John Dickson Carr

Two men claim the name and estate of Sir John Farnleigh. A third man can prove which is the imposter, but is he a logical candidate for murder? Dr Gideon Fell investigates this and other secrets at Farnleigh Court.

Eight BBC Radio crime dramas featuring Golden Age detective Gideon Fell, starring Donald Sinden

With his cape, canes and shovel hat, portly amateur sleuth Dr Gideon Fell cuts an eccentric figure - but his odd appearance belies his sharp intellect and astonishing faculty for deduction. Created by crime novelist John Dickson Carr, and supposedly based on fellow author G. K. Chesterton, Dr Fell appeared in 23 novels between 1933 and 1967. This radio collection comprises all eight of the BBC adaptations based on Carr's bestselling books.

The Hollow Man - Dr Gideon Fell becomes embroiled in an intriguing locked room mystery when an illusionist threatens an eminent professor.

The House in Gallows Lane - 1936, and the peace of a small English village is disrupted by a mysterious death in this captivating drama adapted from the novel Till Death Do Us Part.

To Wake the Dead - On the eve of King George VI's coronation, a woman is murdered in a grand London hotel. But this death is not the first of its kind...

The Blind Barber - When a brutal killing takes place on an ocean liner, the engraving on the murder weapon provides a vital clue.

The Black Spectacles - Three people witness a murder, yet none of them can agree about what they have seen.

The Mad Hatter Mystery- A young journalist is found murdered at Traitors' Gate in fog-bound London, a crossbow through his heart and a top hat on his head.

He Who Whispers - Dr Fell becomes involved in a seemingly supernatural murder, in which the victim was found entirely alone at the top of an isolated medieval tower in France.

Below Suspicion - The stifling respectability of a South London suburb is rocked by a spate of ruthless poisonings - and as Fell investigates, he uncovers a sinister black magic cult...

Donald Sinden stars as Gideon Fell, with John Hartley as Superintendent Hadley. Among the supporting casts are Nigel Davenport, Wendy Craig, Patrick Allen, Andrew Wincott and James Fleet.

Written by John Dickson Carr
Dramatised by Peter Ling
Produced and directed by Enyd Williams

The murderer walked through a locked door, shot his victim and vanished. He killed his second victim in the middle of an empty street, yet nobody saw him, and he left no footprints in the snow. And so it is up to the irrepressible Dr Gideon Fell to solve this most famous and taxing of locked-room mysteries.

Psychic Roger Darworth is found gruesomely murdered after running a séance to exorcise the spirit thought to be haunting Plague Court. But who, or what, could have killed him? All the windows and doors were bolted and locked. The only one who can solve the crime in this bizarre and chilling tale is locked-room expert Sir Henry Merrivale.