. Background noises and music drowned out the dialog.

Watson was a witty and clever writer and you are better off reading his books than listening to these dramatizations.

A worthy series

If you're looking for a straight-forward police procedural without all the blood, guts and cruelty, these are for you. The production is good and the intros and outros between episodes not too distracting. They are based from the 1950s to 70s so don't expect women to do more than make tea or be victims, but that's the way it was and there isn't any serious misogyny etc. The solutions are clever and entertaining and the characters are fun to be with through their cases.

Quite entertaining

My favorite is "A Bump in the Night" because I think this story has the best sense of humor. The actors' voices fit their characters. My least favorite is "Lonely Hearts...."