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The Island of Coffins and Other Mysteries from the Casebook of Cabin B-13
John Dickson Carr, the grandmaster of locked room mysteries and impossible disappearances, was also the master of the creepy radio play. For the first time, all the scripts for the classic 1948 radio series, Cabin B-13, are printed in this volume, and they are classic Carr. The Island of Coffins is a superb addition to the classic works of John Dickson Carr.
From The Washington
"If you enjoy old-time radio, you can easily imagine the tightly plotted dramas of John Dickson Carr’s “The Island of Coffins and Other Mysteries From the Casebook of Cabin B-13” (Crippen and Landru) as segments of WAMU’s “The Big Broadcast” with Murray Horwitz. Yet this collection of 23 radio scripts, edited with scholarly annotation by Tony Medawar and Douglas Greene, is nearly as much fun just to read.
"As the luxury liner Maurevania cruises around the world, its medical officer, Dr. Fabian, reminisces about strange mysteries associated with various ports of call. “A Razor in Fleet Street” ingeniously plays off the legend of Sweeney Todd, the demon barber. “The Bride Vanishes” — about the reenactment of an inexplicable suicide — takes place on Capri, with a surprise climax in the Blue Grotto. The title story, “The Island of Coffins” transports the reader/listener to a small isle cut off from civilization since the 1920s. Other scripts bear such evocative titles as “The Street of the Seven Daggers” and “The Curse of the Bronze Lamp.” All of them rely on the sneaky use of ambiguity and misdirection.
From The Washington
"If you enjoy old-time radio, you can easily imagine the tightly plotted dramas of John Dickson Carr’s “The Island of Coffins and Other Mysteries From the Casebook of Cabin B-13” (Crippen and Landru) as segments of WAMU’s “The Big Broadcast” with Murray Horwitz. Yet this collection of 23 radio scripts, edited with scholarly annotation by Tony Medawar and Douglas Greene, is nearly as much fun just to read.
"As the luxury liner Maurevania cruises around the world, its medical officer, Dr. Fabian, reminisces about strange mysteries associated with various ports of call. “A Razor in Fleet Street” ingeniously plays off the legend of Sweeney Todd, the demon barber. “The Bride Vanishes” — about the reenactment of an inexplicable suicide — takes place on Capri, with a surprise climax in the Blue Grotto. The title story, “The Island of Coffins” transports the reader/listener to a small isle cut off from civilization since the 1920s. Other scripts bear such evocative titles as “The Street of the Seven Daggers” and “The Curse of the Bronze Lamp.” All of them rely on the sneaky use of ambiguity and misdirection.
Hardcover
Published January 1, 2020
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About the author
John Dickson Carr
422 books470 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 - 4 of 4 reviews
May 2, 2023
This book has been a historical curiosity for strong reasons. After enthralling viewers for a very long time, these scripts had practically vanished. Eventually the good people at C & L and others dug out (not literally, I presume) them from somewhere. Now they have been presented with appropriate introductions and information, while maintaining the usual high standards of this publishing.
After a brief 'Introduction: Suspense at Sea' setting up the context of those radio-plays, we have got eleven cases in 'Series 1' and twelve cases in 'Series 2'. The book ends with the air-dates on CBS.
The stories are all intelligently constructed. I mean what else can one expect from JDC? However, after all these days these scripts, devoid of wit or humour and full of bitter, vengeful men, are not exactly 'fun' to read.
From a completists perspective, these scripts would undoubtedly be extremely important. From a reader's perspective, they were like lime— pungent, needs something else to savour with.
After a brief 'Introduction: Suspense at Sea' setting up the context of those radio-plays, we have got eleven cases in 'Series 1' and twelve cases in 'Series 2'. The book ends with the air-dates on CBS.
The stories are all intelligently constructed. I mean what else can one expect from JDC? However, after all these days these scripts, devoid of wit or humour and full of bitter, vengeful men, are not exactly 'fun' to read.
From a completists perspective, these scripts would undoubtedly be extremely important. From a reader's perspective, they were like lime— pungent, needs something else to savour with.
September 3, 2021
Prima della diffusione di massa della televisione, erano comuni i radiodrammi. Questa raccolta, purtroppo non tradotta in italiano, contiene ventitré brevi radiodrammi, in sostanza delle pièce teatrali “cieche” basate solo sulla voce. Quindi di fatto solo dialoghi. Questo permette di gustarle anche su carta (o schermo) esattamente come quando leggiamo un copione teatrale. Anzi di più visto che manca la scenografia. Lo stile è quello di Carr, quindi molto coinvolgente, anche se a volte le soluzioni sono prevedibili (ma solo per noi lettori esperti che abbiamo letto tanti gialli) o poco convincenti. Ma l’atmosfera è fantastica, e vale la pena, decisamente. Se come me vi sentite incerti sul leggere in lingua, vi do un consiglio. Provateci lo stesso. Carr non usa un inglese elementare, ma nemmeno uno troppo complesso o ricco di espressioni gergali. Ed è un ottimo esercizio per migliorare la lingua.
I ventitré radiodrammi altrettante avventure a sfondo giallo, ambientate in diversi luoghi dell’Europa e del Medio Oriente legate al filo conduttore del protagonista e narratore, nella finzione medico di bordo su una nave di lusso, il Maurevania.
Alcune delle storie riprendono elementi pubblicati anche come racconto, in particolare il mio preferito The vanishing bride, ambientato a Capri e incentrato su una sparizione impossibile, di una donna che scompare da un balcone affacciato sul mare.
Oltre a The vanishing bride, ho trovato ottimi per atmosfera No useless coffin, Below suspicion e ancor più The island of coffins (che dà il nome alla raccolta). Ma devo dire che tutti sono apprezzabili.
May 2, 2021
Creepy radio mysteries from the BBC 1948 radio series cabin B-13. Dr. Fabian, doctor on the Maurevania relates (mostly inexplicable) mysteries that happened on the ship or the cities where the ship docked. Carr knows how to create suspense with strange events. What a treat it must have been to listen to these stories on radio in a time before TV. And he always manages to surprise the reader with what really happened. Some of the stories are similar to stories that was published in books. Or perhaps the play was first. I didn’t check. Bur Carr is a real master. He is like a magician who takes a trick and gives different presentations to make something new.
This is a bumper book of more than 450 pages. I devoured it in three evenings. I could have finished it in two, but I wanted to extend the pleasure a little more. This book as e real delight.
This is a bumper book of more than 450 pages. I devoured it in three evenings. I could have finished it in two, but I wanted to extend the pleasure a little more. This book as e real delight.
May 28, 2021
There are some real gems here. Many of the scripts will be familiar to you if you’re a fan of OTR, and many of the plots might remind you of a JDC short story or two. Regardless, this is a treasure trove for JDC fans. I never thought these scripts would be found, never mind published. Big thanks to all involved for ensuring this stuff saw the light of day. This gives me hope that some other missing media will be saved from oblivion, too (high on my list, more Ellery Queen episodes and the first televised production of Miss Marple from 1956, A Murder Is Announced*.)
Three episodes of Cabin B-13 are floating around the Internet. They used to be extremely easy to find; lately, less so. The available episodes are, I believe, The Razor on Fleet Street (often mislabeled as Bill and Brenda), The Bride Vanishes, and The Sleep of Death. The latter two are worth listening to the Suspense versions instead—better quality (Sleep of Death is titled Devil’s Saint, though.)
A few of the other scripts, including The Bride Vanishes, are available as episodes of SUSPENSE! If you’re not an OTR fan, you will be after working your way through these. Also, if interested, you can find from these same publishers the scripts for Anthony Boucher’s The Casebook of Gregory Hood (good) and Ellery Queen’s The Adventure of the Murdered Moths (great). And if you want more JDC scripts, you can always find them in one or two other collections. Happy reading—and listening!
*Annoyingly copies of this telefilm do exist but the owners are stingy and they want more money than a niche product like this will ever earn. If I were a trilionaire, I’d buy it! But don’t hold your breath for that—I’m only a billionaire.
(If you cannot find these episodes, send me a message and I will point you in the right direction.)
Three episodes of Cabin B-13 are floating around the Internet. They used to be extremely easy to find; lately, less so. The available episodes are, I believe, The Razor on Fleet Street (often mislabeled as Bill and Brenda), The Bride Vanishes, and The Sleep of Death. The latter two are worth listening to the Suspense versions instead—better quality (Sleep of Death is titled Devil’s Saint, though.)
A few of the other scripts, including The Bride Vanishes, are available as episodes of SUSPENSE! If you’re not an OTR fan, you will be after working your way through these. Also, if interested, you can find from these same publishers the scripts for Anthony Boucher’s The Casebook of Gregory Hood (good) and Ellery Queen’s The Adventure of the Murdered Moths (great). And if you want more JDC scripts, you can always find them in one or two other collections. Happy reading—and listening!
*Annoyingly copies of this telefilm do exist but the owners are stingy and they want more money than a niche product like this will ever earn. If I were a trilionaire, I’d buy it! But don’t hold your breath for that—I’m only a billionaire.
(If you cannot find these episodes, send me a message and I will point you in the right direction.)
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews