The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side

BBC Radio 4 Marple

by Michael Bakewell (Adapter), Agatha Christie, June Whitfield (Narrator)

After the death of her husband, Dolly Bantry sold Gossington Hall to the former film star Marina Gregg and her husband. When the glamorous couple decide to throw a benefit party for the local hospital, the grounds are thronged with curious visitors, and for one of them, the day ends in tragedy. As Marina is serving cocktails in the house, she is cornered by the excitable Heather Babcock, who chatters away about their former meeting about 11 years ago before spilling her daiquiri all over herself and Marina. Ever the gracious hostess, Marina offers her own untouched drink to Mrs. Babcock—only to look on, horrified, as the lady dies in front of her. It is up to Miss Marple to find out who was really meant to take the poison that killed poor Heather Babcock. Could it be that Marina Gregg was the intended victim? If so, Miss Marple's task will not be an easy one, for the lady had an unusually large number of enemies.

Agatha Christie's perplexing mystery is dramatized with a full cast including Ian Lavender, Gayle Hunnicutt, and James Laurenson, with June Whitfield as Miss Marple. This adaptation was first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on 29 August 1998.

2 CDs. 1 hr 30 mins.

Genres: Mystery, Audiobook, Crime, Agatha Christie, Fiction

2 pages, Audio CD

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Michael Bakewell (7 June 1931 – 11 July 2023) was a British radio and television producer and radio playwright.

His work included adapting The Lord of the Rings (with Brian Sibley) into a 1981 radio series for the BBC and a series of 27 adaptations of Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot stories broadcast between 1985 and 2007 by BBC Radio 4.

He was born in Birmingham, England. After graduating from Cambridge in 1954, he was recruited by the BBC's Third Programme. He became the first Head of Plays at the BBC in the 1960s.

Reviews

[Adrian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book back in August 2017 as part of the Miss Marple challenge, and gave it 5 stars, it is an exceptional detective story. This was a BBC dramatisation of the book (not an audiobook) with some wonderful actors.

The story centres on a famous American film starlet (and her husband) who buys Gossington Hall from Dolly Bantree. At her initial soiree to welcome the villagers and some of her Hollywood friends , a local lady is murdered. Miss Marple who has been unwell and has an annoying woman as a nurse/companion is obviously not present, and has to rely on feedback from Dolly, the vicar and through Cherry her cleaner to solve the murder.

This dramatisation stars the fabulous June Whitfield ("Ab Fab" and of course "Terry and June") as Miss Marple and the marvellous Ian Lavender ("Dad's Army") as Inspector Craddock, as well as a host of other excellent actors.
My one criticism that reduced this to 4 stars from the book's 5 stars is the length, it was too shortened and so the story suffered slightly from that foreshortening.

That said if you want to sit in a garden chair on a sunny May afternoon with a refreshing glass of wine and be transported for 90 minutes, then this is your story, enjoy !!

[Madeline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audiobook

I really enjoyed this BBC drama rendition of The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side.

Great mystery, awesome production.

[Simon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very enjoyable story on account of a brilliant motive for murder. :-)

[Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Much exposition jammed into this short work. Still enjoyable. Always interesting to revisit Marples in a variety of formats. The story is influenced by the real life experience of actress Gene Tierney. Her experience with a sick fan during early pregnancy resulted in the birth of a child with severe developmental disabilities. Wise references also to the Lady of Shalott.

[Alyson Walton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This full dramatisation told the tale of a murder borne from sadness and the worst kind of love. The kind that renders you unable to see a person's actions as flawed. Very worth the listen.

[Joe Bliven · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good radio play. Well cast and well adapted. The scene transitions were a little abrupt and unclear at times and the levels were a little too variable, as in actors would go from talking to whispering and it wasn't corrected for in editing. The mystery is wonderful the characters are great and all a little suspect as with any Agatha Christie novel. The reveal made me have to pause the audio and marvel at what a great revelation it was. Very entertaining and memorable mystery audio play.

[Cat · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an audiodrama of a story written by Agatha Christie and titled after a line of one of my favorite poems (The Lady of Shallot). This one is a Miss Marple story. I enjoyed the tie-in of the poem and the details of the case. Great ending on this one too. Recommend.

[Jaclyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm really getting into these BBC radio dramas! The narrators are fantastic, and listening to this made my walks more fun. :-)

[Dolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

After I've read and/or listened to one of Dame Christie's books, I often like to listen to the BBC full-cast dramatization. As has been the case, I

[Mae Leveson · Rating 3 out of 5]

The BBC have produced some terrific adaptations of Agatha Christie’s books, but this one is not one of my favourites.

[Dr.Abdulwahab Alnaif · Rating 4 out of 5]

رواية قصيرة لطيفة فلسفية اكثر من ما هي جريمة او غموض انصح الجميع بها

[Richard Howard · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of the best Marples! The audiobook puts the most important clue in plain 'sight' but, unless you know what to listen for...

[Naomi's Novels · Rating 3 out of 5]

❤❤❤

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not my favorite Miss Marple at all. The story was too short and the characters felt underdeveloped. On to the next one though :)

[Denise · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was the first Agatha Christie book I ever read...after seeing the movie with Elizabeth Taylor in it. Loved the movie, loved the book, it began my life-long appreciation of the mystery genre.

[Annette Meier · Rating 4 out of 5]

These "Classic Christie" mysteries are so much fun to revisit - especially in different form - the radio plays really make the story appear in the era they were set in.