Basil Copper - The Candle In The Skull
4 Extra Debut. Martin's plan to dispose of his wife goes awry, but his daughter gets a sinister Halloween treat. Read by Gerard McDermott.
Ep 1/1
Wednesday 30 October
6.45-7.00pm
BBC RADIO 4 EXTRA
A chilling treat for Halloween. Martin’s attempt to dispose of his wife does not go according to plan, and his daughter gets a sinister treat for Halloween.
The short story, read by Gerard McDermott, came from the pen of Basil Copper. Copper died on 3 April 2013. He was a noted writer of fantasy, horror and detective fiction. A voracious reader as a boy, who learned book keeping at college, he was a Royal Navy radio operator during the D-Day landings. He later went on to be a journalist and editor, and made his fiction debut in 1964. He wrote macabre short stories and fantasy with a supernatural twist. He also took up the character Solar Pons (a consulting detective inspired by Sherlock Holmes) created by American author August Derleth (d. 1973). He went on to write a series of Solar Pons novellas and a novel.
In the 2000s there was a resurgence of interest in Copper’s writing with a new biography published in 2008 - Basil Copper: A Life In Books. In 2010, he was presented the lifetime achievement award of the World Horror Convention in Brighton, where he shared the stage with fellow award-winner James Herbert, who also died this year (20 March 2013).
First heard on Radio 4 in 1997.
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Replies
Cheers!
Mr. Copper sounds like an interesting guy - eager to hear this one.Thanks !
Thanks for this, Rick. At his best, Basil Copper's stories are very good indeed.
I miss the old boy!
Roger