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Dr Gideon Fell: The Complete BBC Radio Drama Collection
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 best-selling 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.
©2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd
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 best-selling 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.
©2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd
Audiobook
Published October 7, 2021
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About the author
John Dickson Carr
428 books500 followersAKA Carter Dickson, Carr Dickson and Roger Fairbairn.
John Dickson Carr was born in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, in 1906. It Walks by Night, his first published detective novel, featuring the Frenchman Henri Bencolin, was published in 1930. Apart from Dr Fell, whose first appearance was in Hag's Nook in 1933, Carr's other series detectives (published under the nom de plume of Carter Dickson) were the barrister Sir Henry Merrivale, who debuted in The Plague Court Murders (1934).
John Dickson Carr was born in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, in 1906. It Walks by Night, his first published detective novel, featuring the Frenchman Henri Bencolin, was published in 1930. Apart from Dr Fell, whose first appearance was in Hag's Nook in 1933, Carr's other series detectives (published under the nom de plume of Carter Dickson) were the barrister Sir Henry Merrivale, who debuted in The Plague Court Murders (1934).
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
August 10, 2023
I do enjoy listening to old radio dramas, especially when they are performed by excellent voice actors. I had not read any of these books before listening, so fans of the books may think that sixty minutes is not long enough to do justice to the story. And they may be right. Still, they were enjoyable to me.
I’m looking forward to reading more Gideon Fell books, and I wish there were more of them available in audio format.
I’m looking forward to reading more Gideon Fell books, and I wish there were more of them available in audio format.
January 4, 2024
Not great but enjoyable
January 9, 2026
This collection of Dr. Gideon Fell radio dramas is entertaining in a classic Golden Age way and well narrated, but also surprisingly frustrating. In almost every story, every character seems guilty of obstruction of justice, yet the detectives barely acknowledge it. In one case, they even uncover an accidental manslaughter—and then decide to let the culprit go, ignoring the burglary and obstruction involved, simply because they assume no one would believe the truth it wasn't murder 1.
The mysteries rely heavily on surprise reveals, but that’s partly because the audience is never given all the clues. Nearly every witness lies or withholds information, leaving the detectives to make leaps and accusations that feel like they come out of nowhere. With so many characters and names flying around, the final “big reveal” often lands with a “wait, who was that again?”
Still, the productions are atmospheric and enjoyable if you like vintage radio mysteries—just don’t expect solvable tidy logic.
The mysteries rely heavily on surprise reveals, but that’s partly because the audience is never given all the clues. Nearly every witness lies or withholds information, leaving the detectives to make leaps and accusations that feel like they come out of nowhere. With so many characters and names flying around, the final “big reveal” often lands with a “wait, who was that again?”
Still, the productions are atmospheric and enjoyable if you like vintage radio mysteries—just don’t expect solvable tidy logic.
February 9, 2026
John Dickson Carr is one of the great detective novel writers and possibly the inventor of the locked room murder mystery. That, and a number of other stories, are included in this BBC dramatization, and as a fan of O.G. detective stories, I should have loved this. Instead, I found it more boring and confusing, without the satisfying "ahhh, got it!" that is the reaction to a great denouement in a mystery. The original stories are likely great reading, but this dramatization just didn't land for me.
June 21, 2023
Great performances, especially from Donald Sinden.
February 9, 2026
i wasn’t familiar with this series but enjoyed the stories.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews