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Something Is Missing, by Agatha Christie

Episode 2 of 6

Something Is Missing, by Agatha Christie: Dorothy L Sayers and Agatha Christie contribute to the 1930s whodunit by members of the Detection Club. From Sep 2015. Episode 2 of 6.

Penelope Keith reads the next instalment of the 1930s 'whodunit' continued by Agatha Christie.

Behind The Screen is a collaborative detective serial written by six members of the Detection Club. It was first broadcast weekly on the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ National Programme in 1930, with each contributor reading his or her own part of the story.

The six authors were Hugh Walpole, Agatha Christie, Dorothy L Sayers, Anthony Berkeley, EC Bentley and Father Ronald Knox.

To reflect the changes of storyteller, we have a different reader for each part of this new version:

When first broadcast, some listeners were puzzled by the method employed in planning a collaborative detective story. If the whole thing were indeed to be written like a game of consequences, with each new writer picking up where the last one left off, how could any consistency be achieved, and how could a satisfactory plot be managed and concluded?

Lord Peter Wimsey creator, Dorothy L Sayers, who co-ordinated the different contributions, explained the process: "The first three authors carried the story along according to their own several fancies; while the last three used their wits, in consultation, to unravel the clues presented to them by the first three."

Abridged by John Peacock
Producer David Blount
Made for ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Radio 4 Extra by Pier Productions.

15 minutes

Last on

Wed 10 Jan 2018 21:00

Broadcasts

  • Tue 1 Sep 2015 11:00
  • Tue 1 Sep 2015 21:00
  • Wed 10 Jan 2018 11:00
  • Wed 10 Jan 2018 21:00