Mrs Bradley

Beatrice Adela Bradley is a fictional detective created by Gladys Mitchell. Mrs (later Dame Beatrice) Bradley is Mitchell's most significant and long-lived character, appearing in 66 novels that were published between 1929 and 1975.[1]

Mrs Bradley
First appearanceSpeedy Death
Created byGladys Mitchell
Portrayed byMary Wimbush (BBC Radio)
Diana Rigg (TV)
In-universe information
GenderFemale
TitleMrs later Dame
OccupationPsychiatrist
SpouseMr Lestrange (first husband; deceased)
Unnamed second husband (deceased)
Mr Bradley (third husband; deceased)
ChildrenSir Ferdinand Lestrange (son)
Unnamed second son by her second husband
RelativesDerek Lestrange (grandson)
Sally Lestrange (granddaughter)
Juliet Lestrange (ex-daughter-in-law)
Caroline Lestrange (daughter-in-law)
NationalityBritish

Life

Mrs. Bradley is the first female character to be both a detective heroine and a member of an 'established profession'.[2] A fully qualified medical doctor and a psychoanalyst, she is a consultant for the Home Office, and she also acts as an amateur detective.[2]

Mrs. Bradley lives in the village of Wandles Parva, located in the New Forest. Her sidekicks include her chauffeur George Cuddleup, and her secretary Laura Menzies.

Books

  • Speedy Death, (London: Gollancz, 1929)
  • The Mystery of a Butcher's Shop, (London: Gollancz, 1929)
  • The Longer Bodies, (London: Gollancz, 1930)
  • The Saltmarsh Murders, (London: Gollancz, 1932)
  • Death at the Opera, (London: Grayson, 1934);
    vt. Death in the Wet (Philadelphia: Macrae Smith Company, 1934)
  • The Devil at Saxon Wall, (London: Grayson, 1935)
  • Dead Men's Morris, (London: Michael Joseph, 1936)
  • Come Away Death, (London: Michael Joseph, 1937)
  • St Peter's Finger, (London: Michael Joseph, 1938)
  • Printer's Error, (London: Michael Joseph, 1939)
  • Brazen Tongue, (London: Michael Joseph, 1940)
  • Hangman's Curfew, (London: Michael Joseph, 1941)
  • When Last I Died, (London: Michael Joseph, 1941)
  • Laurels Are Poison, (London: Michael Joseph, 1942)
  • The Worsted Viper, (London: Michael Joseph, 1943)
  • Sunset Over Soho, (London: Michael Joseph, 1943)
  • My Father Sleeps, (London: Michael Joseph, 1944)
  • The Rising of the Moon, (London: Michael Joseph, 1945)
  • Here Comes a Chopper, (London: Michael Joseph, 1946)
  • Death and the Maiden, (London: Michael Joseph, 1947)
  • The Dancing Druids, (London: Michael Joseph, 1948)
  • Tom Brown's Body, (London: Michael Joseph, 1949)
  • Groaning Spinney, (London: Michael Joseph, 1950)
  • The Devil's Elbow, (London: Michael Joseph, 1951)
  • The Echoing Strangers, (London: Michael Joseph, 1952)
  • Merlin's Furlong, (London: Michael Joseph, 1953)
  • Faintley Speaking, (London: Michael Joseph, 1954)
  • Watson's Choice, (London: Michael Joseph, 1955)
  • Twelve Horses and the Hangman's Noose, (London: Michael Joseph, 1956)
  • The Twenty-third Man, (London: Michael Joseph, 1957)
  • Spotted Hemlock, (London: Michael Joseph, 1958)
  • The Man Who Grew Tomatoes, (London: Michael Joseph, 1959)
  • Say It With Flowers, (London: Michael Joseph, 1960)
  • The Nodding Canaries, (London: Michael Joseph, 1961)
  • My Bones Will Keep, (London: Michael Joseph, 1962)
  • Adders on the Heath, (London: Michael Joseph, 1963)
  • Death of a Delft Blue, (London: Michael Joseph, 1964)
  • Pageant of Murder, (London: Michael Joseph, 1965)
  • The Croaking Raven, (London: Michael Joseph, 1966)
  • Skeleton Island, (London: Michael Joseph, 1967)
  • Three Quick and Five Dead, (London: Michael Joseph, 1968)
  • Dance to Your Daddy, (London: Michael Joseph, 1969)
  • Gory Dew, (London: Michael Joseph, 1970)
  • Lament for Leto, (London: Michael Joseph, 1971)
  • A Hearse on May-Day, (London: Michael Joseph, 1972)
  • The Murder of Busy Lizzie, (London: Michael Joseph, 1973)
  • A Javelin for Jonah, (London: Michael Joseph, 1974)
  • Winking at the Brim, (London: Michael Joseph, 1974)
  • Convent on Styx, (London: Michael Joseph, 1975)
  • Late, Late in the Evening, (London: Michael Joseph, 1976)
  • Noonday and Night, (London: Michael Joseph, 1977)
  • Fault in the Structure, (London: Michael Joseph, 1977)
  • Wraiths and Changelings, (London: Michael Joseph, 1978)
  • Mingled with Venom, (London: Michael Joseph, 1978)
  • Nest of Vipers, (London: Michael Joseph, 1979)
  • The Mudflats of the Dead, (London: Michael Joseph, 1979)
  • Uncoffin'd Clay, (London: Michael Joseph, 1980)
  • The Whispering Knights, (London: Michael Joseph, 1980)
  • The Death-Cap Dancers, (London: Michael Joseph, 1981)
  • Lovers, Make Moan, (London: Michael Joseph, 1981)
  • Here Lies Gloria Mundy, (London: Michael Joseph, 1982)
  • The Death of a Burrowing Mole, (London: Michael Joseph, 1982)
  • The Greenstone Griffins, (London: Michael Joseph, 1983)
  • Cold, Lone and Still, (London: Michael Joseph, 1983)
  • No Winding-Sheet, (London: Michael Joseph, 1984)
  • The Crozier Pharaohs, (London: Michael Joseph, 1984)
  • Sleuth's Alchemy, Cases of Mrs. Bradley and Others (Crippen & Landru, 2005)

The last-named is a collection of all but one of Gladys Mitchell's short stories from 1938 to 1956, many previously uncollected; edited and with a comprehensive introduction by Nicholas Fuller.

Portrayals

Mrs Bradley was portrayed by Diana Rigg in the television series The Mrs Bradley Mysteries, and on radio by Margaret Yarde[3] and Mary Wimbush.

References

  1. Rosemary., Herbert (2003-01-01). Whodunit? : a who's who in crime & mystery writing. Oxford University Press. pp. 22. ISBN 0195157613. OCLC 252700230.
  2. Bright, Brittain (2015). Beyond the Scene of the Crime: Investigating Place in Golden Age Detective Fiction. PhD thesis (Goldsmiths, University of London). pp. 34, 127, 142.
  3. "BBC Home Service Basic - 28 September 1940 - BBC Genome".
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