Nemesis: A BBC Radio 4 Full-Cast Dramatisation

BBC Radio 4 Marple

by Michael Bakewell (Adapter), Agatha Christie, June Whitfield (Narrator)

June Whitfield stars as the sharp-witted spinster sleuth in a BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatization. Miss Marple is totally shocked to receive a letter from the recently deceased Mr. Rafiel, an acquaintance she had met briefly on her travels. The letter leaves instructions for Miss Marple, whom Mr. Rafiel had recognized as a natural detective, to investigate a crime after his death. There are absolutely no details about the crime, however, nothing about who is involved, or where or when it had been committed. Miss Marple, of course, is thoroughly intrigued.

1/5 A dead acquaintance sends the spinster sleuth on the ultimate mystery tour.
2/5 The spinster sleuth's investigation leads to a dilapidated manor house, with a deadly reputation.
3/5 The potential witness has a suspicious 'accident' so the spinster sleuth widens the net.
4/5 The sleuth curtails her tour to investigate the murders - and the manor house beckons.
5/5 The sleuth's friends come to her aid, as she gets to the bottom of the murder mystery.

This adaptation was first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 - 9 November to 7 December 1998.

Genres: Mystery, Audiobook, Fiction, Crime, Agatha Christie

3 pages, Audio CD

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Michael Bakewell (7 June 1931 – 11 July 2023) was a British radio and television producer and radio playwright.

His work included adapting The Lord of the Rings (with Brian Sibley) into a 1981 radio series for the BBC and a series of 27 adaptations of Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot stories broadcast between 1985 and 2007 by BBC Radio 4.

He was born in Birmingham, England. After graduating from Cambridge in 1954, he was recruited by the BBC's Third Programme. He became the first Head of Plays at the BBC in the 1960s.

Reviews

[Kb · Rating 3 out of 5]

A BBC radio play, slightly better than the Maigret series, but also less good in one particular way: there is background noise that’s meant to evoke atmosphere—but all it did for me was make me think there was stuff going on in real life, not in my earphones. In some cases the “background” didn’t add to the atmosphere so much as obscure the dialog I was trying to listen to.

I wasn’t familiar with this story before listening to it in its entirety, but I was a bit surprised at some of the themes that showed up. But after finding out it was written in 1971, I am less surprised. Also, in the space of a few short months I have found three British mysteries that involve a group of people on a bus tour. This is the first one I’ve been able to finish!

As for Miss Marple, I’m glad she was able to get out and about on someone else’s dime (ten pence?). But how she managed to find matching yarn by walking into some random shop seems miraculous to me, especially without mentioning a brand or checking the dye lot. Ah well, there were other parts of the plot that were even less believable.

Still, it was a decent adaptation, easy to follow even if you haven’t read the original.

[Cidney · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good adaption by the BBC of Agatha Christie's book "Nemesis" featuring June Whitfield as Miss Marple. Unfortunately June Whitefield is my least favourite of the Miss Marples, I don't like her stilted speech patterns in playing this role. However that said, the plotline is good and as usual Agatha Christie has enough red herrings to keep you awake!

I began listening to this in my car briefly then transferred the cd to the bedroom where I spent a happy hour or more wrapping up christmas presents and packing them into boxes to send off on Monday, postal strikes permitting that is! I have really enjoyed listening to these adaptions by the BBC of various books by famous authors and wish they were still making them. Or maybe they still are and I've just not realised!!

[Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very convoluted Marple escapade in which she does quite a lot of snooping but in the end manages to checkmate all her "foes". The usual red herrings, and Marple maintains her equanimity and empathy for all. The murderer has a unique motive, somewhat groundbreaking for the time. Nice to hear the voices of Thelma Barlow, Jill Balcon and Desmond Llewelyn.

[RinTinTin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has been my favorite so far of the BBC radio adaptations of Miss Marple. Great premise and an engaging set of twists and turns.

[sabisteb aka callisto · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mr Jason Rafiel, ein Millionär, den Jane Marple auf ihrer Reise in „A Caribbean Mystery/Karibische Affäre“ kennengelernt hat, ist verstorben. Er hat Jane £20,000 hinterlassen unter einer Bedingung: sie muss ein bestimmtes Verbrechen aufklären, dass er jedoch nicht näher benennt. Stattdessen schenkt er Miss Marple eine Busreise zu den berühmtesten Häusern und Gärten Groß Britanniens. Jane Marple muss also erst einmal herausfinden, um was für ein Verbrechen, wenn es denn eines war, es sich überhaupt handelt, dass sie ermitteln soll und wer die Verdächtigen Teilnehmer dieser Busgesellschaft sind.

Sehr ungewöhnlich und der beste Miss Marple Fall, den ich bisher gehört habe. Diesmal wird nichts verschwiegen, alle Hinweise waren zumindest in Nebensätzen vorhanden. Die Ermittlungen sind sauber durchgeführt, und der Fall gut durchdacht und stimmig.
Einziges Manko sind die Bezüge zu „A Caribbean Mystery/Karibische Affäre“. Es ist einer der wenigen Fälle, wo ein Miss Marple Fall Bezug auf ein vorheriges Verbrechen nimmt und man merkt durchaus, dass einem Informationen fehlen, wenn man diesen älteren Fall nicht kennt. Es stört zwar nicht sonderlich, da dieser Fall an sich in sich abgeschlossen ist, dennoch fehlt einem natürlich die Charakterisierung von Mr Jason Rafiel.
Sehr interessant fand ich das Gespräch am Ende der Geschichte, das Miss Marple mit dem Banker führt. Es passt so richtig zur aktuellen Finanzlage und zeigt, wie weise Jane Marple doch ist:
"You have a deposit account, I expect. We will place it to your deposit account ?"
"Certainly not," said Miss Marple. "Put it into my current account." […]
"You could ask your bank manager’s advice, you know, Miss Marple. It really is one never knows when one wants something for a rainy day."
"The only thing I shall want for a rainy day will be my umbrella," said Miss Marple.[…]
"I’m going to spend it, you know. I’m going to have some fun with it."


Erneut spricht June Whitfield Miss Jane Marple und sie ist wirklich die perfekte Besetzung. Insgesamt sind alle Sprecher, wie bei BBC Produktionen gewohnt, sehr gut und stimmig Besetzt und auch anhand ihrer Stimmen gut voneinander zu unterscheiden, auch wenn nicht viele Charakterstimmen dabei sind. Das Hörspiel stammt aus dem Jahr 1998. Es hatte seine Ursendung am 09.11.1998 und ist seitem immer wieder in größeren Abständen auf BBC Radio 4 Extra zu hören.

[Annette Meier · Rating 4 out of 5]

So much fun to hear an Agatha Christie mystery done as a radio drama! Interesting twists at the end for sure!

[Pauline · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my favourite Miss Marple stories and I like the thought of Miss Marple being Nemesis.
I also enjoyed the links between many of the stories. Read this one after The Caribbean Mystery as it does follow on from it. Each story does link in a small way and gives details of Jane Marple's life, all of which makes the reader feel like they know this clever, intelligent old lady. Who certainly is Nemesis.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a short 2-cd Miss Marple BBC radio presentation of the Agatha Christie book Nemesis. It was actually my introduction to Miss Jane Marple. In it, the sleuth is called upon by an old acquaintance to solve a mystery. To make matters more interesting, she's not even sure what she's supposed to solve when the case begins.

Not bad for a short drive, but I'd prefer it if my library had more unabridged editions of Christie's works.

[Sissy BP · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a hard one for me to rate because as much as I love Agatha Christie, this is my least favorite in her Miss Marple series. I did like the radio play better than I remember liking the book, but it's still not a favorite.

[Anais919 · Rating 4 out of 5]

First book in my quarantine book club with my mom.