Chronicles of Brother Cadfael Series

Brother Cadfael: A BBC Radio Collection of three full-cast dramatisations

by Ellis Peters

Published 14 January 2021

Three BBC radio dramatisations of Ellis Peters' much-loved medieval murder mysteries featuring monk-cum-sleuth Brother Cadfael

A onetime Crusader turned Benedictine monk, Brother Cadfael is a most unusual detective. Living a quiet life as a monastery herbalist, he spends his days ministering to his brothers using the medical skills he acquired in the Holy Lands - but his worldly knowledge and wide experience of human nature are frequently called upon when there is a murder to solve...

Monk's Hood
Brother Cadfael is asked to supply a healing potion for a sick monk - but monk's hood oil can kill as well as cure...

The Virgin in the Ice
In the winter of 1139, Cadfael sets out through snowbound Shropshire to find a missing boy and his sister.

Dead Man's Ransom
1141. Beyond the walls of the abbey, civil war rages. When news arrives that Sheriff Gilbert Prestcote has been taken prisoner, a hostage exchange is arranged - but love and murder intervene...

Starring Philip Madoc as Cadfael, with supporting casts including Michael Hordern, Michael Kitchen and Susannah York, these thrilling tales of murder, mystery and intrigue bring the turbulent world of 12th Century Shrewsbury superbly to life.

Monk's Hood
Brother Cadfael - Philip Madoc
Narrator - Michael Hordern
Brother Mark - Ian Targett
Fr Heribert - Timothy Bateson
Prior Robert - Geoffrey Whitehead
Meurig - Kenneth Price
Richildis Bonel - Pat Heywood
Brother Rhys/Judge - Norman Jones
Aelfric - Mark Straker
Brother Edmund - Timothy Carlton
Brother Petrus - Fraser Kerr
Brother Jerome - Andrew Wincott
Sergeant - Ian Hogg
Aldith - Jane Whittenshaw
Sibil Bellecote - Petra Markham
Edwy Bellecote - Stephen Garlick
Edwin Gurney - Richard Pearce
Hugh Beringar - Alan Barker
Ifor ap Morgan - Michael Turner
Brother Barnabas - Terence Edmond
Groom - Nigel Carrington
Dramatised by Bert Coules
Produced by Lissa Evans
First broadcast in 1991.

The Virgin in the Ice
Brother Cadfael - Philip Madoc
Narrator - Michael Hordern
Hugh Beringar - Douglas Hodge
Olivier - Raad Rawi
Ermina - Moira Buffini
Ives - Dean Magri
Abbot Radulfus - John Church
Leonard - Leonard Fenton
Elyas - Crispin Letts
Boterel - Andrew Wincott
Button - Eric Allan
Porter - Steve Hodson
Le Gaucher - Peter Laird
Axeman/Sergeant - Peter Gunn
Outlaw - Jonathan Adams
Sergeant - Jonathan Tafler
With David Holt, Ann Windsor, Julian Rhind-Tutt, John Fleming and Kate Binchy
Dramatised by Bert Coules
Produced by Phil Clarke
Music by Peter Salem
First broadcast in 1992.

Dead Man's Ransom
Brother Cadfael - Philip Madoc
Sister Magdalen - Susannah York
Hugh Beringar - Jonathan Tafler
Elis - Jason Hughes
Radulfus - Trevor Peacock
Herbard/Edmund/Ithel - Shaun Prendergast
Aline - Lorien Haynes
Lad/Villager - David Holt
Narrator - Michael Kitchen
Melicent - Katy Odey
Prince Owain - Sion Probert
Cristina - Siobhan Flynn
Eliud - Mark Lewis Jones
Maurice/Rhys/Griffri - Douglas Blackwell
Anion - Matthew Morgan
Dramatised by Bert Coules
Produced by Neil Cargill
Music by Peter Salem
First broadcast in 1995.

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