1/6 'The Tremendous Adventures of Major Brown' Retired KC Basil Grant, his brother Rupert and colleague Charlie Swinburne receive a visit from Major Brown at Basil's garrett in Lambeth. The retired soldier recounts a tale which begins with a most disturbing discovery. While taking his daily constitutional his attention is directed to a marvellous display of yellow pansies that spell out the chilling slogan: "Death to Major Brown". What follows is possibly the most extraordinary tale of all time.
2/6 'The Painful Fall of a Great Reputation' This week's extraordinary tale finds Basil Grant, retired KC, his brother, Rupert and his colleague Charlie Swinburne on the top deck of a tramcar travelling through the 'squalid eternity' of North London. In the midst of a sea of cadgers, pickpockets and hooligans, Basil spies one Mr Wimpole - who he claims is the wickedest man in England. At Charlie's reasonable demands for proof Basil throws them into a frantic chase across London...
3/6 'The Awful Reason of the Vicar's Visit' The Awful Reason of the Vicar's Visit is a mystery, especially when that most distressed reverend gentleman begins his tale of a monstrous outrage committed against him. However, when Basil leaps at the cleric and demands to see him 'without his whiskers!', both Charlie and Rupert believe he has finally taken leave of his peculiar senses Or is there a method to the vicars mad tale that may link him to the Club of Queer Trades...
4/6 'The Singular Speculation of the House Agent' The tale of a mad military adventurer, Lieutenant Drummond Keith, whom Rupert believes to be a rogue. He insists they follow him - en route witnessing a disturbing incident with the lieutenant's sword-stick and meeting a house-agent with a fondness for ferrets. But Keith gives them the slip amidst the trees of Buxton Common. And while Charlie and Rupert remain stumped, Basil's powers of detection reach new heights in the search for Lieutenant Drummond Keith.
5/6 'The Noticeable Conduct of Professor Chadd' The conduct of Professor Chadd is apparent to everyone who calls at the home of the noted ethnologist. However, his three sisters become alarmed when he suddenly refuses to speak. The sisters waste no time in summoning the Professor's equally eccentric acquaintance, Basil Grant. Can Basil save the highly respected Professor from his madness and the wrath of his employers at the British Museum? And just why does Professor Chadd insist on shaking his leg in the manner of a bee?
6/6 'The Eccentric Seclusion of the Old Lady' The Eccentric Seclusion of the Old Lady is revealed to Rupert and Charlie after her cries distract them from a pleasant summer evening, spent in the pursuit of a careless milkman. Her desperate cry of "when shall I get out?" spurs Rupert and Basil to immediate action and to housebreaking. When the old lady refuses to leave her subterranean cell, even the great Basil Grant is at a loss to solve this particular London crime.
CAST: Basil Grant ..................... David Warner Rupert Grant .................... Martin Freeman Charlie Swinburne ............... Geoffrey McGivern Major Brown ..................... Geoffrey Whitehead Lord Beaumont ................... Geoffrey Whitehead The Lady ........................ Vicki Pepperdine PG Northover/Gardener/Old Man ... Martin Hyder The Constable ................... Martin Hyder Dr Colman ....................... Martin Hyder Drummond ........................ Nicholas Farrell Sir Walter Chumley .............. Richard Griffiths Reverend Shorter ................ Richard Griffiths Wimpole ......................... Justin Edwards Burrows ......................... Justin Edwards Muriel .......................... Alice Lowe Mowbray ......................... Neil Edmond Brett ........................... Matthew Holness James ........................... Alexei Sayle Lieutenant Keith ................ Jeff Harding Montmorency ..................... Simon Jones Christina ....................... Amelia Bullmore Bingham ......................... Chris Douglas Adeleide ........................ Felicity Montagu Professor Chadd ................. John Nettleton Greenwood ....................... James Rawlings The Old Lady .................... Angela Thorne
G. K. Chesterton The Club of Queer Trades
This excellent half-parody of the detective story (particularly of the Sherlock Holmes stories) is a good introduction to the whimsical, off-beat style of G. K. Chesterton, one of the most unusual authors of British detective fiction of the late 19th and early 20th century.
Chesterton, who was for a time the president of the Detection Club (to which many great British detective novelists belonged), was a prolific author. Among his works of detective fiction are The Club of Queer Trades, the Father Brown stories (of which 5 books were published, and which are now also available in a single volume), and The Man Who was Thursday, a book which combines the flavor of the detective novel with adventure, mystery, and even theology. Perhaps even The Napoleon of Notting Hill, with its unexpected turns reminiscent of the gothic fiction (which indirectly spawned detective fiction), could be considered part of the legacy. On the other hand, nearly all of Chesterton's novels and short stories bear a slightly surrealistic mark---although they are by no means unrealistic. Perhaps it is his common sense which makes his stories seem surreal at points; for ``common sense'' is by no means common.
Chesterton was wary of the mechanistic tendencies of the early twentieth century. His London of the nineteen-eighties (portrayed in The Napoleon of Notting Hill) still used horse-drawn hansom cabs. In the second chapter of The Club of Queer Trades, Lord Beaumont asks the protagonist, `` 'Are you a modern, Basil?' 'No,' said Basil, loudly and cheerfully...''. In fact, Chesterton uses the adjective 'modern' with consistently negative connotations.
It is clear that inhabitants of this modern world are not all enamoured of its modernity. Even those who cannot do without their cars, CD players, and computers still buy millions of books of fantasy each year. Not surprisingly, many of them also enjoy Chesterton's whimsical (he would vigorously deny being a reactionary) style.
David Holman > Anson (Bob) RobertsJanuary 9, 2012 at 3:47pm
Many thanks Bob! It's always great to get the programme details!
Replies
Estleman - Thanks so much for another series I never have heard or heard of...Again thank you.
Bob
You're welcome, Bob. I'm only sorry I don't have the time to contribute much these days.
But we all get to enjoy the things that you write. -------------------------- Rick
Saw this recommended elsewhere so really pleased to find it here.
Thanks
Paul
A bit more info:
The Club of Queer Trades
G.K. Chesterton
1/6 'The Tremendous Adventures of Major Brown'
Retired KC Basil Grant, his brother Rupert and colleague Charlie Swinburne receive a visit from Major Brown at Basil's garrett in Lambeth. The retired soldier recounts a tale which begins with a most disturbing discovery. While taking his daily constitutional his attention is directed to a marvellous display of yellow pansies that spell out the chilling slogan: "Death to Major Brown". What follows is possibly the most extraordinary tale of all time.
2/6 'The Painful Fall of a Great Reputation'
This week's extraordinary tale finds Basil Grant, retired KC, his brother, Rupert and his colleague Charlie Swinburne on the top deck of a tramcar travelling through the 'squalid eternity' of North London. In the midst of a sea of cadgers, pickpockets and hooligans, Basil spies one Mr Wimpole - who he claims is the wickedest man in England. At Charlie's reasonable demands for proof Basil throws them into a frantic chase across London...
3/6 'The Awful Reason of the Vicar's Visit'
The Awful Reason of the Vicar's Visit is a mystery, especially when that most distressed reverend gentleman begins his tale of a monstrous outrage committed against him. However, when Basil leaps at the cleric and demands to see him 'without his whiskers!', both Charlie and Rupert believe he has finally taken leave of his peculiar senses Or is there a method to the vicars mad tale that may link him to the Club of Queer Trades...
4/6 'The Singular Speculation of the House Agent'
The tale of a mad military adventurer, Lieutenant Drummond Keith, whom Rupert believes to be a rogue. He insists they follow him - en route witnessing a disturbing incident with the lieutenant's sword-stick and meeting a house-agent with a fondness for ferrets. But Keith gives them the slip amidst the trees of Buxton Common. And while Charlie and Rupert remain stumped, Basil's powers of detection reach new heights in the search for Lieutenant Drummond Keith.
5/6 'The Noticeable Conduct of Professor Chadd'
The conduct of Professor Chadd is apparent to everyone who calls at the home of the noted ethnologist. However, his three sisters become alarmed when he suddenly refuses to speak. The sisters waste no time in summoning the Professor's equally eccentric acquaintance, Basil Grant. Can Basil save the highly respected Professor from his madness and the wrath of his employers at the British Museum? And just why does Professor Chadd insist on shaking his leg in the manner of a bee?
6/6 'The Eccentric Seclusion of the Old Lady'
The Eccentric Seclusion of the Old Lady is revealed to Rupert and Charlie after her cries distract them from a pleasant summer evening, spent in the pursuit of a careless milkman. Her desperate cry of "when shall I get out?" spurs Rupert and Basil to immediate action and to housebreaking. When the old lady refuses to leave her subterranean cell, even the great Basil Grant is at a loss to solve this particular London crime.
CAST:
Basil Grant ..................... David Warner
Rupert Grant .................... Martin Freeman
Charlie Swinburne ............... Geoffrey McGivern
Major Brown ..................... Geoffrey Whitehead
Lord Beaumont ................... Geoffrey Whitehead
The Lady ........................ Vicki Pepperdine
PG Northover/Gardener/Old Man ... Martin Hyder
The Constable ................... Martin Hyder
Dr Colman ....................... Martin Hyder
Drummond ........................ Nicholas Farrell
Sir Walter Chumley .............. Richard Griffiths
Reverend Shorter ................ Richard Griffiths
Wimpole ......................... Justin Edwards
Burrows ......................... Justin Edwards
Muriel .......................... Alice Lowe
Mowbray ......................... Neil Edmond
Brett ........................... Matthew Holness
James ........................... Alexei Sayle
Lieutenant Keith ................ Jeff Harding
Montmorency ..................... Simon Jones
Christina ....................... Amelia Bullmore
Bingham ......................... Chris Douglas
Adeleide ........................ Felicity Montagu
Professor Chadd ................. John Nettleton
Greenwood ....................... James Rawlings
The Old Lady .................... Angela Thorne
G. K. Chesterton
The Club of Queer Trades
This excellent half-parody of the detective story (particularly of the Sherlock Holmes stories) is a good introduction to the whimsical, off-beat style of G. K. Chesterton, one of the most unusual authors of British detective fiction of the late 19th and early 20th century.
Chesterton, who was for a time the president of the Detection Club (to which many great British detective novelists belonged), was a prolific author. Among his works of detective fiction are The Club of Queer Trades, the Father Brown stories (of which 5 books were published, and which are now also available in a single volume), and The Man Who was Thursday, a book which combines the flavor of the detective novel with adventure, mystery, and even theology. Perhaps even The Napoleon of Notting Hill, with its unexpected turns reminiscent of the gothic fiction (which indirectly spawned detective fiction), could be considered part of the legacy. On the other hand, nearly all of Chesterton's novels and short stories bear a slightly surrealistic mark---although they are by no means unrealistic. Perhaps it is his common sense which makes his stories seem surreal at points; for ``common sense'' is by no means common.
Chesterton was wary of the mechanistic tendencies of the early twentieth century. His London of the nineteen-eighties (portrayed in The Napoleon of Notting Hill) still used horse-drawn hansom cabs. In the second chapter of The Club of Queer Trades, Lord Beaumont asks the protagonist, `` 'Are you a modern, Basil?' 'No,' said Basil, loudly and cheerfully...''. In fact, Chesterton uses the adjective 'modern' with consistently negative connotations.
It is clear that inhabitants of this modern world are not all enamoured of its modernity. Even those who cannot do without their cars, CD players, and computers still buy millions of books of fantasy each year. Not surprisingly, many of them also enjoy Chesterton's whimsical (he would vigorously deny being a reactionary) style.
Many thanks Bob! It's always great to get the programme details!
David
Thanks!
Thanks for the download. Chesterton was a very interesting author, indeed.
G.K. Chesterton - The Club of Queer Trades 2.mp3
G.K. Chesterton - The Club of Queer Trades - 3.mp3
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