Paul Temple
13 primary works
Book 1
Bernard Braden stars in an original 1940 full-cast production of the very first Paul Temple adventure
Between 1938 and 1968 the exploits of amateur detective Paul Temple and his wife, Steve, enthralled generations of BBC radio listeners. Theirs was an exciting world of violence and glamour - car bombs and cocktail parties.
In Paul and Steve's very first adventure, starring Bernard Braden as Paul with Peggy Hassard as Steve, a spate of jewel robberies in the Midlands has left the police baffled. They are the work of a shadowy criminal mastermind known only as The Knave of Diamonds. But who is the Knave? And can he be stopped?
All but one episode of the original 1938 BBC production of Send for Paul Temple are lost from the archives. However, this complete recording of a 1940 production - made for Canadian radio and based on the original BBC radio scripts - was recently rediscovered in the national Library and Archives of Canada. Digitally restored, all six episodes are now available for the very first time. Two bonus features are also included: the sole surviving sixth episode of the original 1938 production, starring the original Paul Temple, Hugh Morton, and an unbroadcast interview with the longest-running Paul Temple actor, Peter Coke.
Book 2
The detective novel `The Front Page Men' is a resounding success, but its author Andrea Fortune keeps herself hidden from the public. When a series of robberies are committed, a calling card is left bearing the legend of `The Front Page Men'.
Then the murders begin.
Paul and his wife Steve assist Scotland Yard in finding the murderers, but Steve is in grave danger and the clock is ticking.
Book 3
As detective Paul Temple turns his hand to playwright, his leading lady Iris Archer pulls out shortly before the play is due to open and declares that she is heading for France.
However, shortly after her disappearance Paul Temple receives a guest at his Scottish holiday home – none other than that of Iris Archer.
The mystery deepens as Temple is asked by a young man to act as postmaster in delivering a letter. Meanwhile someone acting under the codename of Z4 seems to have control of events. Could this be Doctor Steiner, and just who is he? It is all up to Temple . . .
Book 4
Book 5
Book 7
Book 8
Paul and Steve are back to solve the latest hard-hitting case of robbery and murder. After a heist goes down at Harkdale bank, a gang of thieves flee and a car chase ensues.
As police close in on them, the thieves come to a screeching dead end.
All the police have to do is retrieve the money ... but the only thing the thieves have on them is an Oxford Dictionary! And when Paul Temple returns home, he finds the dead body of one of the robbers...
Book 9
Historian Alfred Kelby decides to publish the diaries of Margaret Spender, Lord Delamore's secretary and secret lover. But these diaries go beyond historical records, they are pure scandal.
Before the diary can be published, Kelby makes an unsettling disappearance.
Someone is out to get their hands on these potentially explosive diaries no matter what and Temple is desperate to stop them. As he digs deeper into the dark political underworld, it is up to him to find out what really happened to Lord Delamore, the statesman whose death over ten years ago has been shrouded in mystery.
Book 10
Book 11
For thirty years the fictional crime novelist and detective Paul Temple, together with his Fleet Street journalist wife Steve, solved case after case in one of BBC Radio's most popular series. They inhabited a sophisticated world of chilled cocktails and fast cars, a world where Sir Graham Forbes, of Scotland Yard, usually needed Paul's help with his latest tricky case. Flying home from a lecture tour of America, Paul Temple encounters Mike Langdon who is seeking to persuade his employer's spoilt daughter Julie to give up her boyfriend, pop-singer Tony Wyman. Meeting Paul at the airport, Steve is drugged and kidnapped. She is released without harm - but mysteriously in possession of a coat, bearing the label 'Margo'. As Mike seeks Paul's help, the Temples enter into a dangerous web of lies and murder.
4 CDs. 3 hrs 35 mins.
Book 11
Book 12
Paul and Steve plan to relax and take in some fresh sea air on board a luxurious trans-Atlantic liner … that is until they meet the elusive Sam Portland. After the innocent introduction, grave danger lies ahead for the couple.
As events unfold, a concoction of murder, blackmail and terror ensues. Life on board the ship requires cruise control as Temple attempts to get to the bottom of the secret behind Sam’s lost years … And just who is Madison?
Book 13
4 CDs. 3 hrs 45 mins.