A Pocket Full of Rye

BBC Radio 4 Marple

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

With only one bizarre clue to the agonizing death of a wealthy financiar, Miss Marple must unravel a mystery hidden in a child's nursery rhyme that is to prove one of the strangeset cases of her life.

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

2 pages, Audio CD

Published April 1, 2014

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

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

These stories are always filled with such odious people, with so many motives for murder.

[Pauline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoying these dramatised stories.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Always good for a palate cleanser between reads!

[sabisteb aka callisto · Rating 4 out of 5]

Als Gladys, ein ehemaliges Hausmädchen von Miss Marple, das sie selber aus dem Waisenhaus geholt und ausgebildet hat, ermordet wird (man findet sie erwürgt mit einer Wäscheklammer auf der Nase im Garten ihrer Arbeitgeber), will Miss Marple herausfinden, warum Gladys sterben musste. Dabei findet sie heraus, dass ihr ehemaliges Hausmädchen bereits das dritte Opfer in diesem Haushalt ist. Der Hausherr, Rex Fortescue, Finanzmakler, starb in seinem Büro durch Taxin (das Gift der Eibe). In seiner Tasche fand die Polizei Roggenkörner. Da Taxin langsam wirkt, muss er bereits zum Frühstück vergiftet worden sein. Die Hauptverdächtige war seine Frau, zumindest, bis auch sie vergifet wurde, diesmal jedoch mit Cyanid.
Miss Marlpe glaubt jedoch eher an einen perfiden Racheplan, der sich an einem alten Kinderreim orientiert:
Sing a song of sixpence,
A pocket full of rye.
Four and twenty blackbirds,
Baked in a pie.

When the pie was opened,
The birds began to sing;
Wasn't that a dainty dish,
To set before the king?

The king was in his counting house,
Counting out his money;
The queen was in the parlour,
Eating bread and honey.

The maid was in the garden,
Hanging out the clothes;
When down came a blackbird
And pecked off her nose.
Schon bald zeigt sich, dass der Kinderreim tatsächlich wichtige Hinweise auf das Verbrechen enthält.

Überkonstruiert, maßlos überkonstruiert. So lässt sich dieser Fall zusammenfassen. Es ist natürlich eine geniale Idee Morde anhand eines Kinderreimes zu planen, aber ehrlich, wer würde so einen Aufwand betreiben? Dennoch wirklich gut konstruiert, mit nachvollziehbarem Motiv und sauberer Ermittlung.
Miss Marple wird erneut von June Whitfield gesprochen und spielt erneut eher eine Nebenrolle. Sie kommt erst nach dem dritten Mord zu den Ermittlungen hinzu, vorher ist alles ganz normal in der Hand der Polizei. Die Sprecher sind allesamt, wie bei BBC Produktionen üblich, Profis und machen ihre Aufgabe sehr gut. Keiner fällt unangenehm auf. Deutsche Hörer sollten gut Englisch können, da einige Passagen, besonders jene der Hausmädchen, in teils recht breitem Dialekt gesprochen werden.
Nicht gerade Miss Marples bester Fall, aber soweit spannend, wenn auch die Motive und Täter für meinen Geschmack unrealistisch überkonstrukiert sind.

[writer... · Rating 5 out of 5]

1st read - March 31.15

Re-read - March 29.16

Full cast dramatization of this Agatha Christie novel featuring Miss Marple [#7]. As the Inspector consults with Miss Marple, she points out the connections between the murder clues and the children's Pocket Full of Rye rhyme. Selfish, grasping and without scruples, the Fortescues have Miss Marple comparing the family suspects with stories she's known from life in St Mary Mead. Recalling similarities aids the process in her brilliant deductions. Always love Miss Marple's reveal. And a conclusion that involves a cup of tea!

Recording is a listening pleasure of actors capable of portraying the variety of characterizations, voice inflections, authentic accents, clarity of dialogue free of background distractions.

[Dolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have become a big fan of the BBC full-cast productions of Dame Christie's stories. They are quite entertaining and, I believe, capture the charm of her storytelling.

September 2021 updste: I also listened to the audiobook edition (ISBN13 9780062265814) narrated by Richard E. Grant, to compare it to the BBC production. I really liked them both. This version, of course, has far more details, red herrings, and intricacies than that of the BBC version.

[Tricia · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a rare instance where I remembered quite a lot of the plot as it was going along from a previous read of the book, and I was getting a bit frustrated by knowing it all already.

Miss Marple has only the vaguest of reasons for sticking her nose into this murder, and the best part is where one of the characters tells her to basically go away and leave her alone.

My major gripe with this one is the deus ex machina to solve the evidence issue.

[Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nursery rhyme figures prominently in this Miss Marple whodunit. As usual our Jane sticks in her impish nose to a murder at a country house, because this time one of the victims is her former sad sorry protege of a housekeeper. The characters are unanimously dislikeable, and they all have their pernicious secrets - a hallmark of Christie. The resolution is not as outrageous as one would expect. June Whitfield sparkles as the snoop who can do no wrong.

[Simon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of my favorite Miss Marple stories, and this is a pretty good radio adaptation. I'm not keen on June Whitfield as Miss M, but she tones down the "little old lady" voice she put on in earlier productions.

[Tori · Rating 3 out of 5]

A well done Radio Drama, though I didn't like this format for the book. It involved a lot of shortening of the story, and removes a lot of the whodunnit element because you don't have time to really build it all up.

[micki · Rating 5 out of 5]

BBC Radio Dramatisation

All Agatha Christie receives five stars because of nostalgia. I especially love the older BBC radio dramatisations--there's something wonderfully old-fashioned and charming about them. Condensed (obviously) but very faithful to the book.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this many years ago, but listening to the BBC version of the story was wonderful.

[ReadKnitHoard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good portrayal of Miss Marple, she sounds sensible and not too twittery.

[Marlee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fast-paced and interesting. I haven't done the series in order, but I don't think it's taken away from this one. Miss Marple is a very likeable character.

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The voice actress for Miss Marple is very good, and the other voice talents did well.

[Macky · Rating 3 out of 5]

⭐️3.5⭐️

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This audio book has a full cast of characters doing the narration - like an old-timey radio show, lol. Fun!

[Kylie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Literally one of the most far-fetched mysteries I've ever read/heard.

[Tamar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Christie knows how to build the mystery and to put the twist in the end.
The BBC dramatization is always wonderful with a great cast.

[Annette Meier · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another delightful radio drama telling of a classic Miss Marple mystery!

[Tj · Rating 4 out of 5]

Miss Marple has no equal. Her power of deduction leaves the police red-faced with embarrassment.

[Jaclyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good adaptation.

[Brian Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one was particularly good I thought!

[Richard Howard · Rating 4 out of 5]

June Whitfield is a wonderful Miss Marple and this audiobook is a treat, as are all of the BBC audio dramas.