Audiobooks by A.E.W. Mason

The Golden Age: Mystery and Murder: Seven BBC Radio Adaptations of Classic Crime Mysteries

"A collection of thrilling tales from the Golden Age of Detective Fiction, including six full-cast dramas and a short story read by Benedict Cumberbatch In the first half of the 20th century, the detective story exploded in popularity. Innovative authors penned whodunits, whydunits and clue-puzzle stories, and introduced iconic sleuths, creating works that would later become classics. This Golden Age, which reached its height during the 1920s and ’30s, saw the crowning of the ‘Queens of Crime’, the formation of the Detection Club and the laying down of new rules of crime writing – and the fiction produced during this period has had lasting appeal and influence, fundamentally shaping the ‘cosy crime’ novels of today. This collection gathers together seven sensational stories from Golden Age authors – some well-known, others unjustly overlooked – beginning with three by founding members of the Detection Club. The Blue Cross by G.K. Chesterton features the first appearance of one of the best-loved detectives in fiction: Father Brown, as he pursues arch-villain and master of disguise Flambeau. Andrew Sachs stars as the insightful cleric, with Olivier Pierre as his wily nemesis. In The House of the Arrow by A.E.W. Mason, starring Richard Pasco and Moir Leslie, a young woman living in Dijon is accused of murder, leading her lawyer to call in the Sûreté’s best officer, Inspector Hanaud. Narrated by Benedict Cumberbatch, The Affair of the German Dispatch-Box by Victor Whitechurch sees daring Edwardian sleuth Thorpe Hazell using his locomotive expertise to solve an ingenious and audacious railway crime. A legendary assassin and vigilante returns from the dead in The Ringer by Edgar Wallace, and Scotland Yard must find him before he exacts his revenge. David Davis stars as the ‘Gaunt Stranger’, and Alexander John as the tenacious Inspector Wembury. In An Unrecorded Instance by Marie Belloc Lowndes, Hetty Mingle ignores her dying mother's advice about fortune hunters – but will she end up regretting it? Starring Mary O’Farrell and Brenda Bruce. The Golden Slipper by Anna Katharine Green finds New York debutante (and reluctant detective) Violet Strange tasked with investigating four rich young women suspected of multiple thefts. Teresa Gallagher stars as the socialite sleuth, with Crawford Logan as her client, Driscoll. Concluding this collection is Miss Pym Disposes by Josephine Tey, which finds psychologist Lucy Pym investigating a death at a women’s physical education college. Starring Julia Foster as Miss Pym and Joan Sims as her friend, headmistress Henrietta Hodge, this dark, engrossing psychological thriller is a late Golden Age gem. First published 1910 (The Blue Cross), 1912 (The Affair of the German Dispatch-Box), 1915 (The Golden Slipper), 1924 (The House of the Arrow, An Unrecorded Instance), 1929 (The Ringer), 1946 (Miss Pym Disposes) © 2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd"

A.E.W. Mason, Anna Katharine Green, Edgar Wallace, G.K. Chesterton, Josephine Tey, Marie Belloc Lowndes, Victor Whitechurch (Author), Alexander John, Andrew Sachs, Benedict Cumberbatch, Brenda Bruce, Crawford Logan, David Davis, Full Cast, Joan Sims, Julia Foster, Mary O'Farrell, Moir Leslie, Olivier Pierre, Richard Pasco, Teresa Gallagher (Narrator)

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At the Villa Rose

"This audiobook is narrated by a digital voice. In 'At the Villa Rose' we meet French Inspector Gabriel Hanaud for the first time. Hanaud is a towering figure in the history of genre mystery fiction as he is the obvious inspiration for Hercule Poirot. Whilst on holiday in Aix-les-Bains Inspector Hanaud is approached by Harry Wethermill to help investigate the murder of wealthy Madame Dauvray. Wethermill is in love with the prime suspect, Celia Harland. His unshaking faith in Harland moves inspector Hanaud to the case. Intrigue and mystery ensue. One of the best, most artistic, most engrossing detective stories ever written.—'The British Weekly'"

A.E.W. Mason (Author), Digital Voice Martin G (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Affair at the Semiramis Hotel

"This audiobook is narrated by a digital voice. While Sûreté inspector Gabriel Hanaud visits the London home of his friend Mr. Ricardo, they receive a visit from Carradine, a young socialite with a disturbing story. A beautiful young woman he met at a costume party has appealed to him for help. Obsessed with a rich American woman's pearls, this young woman went to steal them from the American's hotel room ... only to find a gang of thieves, who overpowered her. She woke up hours later, alone in the room except for a dead body. Can Hanaud prove her innocence, and bring the real murderers to justice?"

A.E.W. Mason (Author), Digital Voice Martin G (Narrator)

Audiobook

The House of the Arrow

"This audiobook is narrated by a digital voice. In The House of the Arrow we once again meet French Inspector Gabriel Hanaud. Hanaud is a towering figure in the history of genre mystery fiction as he is the obvious inspiration for Hercule Poirot. Hanaud is called in to investigate when the wealthy widow Mrs. Harlowe dies suddenly and her heiress, Betty Harlowe, is accused of murder."

A.E.W. Mason (Author), Digital Voice Martin G (Narrator)

Audiobook

Inspector Hanaud and The Ginger King: Narrated by Michael Henrik Wynn

"Hercule Poirot was Agatha Christie’s first creation. Poirot appeared in 1920, but there were several similar characters that preceded him. A. E. W. Mason’s Inspector Gabriel Hanaud from 1910 was one of these. Inspector Hanaud resembles Poirot in many ways, but is a more comical French sleuth. He appeared in several novels and short stories. In this story, Hanaud is called in to assist in the investigation of a possible insurance fraud. The narrator is Michael Henrik Wynn, the editor of the educational net radio stream, Historyradio.org"

A.E.W. Mason (Author), Michael Henrik Wynn (Narrator)

Audiobook

Inspector Hanaud: At the Villa Rose & House of the Arrow: Two Full-Cast BBC Radio Crime Dramatisations

"BBC dramatisations of two classic detective novels featuring Inspector Gabriel Hanaud of the Paris Sûreté The brilliant creation of British author A.E.W. Mason, Inspector Hanaud has been hailed as ‘the first major fiction police detective of the Twentieth Century’, and was one of the inspirations for Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot. In these engaging whodunits, France’s cleverest investigator is tasked with proving the innocence of two young women, both accused of murder. At the Villa Rose – Madame Dauvray is found strangled at her villa, her priceless jewellery stolen. All the evidence points to her English companion Celia Harland, who has since disappeared. Holidaying in Aix-les Bains, Inspector Hanaud is approached by her fiancé Harry, who persuades him to take up the case…First published in 1910, this gripping mystery was the first outing for Inspector Hanaud, played here by Andrew Sachs, with Nicholas Rowe as Harry and Fiona Clarke as Celia. The House of the Arrow – When a wealthy widow dies suddenly, the finger of suspicion points at her adopted daughter, Betty Harlowe. Her English lawyer, Frobisher, calls in Inspector Hanaud, who has come to Dijon to investigate a spate of poison-pen letters. Can he unravel the mystery surrounding the House of the Arrow? Richard Pasco stars as Hanaud in this adaptation of A.E.W. Mason’s 1924 thriller, alongside Benedick Blythe, Moir Leslie and Deborah Makepeace. At the Villa Rose Hanaud – Andrew Sachs Ricardo – Ian Masters Wethermill – Nicholas Rowe Celia – Fiona Clarke Madame Dauvray/Marthe/Jeanne – Janet Whiteside Helene Vauquiers/Waitress – Alice Arnold Perrichet/Lemerre – Stephen Critchlow Servattaz/Besnard – Sean Baker Adele – Becky Hindley Dramatised by David Benedictus Directed by Marion Nancarrow First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 30 October 1999 The House of the Arrow Inspector Hanaud – Richard Pasco Jim Frobisher – Benedick Blythe Betty Harlowe – Moir Leslie Ann Upcott – Deborah Makepeace Francine Rollard – Carole Boyd Boris Waberski/Girardot – Alfredo Michelsen Carlos Espinosa/Gaston – Clive Panto Maurice Thevenet – Mark Jones Adapted by Alan Downer Directed by Christopher Venning Music composed and directed by Terence Allbright First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 4 February 1984 © 2024 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2024 BBC Studios Distribution Lt"

A.E.W. Mason (Author), Andrew Sachs, Benedick Blythe, Deborah Makepeace, Fiona Clarke, Full Cast, Ian Masters, Moir Leslie, Nicholas Rowe, Richard Pasco (Narrator)

Audiobook

Inspector Hanaud: 3 Mysteries: Inspector Hanaud 1–3: At the Villa Rose, The Affair at the Semiramis Hotel, The House of the Arrow

"This audiobook contains the first three adventures of A. E. W Mason’s enigmatic and mercurial Sûreté detective, Inspector Hanaud—a key inspiration for Agatha Christie’s celebrated sleuth Hercule Poirot. First, Hanaud investigates the murder of wealthy Mme Dauvray at the fashionable French resort of Aix-les-Bains. Then, during a visit to London, Hanaud unravels a case of theft and murder following a costume party at a prestigious hotel. And finally, he seeks to discover the truth behind an allegation of murder and a plague of poison pen letters in the city of Dijon. CONTENTS: Book 1: At the Villa RoseBook 2: The Affair at the Semiramis HotelBook 3: The House of the Arrow"

A.E.W. Mason (Author), Graham Scott (Narrator)

Audiobook

The House of the Arrow

"Wealthy widow Mrs. Harlowe has died at her house in Dijon, apparently of natural causes. But then her brother-in-law accuses her niece Betty of poisoning the old woman; Jim Frobisher, junior partner in the office of Betty’s English solicitors, is dispatched to France to provide legal advice and support. In France, as Jim seeks to discover the truth and clear Betty, he enters into an uneasy alliance with the enigmatic and mercurial Sûreté detective, Inspector Hanaud …"

A.E.W. Mason (Author), Graham Scott (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Affair at the Semiramis Hotel

"While Sûreté inspector Gabriel Hanaud visits the London home of his friend Mr. Ricardo, they receive a visit from Carradine, a young socialite with a disturbing story. A beautiful young woman he met at a costume party has appealed to him for help. Obsessed with a rich American woman’s pearls, this young woman went to steal them from the American’s hotel room … only to find a gang of thieves, who overpowered her. She woke up hours later, alone in the room except for a dead body. Can Hanaud prove her innocence, and bring the real murderers to justice?"

A.E.W. Mason (Author), Graham Scott (Narrator)

Audiobook

At the Villa Rose

"At the fashionable French resort of Aix-les-Bains, a murder is discovered: wealthy but naïve Mme Dauvray is found strangled in the salon of her villa, apparently for her famously expensive jewels. Her young English companion, Celia Harland, is missing, and her maid is bound and chloroformed upstairs. A young English inventor who has been courting Miss Harland adamantly protests her innocence, and begs the famous Sûreté detective Inspector Hanaud to investigate …"

A.E.W. Mason (Author), Graham Scott (Narrator)

Audiobook

The House Of The Arrow

"A young English girl is accused in Dijon of murdering her French aunt. Hanaud to the rescue! Inspector Hanaud is a member of the French Sûreté. He is said to have been the model for Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot, as well as the opposite of Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes. In 1910, Mason undertook to create a fictional detective as different as possible from Sherlock Holmes, who had recently been resuscitated after his supposed death by Arthur Conan Doyle in 1903. Inspector Gabriel Hanaud was stout, not gaunt like Holmes; a professional policeman, not a gentleman amateur; from the French Sûreté, not Victorian England; and relying on psychological insights rather than physical evidence. His 'Watson' is a retired London banker named Mr. Julius Ricardo, though he appears only briefly in this novel."

A.E.W. Mason (Author), Geoffrey Giuliano, The Orb (Narrator)

Audiobook

At the Villa Rose

"Harry Wethermill, the brilliant young scientist, a graduate of Oxford and Munich, has made a fortune from his inventions, and is taking a vacation at Aix-les-Bains. There he meets, and immediately falls in love with, the young and beautiful Celia Harland, who serves as companion to the aging but warm-hearted Madam Dauvray of Paris. All this is observed by Julius Ricardo, a retired financier from the City of London, who spends every August at Aix, expecting there to find a pleasant and peaceful life. Imagine his consternation when he learns that Mme. Dauvray has been brutally murdered, and imagine Harry Wethermill's consternation when he learns that every finger of suspicion is pointed at the now vanished Celia Harland. Implored to do so by Wethermill, Ricardo asks his friend Inspector Hanaud, the great detective of the Paris Sûreté (who is also vacationing in Aix) to involve himself in the case so that the truth may come out. Hanaud agrees to do so (with the permission of the Aix police, of course), and goes to work. Will he be up to the job? And will Harry Wethermill ultimately be glad that he called in the great man? We can only wait to find out. But surely Hanaud will exercise his powerful little grey cells – one of several characteristics he shares with a famous Belgian detective of later decades, and indeed some scholars of mystery stories suggest that Agatha Christie, in her invention of Hercule Poirot, owes a debt to Mason and his invention of Inspector Hanaud. And indeed Julius Ricardo has than a passing resemblance to Arthur Hastings, Poirot's sidekick, who is invariably a few confused steps behind the detective"

A.E.W. Mason (Author), Geoffrey Giuliano, The Orb (Narrator)

Audiobook

Audiobooks by A.E.W. Mason

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