Philip Madoc stars as wily medieval sleuth Brother Cadfael in this BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatization.
Shrewsbury, 1139. The bloody civil war between King Stephen and Empress Maud has swept through the country toward the rural security of Brother Cadfael s monastery. The citizens of Worcester have fled, among them two orphaned children of noble stock, together with their tutor, a young nun.
A Benedictine monk in whose care Lady Ermina and her brother Ives were left comes to the Abbey to ask if the children have been seen. Although it would be hard to miss Ermina, a young girl of striking beauty, no one has seen the missing pair or their companion.
Cadfael sets off to lead the search for the missing trio, through the rugged wastes of snowbound Shropshire, following an elusive trail across a lawless land until the discovery of the body of a young woman, frozen beneath the ice, adds a chilling new dimension to their journey.
Starring Philip Madoc, Sir Michael Hordern, and Douglas Hodge and dramatized by Bert Coules
Cast & Credits
Written by Ellis Peters / Dramatized by Bert Coules / First broadcast: BBC Radio 4: October 22, 1992 / Last broadcast: BBC Radio 4: November 19, 1992 / Number of episodes: 5 / Narrator: Sir Michael Hordern / Brother Cadfael: Philip Madoc / Hugh: Douglas Hodge / Olivier: Raad Rawi / Ermina: Moira Buffini / Ives: Dean Magri / Leonard: Leonard Fenton / Elyas: Crispin Letts / Boterel: Andrew Wincott / Dutton: Eric Allan / Le Gaucher: Peter Laird / Axeman, Sergeant: Peter Gunn / Also with Jonathan Adams, Kate Binchy, John Church, John Fleming, Steve Hodson, David Holt, Julian Rhind-Tutt, Jonathan Tafler and Ann Windsor / Music composed by Peter Salem / Directed by Phil Clarke"