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Casino Royale (Audio CD)
by Jake Speed
Casino Royale was Ian Fleming's first (and some would argue best) James Bond novel. It's adapted here in an abridged audiobook version that was read and performed by the actor Rufus Sewell in 2002. Casino Royale was published in 1953 and the first of many Bond books by Fleming, who delighted readers (still in the midst of drab post-war ... austerity) with his mix of escapism, sex, sadism, travel and his obsession with good food and drink. I'm sure there were many readers back then who wouldn't have minded being James Bond just to sample a few of his dinners let alone the exotic women and locations he encountered. The story in Casino Royale concerns a communist agent in France named Le Chiffre. Le Chiffre is connected to SMERSH (a ruthless organisation similar to the KGB) and has used SMERSH money to take over a number of brothels in the West. Le Chiffre's problem is that a new law has outlawed this lucrative sideline and he must now replace the money he has hived off to fund his dodgy business activities because SMERSH will kill him otherwise.
Le Chiffre decides that his best option is to deploy his famed gambling skills and make up his losses at baccarat in the casino of Royale-les-Eaux. The British would like very much to eliminate Le Chiffre to negate secret Soviet influence in France but they know if they do that it will be used for propaganda purposes against them. They decide instead to use MI6 agent James Bond 007, famed as the best gambler in the service, to play against Le Chiffre at the gaming tables. All Bond has to do is clean him out at the casino and Le Chiffre will be ruined and eliminated by SMERSH. But will this be easier said than done, even for James Bond?
Although this is abridged and dispenses with some of Fleming's longeurs and one or two bits and pieces, it's an enjoyable audiobook on the whole that captures some of the atmosphere and mood of the book. Casino Royale is a little more downbeat and subdued than many of the books that followed and Bond himself is more of a jaded character but a very cultivated one nonetheless. In the 2006 film version, Bond was turned into a Jason Bourne type character jumping off cranes like Spider-Man and was supposed to be at the start of his career or something. Here though it's as it should be. 007 is not a rookie agent and earned his Double-O status by killing a Japanese cipher expert in New York and a Norwegian double agent in Stockholm in the previous decade. He is a 'blunt instrument' used by the British government to protect their interests and a slightly enigmatic and quite sophisticated loner with the darkly handsome good looks of a film star who has rather fastidious tastes when it comes to grub and his drink.
Rufus Sewell does a good job here doing all the characters and is quite adept at giving them a distinctive tone and allowing you to sometimes forget that one person is doing all of this. There was a BBC Radio adaption of Goldfinger quite recently and it was sort of ruined for me by Toby Stephens as the voice of James Bond. Stephens had an annoying lazy transatlantic accent where he frequently pronounced the letter 'd' instead of 't' like a local radio DJ. He was far too contemporary to be the literary Bond and his voice seemed too weedy and laid-back, having the unfortunate effect of making him sound incredibly bored in the adaption at times. Sewell is better though. He's more crisp and has a more natural quality. He does a creditable job in conveying the overall arc of the story and bringing some personality and life to the different characters.
Fleming's Bond books are rather dated today, and a trifle sexist in places. This is conveyed in parts where Bond is teamed with another British agent named Vesper Lynd. "Do they think this is a bloody picnic?" complains Bond when told that he will be working with a woman. Lynd, the original Bond girl, sets the template for many of the women that Fleming would write about in his books - gamine, beautiful and slightly messed up. The romantic aspect to the novel is used well to imbue James Bond with an introspective quality in the story. He is often gazing out to sea or questioning his loyalties and life. This makes the character more human and enigmatic than his cinematic version.
Casino Royale works quite well as an audiobook because they didn't have to try and update it and invent entire new sections of storyline as the filmmakers had to. We are taken back to another era here and have the story lovingly described. The decor of hotels and casinos, the cars, food, clothes and style comes through. The actual plot of Casino Royale doesn't bear too much close inspection but suspension of disbelief is an important part of anything to do with James Bond, which is principally supposed to be about escape in a world heightened a few notches from our own. James Bond was essentially Ian Fleming's fantasy version of himself, drawn from his own espionage experiences in World War 2. It's always fun to enter this world even you don't know your Taittinger 45 from your Blanc de Blance Brut 43.
On the whole, this is a decent audiobook and, for me, was less irritating than the much trumpeted recent full cast BBC Radio version of Goldfinger. Rufus Sewell does a fine job and some of the ambiance and descriptive style of Fleming is conveyed as the story unfolds. The audiobook is a reminder that a faithful film or television version of Casino Royale would be very interesting as a Cold War period piece, not that it is ever likely to happen. While it is not completely perfect and slightly truncated in this adapted form, it is an entertaining listen and not bad at all as far as audiobooks based on novels go.
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Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death: Vol. 1 (Audio CD)
by ladybracknell
Over the last couple of days, on my walk to and from work, I've been enjoying the first two stories in the Agatha Raisin series: Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death and Agatha Raisin and the Vicious Vet. These are the BBC recordings which were originally broadcast on Radio 4 and are full cast plays starring Penelope Keith in the role ... of Agatha.
The Agatha Raisin mysteries are the creation of M C Beaton, a Scottish author probably best known for her Hamish McBeth stories, which were once essential Sunday night viewing and helped a certain Robert Carlisle on his road to acting stardom. These two radio plays are very much in the same vein as the Hamish McBeth mysteries being murder mysteries of the non-gory type generally referred to as 'cosy'.
Cosy mysteries are also sometimes known as country house mysteries, generally taking place in a rural setting of some description and where the murder often happens off stage, the crime is solved by an amateur sleuth and the action is frequently laced with gentle humour.
Price and availability:
I borrowed this double CD from the library but it's available to buy new from Amazon for £8.99 or used from £5.49.
Synopsis:
Agatha Raisin is a director of a London PR company who has decided to give up the cut and thrust of public relations and take early retirement and to this end, Agatha buys herself a little cottage in the quiet Cotswold village of Carsley. Having come from a dynamic environment and held a high powered position, even in retirement Agatha is a pretty forceful personality. Inevitably, this rubs some of the locals up the wrong way. Agatha decides she needs a strategy to enable her to make friends with the inhabitants of Carsley.
The plays:
In the first play, Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death, we are introduced to Agatha, newly arrived from London. In her efforts to widen her circle of acquaintances in Carsley and whilst making enquiries in the village shop about evening classes, Agatha discovers that there is to be a baking competition which she immediately decides will be her entrée into village life. Her entry is a cheat, however, being a quiche that she's bought from a London deli, but when Reggie Cummings-Browne, one of the judges, is later found poisoned and the last thing he ate was Agatha's quiche, the finger of suspicion is pointed at her.
With the help of her attractive neighbour, James Lacey, a retired military man, sets about proving her innocence and finding the real culprit uncovering lots of village shenanigans on the way. During the course of her investigations, Agatha develops something of a tender for James but that has to be put on the back burner whilst her investigations are underway. She is aided and abetted by D C Wong from the local police force and we see the beginnings of an unlikely friendship and possibly a romance.
The second play, Agatha Raisin and the Vicious Vet, finds Agatha just returned to Carsley after a holiday in the Bahamas, where she'd gone in pursuit of her would-be beau, James, but James changed his plans at the last minute and went to Egypt instead. Did he go to avoid Agatha? She's currently unsure of the answer to that question.
As the course of her true love is definitely not running smoothly, in the meantime, Agatha decides to cast her net in a different direction. There's a new and rather handsome vet in Carsley: Paul Bladen, who's just set up business in the village and Agatha, along with every other single woman, is making a beeline for the surgery. She's soon convinced Paul has taken a fancy to her and when he asks her on a date, she's even more convinced and very flattered. However, it soon turns out he's more interested in her chequebook than in Agatha herself.
The next day, Agatha is somewhat startled to hear the news circulating in the village that it seems the vet has accidentally killed himself with a fatal dose of vaccine whilst attending Lord Pendlebury's horse. Of course, once the police begin their investigation, what was thought to be an accident later turns out to be murder.
So, once again, Agatha turns amateur sleuth to help solve the case and once she's cleared the air, she is again assisted by her neighbour, James and they set out to help D C Wong solve yet another case.
My opinion:
These first two outings for Agatha are the original BBC broadcasts in CD format (thank goodness I didn't throw away the old Sony Walkman!) and feature Penelope Keith as the eponymous heroine. Penelope Keith uses her cut glass tones to excellent advantage as the redoubtable Agatha, coming across as a cross between Audrey Fforbes-Hamilton and Margo Ledbetter in style. She's ably supported by Malcolm Sinclair as James, Agatha's neighbour and would-be love interest and Stephen Hogan as D C Wong, from the local police force who has become a friend, of sorts, of Agatha.
I really enjoyed both these plays. The stories are enjoyable without being too taxing on the brain with a good balance of drama and humour and the plot of both murders are just convoluted enough for the big reveal to come as something of a surprise.
I have to say that some of the local accents were rather strange and put me in mind of the non-specific rural tones adopted by the inhabitants of Ambridge, sort of East Anglia meets the West Country, but I guess that's about right as these plays are set in roughly the same location as Borsetshire.
Other than that very minor observation, I have nothing but praise for these audio CDs. As usual, the BBC have pitched it just right with these recordings offering the perfect balance of mystery, drama and humour. I shall definitely be putting Volume 2 of the Agatha Raisin mysteries onto my list of requests from the library.
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The Hound of the Baskervilles (Audio CD)
by Jake Speed
Turn the lights off and stoke up the fire as we take a spooky Victorian trip to the fog bound Baskerville Hall where legend has it a spectral demon hound roams the moors in revenge for the misdeeds of a Baskerville ancestor. There is only one man who can possibly solve this ghostly mystery, none other than the Great Detective himself, ... Sherlock Holmes. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's most famous Holmes adventure was first serialized in 1901 and this BBC 4 radio adaption was recorded in 1998, released as an audio adventure in 2001 and features Clive Merrison & Michael Williams respectively as Holmes & Watson. I think I've seen just about every film or televison adaption of this enduringly popular tale but am not terribly familiar with the audio adventures - despite the generally positive impression most places seem to have of Merrison's work as Holmes. He certainly makes a crisp and polished Sherlock and, of course, one great advantage radio has is that you conjure up the images and characters in your imagination as you listen and therefore almost have a certain control over proceedings.
In The Hound of the Baskervilles, the story begins with Dr Mortimer (Roger May) visiting Baker Street to seek the help of Sherlock Holmes in a most curious mystery. Mortimer fears that the death of Sir Charles Baskerville (Donald Sinden) is related to a family curse passed down from sadistic ancestor Sir Hugo Baskerville. Legend has it that a ghostly demon hound lurks in the wilds of Dartmoor to reep a terrible revenge on generations of Baskervilles. Holmes agrees to investigate and meet young Sir Henry Baskerville (Mark Leake), the latest heir to Baskerville Hall and therefore presumably the next person due for a visit from this phantom pooch. Sir Henry shows Holmes a letter he was sent warning him to stay away from Baskerville Hall and Holmes soon works out that the note was made up of letters cut out of The Times newspaper. More intrigue abounds when one of Sir Henry's boots is stolen. Holmes says he has urgent matters to attend to in London but will send Dr Watson to Baskerville Hall to watch over Sir Henry and begin an investigation. The lonely expanse of Dartmoor awaits...
This adaption of The Hound of the Baskervilles is two hours long (split into two parts) and has a full cast besides Merrison & Williams. It's good fun to have veteran luvvies like Donald Sinden and Judi Dench (as Mrs Hudson) playing characters in the story. Certainly though, Merrison and the late Michael Williams make a good team as Holmes & Watson and have good chemistry together as the Baskerville mystery unravels. The fact that you can't see Merrison means you can picture him the way you imagine Holmes to look, which I quite like. He has the right sort of attitude for Holmes and you can just imagine he looks like some sort of cross between Jeremy Brett and Basil Rathbone or something. A strong atmosphere is the key here and this adaption manages to generate a good spooky aura as we learn about the terrible Grimpen Mire where a false step means death to man or beast in quicksand and the wind whistles around the ancient monolithic moor. This is a fun adaption to listen to through earphones and allow yourself to escape into.
The music is nice too in this and adds to the old-fashioned and eerie atmosphere. It's the mark of a great story when you've already read it and seen countless adaptions and yet still find yourself becoming absorbed in yet another version. This adaption is an enjoyable one and draws you in right from the start with the dubious Holmes rather unimpressed by Dr Mortimer's story at first but then becoming more and more interested by the puzzle that presents itself. The analytical and scientific Holmes is a man of reason even when faced with a case of a supernatural hound. When the story moves to Devon, you can picture the strange rocks and boulders of the moor and imagine the grand but desolate Baskerville Hall sitting in stately isolation in this rugged outpost, shuddering amidst the trees and leaves, the house glimmering like a ghost. This adaption does an admirable job in generating a foreboding air of oddness and tension and is fun to listen to late at night.
The Hound of the Baskervilles famously has Holmes away from the story for a period but it's interesting and enjoyable to have Dr Watson alone for a time in the creaky corridors and rooms of Baskerville, further mysterious capers enveloping the adventure when we hear about an escaped convict roaming the moors and being hunted down by soldiers. Don McCorkindale and Jenny Lee here are good too as Barrymore and Mrs Barrymore, as is Ian Masters as Stapleton. The cast is generally enjoyable. This is a relatively faithful adaption of the story I found, certainly compared to that BBC television adaption with Richard Roxborough from around the same time which, although not bad and well made, liberally added its own material including an action chase coda and had Watson being rather frosty and dismissive to Holmes at times. This adaption is less revisionist, gimmicky and post-modern and far more traditional and warm, with a cosy glow at the heart of all the spookiness.
On the whole, I enjoyed this audio trip back to the Victorian era with Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson and found this BBC 4 radio version of The Hound of the Baskervilles to be a very solid and entertaining adaption of the famous story with a great deal of care and affection from the cast and crew evident in its production. I don't own a great many audio books but generally find them to be fun when I do take the time to immerse myself in one and The Hound of the Baskervilles is certainly an enjoyable experience. Now, if you'll please excuse me, the rain is lashing against the window and I'm sure I just heard a rather strange howling noise coming from outside in the garden...
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