A Murder Of Quality

By: John le Carré

Narrated by: Full Cast, Simon Russell Beale

George Smiley is one of the most brilliantly realised characters in British fiction. Bespectacled, tubby, eternally middle-aged and deceptively ordinary, he has a mind like a steel trap and is said to possess ‘the cunning of Satan and the conscience of a virgin’. This dramatisation, set in the early 1960s, sees George Smiley investigating a murder in a public school. When the wife of one of the masters is found bludgeoned to death, Smiley, out of loyalty to an old friend, agrees to look into the case. But his investigation raises a multitude of questions. Who could have hated Stella Rode enough to kill her? Why was her dog put down shortly before the murder? And what did Mad Janie see on that fatal night? To discover the truth, Smiley must lift the lid on a world of hidden passions and dangerous hatreds... Starring the award-winning Simon Russell Beale as Smiley, and with a distinguished cast including Geoffrey Palmer and Marcia Warren, this tense, compelling dramatisation perfectly captures the atmosphere of le Carré’s gripping, sophisticated thriller.©1962 David Cornwell; (P)2009 BBC Audiobooks Ltd

I love radio dramatizations

Would you consider the audio edition of A Murder of Quality (Dramatised) to be better than the print version?

This is a dramatization of the story. I have neither read nor listened to the original story.

What about the narrators???s performance did you like?

There are no people like the Brits for putting books to TV, radio, or other cinematic endeavor. They stay true to the author, unlike Hollywood folk who have the brass to think they can improve on the original. True to form, this cast is excellent! As always, the BBC has done an excellent job!

great fun

I listened to it while I walked my dog and the time flew! very well acted.