The Scold's Bridle
 | |
| Author | Minette Walters |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Crime / Mystery novel |
| Publisher | Pan Books |
Publication date | May 6, 1994 |
| Media type | Print (hardcover, paperback) & Audio CD |
| Pages | 480 pp (paperback) |
| ISBN | 0-330-33663-0 |
| OCLC | 60224582 |
| Preceded by | The Sculptress |
| Followed by | The Dark Room |
The Scold's Bridle (1994) is a crime novel by English writer Minette Walters. The book, Walters' third, won a CWA Gold Dagger.
Synopsis
Mathilda Gillespie, an eccentric recluse known for her incredible meanness of nature, is found dead in her bathtub, her wrists slashed and her head locked inside a so-called 'scold's bridle', a rusted cage built with tongue clamps which was used as a torture device throughout the middle ages. The dead woman's only friend, Dr. Sarah Blakeney, becomes the prime suspect in her murder after police discover that she's been left a great deal of money in the will.
To clear her name, Sarah delves deep into Mathilda's mysterious past, and subsequently unravels an intricate web of greed, abuse and depravity.[1]
Television adaptation
In 1998, The Scold's Bridle was adapted for television by the BBC. It was directed by David Thacker from a screenplay written by Tony Bicât; producer Chris Parr, editor St John O'Rorke, music Junior Campbell.
the cast included:[2]
- Miranda Richardson as Dr. Sarah Blakeney
- Bob Peck as Detective Sergeant Cooper
- Douglas Hodge as Jack Blakeney
- Siân Phillips as Mathilda Gillespie
- Trudie Styler as Joanna Lascelles
- Paul Brooke as Duncan Orloff
- Virginia McKenna as Violet Orloff
- Beth Winslet as Ruth Lascelles
- Rosie Wiggins as Young Mathilda Gillespie
- John Duval as Sir William Cavendish
- Christine Moore as Jenny Spede
- Randal Herley as Dr. Cameron
- Nick Malinowski as Young Detective Constable
- Alan Williams as Bob Spede
- Rosemary Martin as Jane Merryman
- Tenniel Evans as Paul Merryman
- Oona Beeson as Polly Graham
- Miles Anderson as Detective Inspector Harmer
- Alan MacNaughtan as James Gillespie
- Hugh Bonneville as Tim Duggan
References
- ↑ "The Scold's Bridle". MinetteWalters.co.uk. Retrieved 2013-02-03.
- ↑ The Scold's Bridle on IMDb. Retrieved 2013-02-03.