The Virgin in the Ice by Ellis Peters

A BBC Radio adaptation by Bert Coules of the novel by Ellis Peters.

It is the winter of 1140, and the civil war for the throne of England between King Stephen and the Empress has overrun the yown of Worcester. Among those fleeing the carnage are the young Yves Hugonin, his older and headstrong sister Ermina and their governess, the Benedictine nun Sister Hilaria, hoping to make it to safety in the town of Shrewsbury.

Word of the missing trio reaches the Benedictine Abbey of St. Peter and St. Paul in Shrewsbury, Later, word also comes of a Benedictine Brother attacked by outlaws and left for dead. Abbot Radalfus dispatches Brother Cadfael, the Abbey herbalist and garden-keeper, to attend the wounded man, who has been taken to Bromfield Priory. A delirious remark from the wounded Brother Elyas, who cannot remember what happened to him, reveals that he had met the missing trio and sets Brother Cadfael on their trail. He is able to find Yves Hugonin, but while taking him back to Bromfield Priory, he comes across a dead girl entombed in a frozen stream.

However, the dead woman, whom they had supposed to be Ermina Hugonin, turns out to be Sister Hilaria, and the search for Ermina continues against the backdrop of a band of murderous outlaws who have been attacking and pillaging the countryside and who may have been the same men who almost killed Brother Elyas and a mysterious disguised stranger seeking the two Hugonins for his own reasons....

Who is the mysterious stranger? What does he want with Yves and Ermina? What secrets lie hidden in the confused mind of Brother Elyas?
Where is the missing Ermina, and can Cadfael and Hugh Beringer find her before the outlaws strike again and find her first?

Narrator ... Sir Michael Hordern
Brother Cadfael ... Philip Madoc
Hugh Beringer ... Douglas Hodge
Priot Leonard ... Leonard Fenton
Abbott Radalfus ... John Church
Brother Elyas ... Crispin Letts
Yves Hugonin ... Dean Magry
Ermina Hugonin ... Moira Buffini
Olivier de Bretagne ... Raad Rawi
Everard Boterel ... Andrew Wincott
Alain Le Gauchier ... Peter Laird
Master Dutton ... Eric Allan
Brother Porter/Sergeant/Grissom/Outlaw ... Steve Hodson
Mother Superior ... Ann Windsor
John Druel/Boterel's Steward ... John Fleming
Mistress Druel ... Kate Binchey
Brother Dennis/Villager/Garvey/Sergeant ... Jonathan Tafler
Garan/Soldier ... Jonathan Adams
Axeman/Sergeant ... Peter Gunn
Other parts played by ... John Church, David Holt, Eric Allan, Steve Hodson, Julian Rhind-Tutt

Music by Peter Salem
Performed by the New London Consort

Produced by Phil Clarke

Broadcast on BBC Radio 4 22 October - 19 November 1992

Episode 1 00:00
Casualties of War
Shrewsbury, Winter in the year 1139: Amid a civil war, medieval sleuth Brother Cadfael sets out to find a missing boy and his sister.

Starring Philip Madoc as Brother Cadfael.

Episode 2 27:35
Danger From All Sides
Amid bitter civil war in 1139, detective monk Brother Cadfael makes headway in his medieval crime hunt, but it's mixed news.

Starring Philip Madoc as Brother Cadfael.

Episode 3 54:12
Found and Lost
As the 1139 English civil war rages in Shropshire, monk-cum-sleuth, Brother Cadfael's brave search for Ermina leads him to the isolated medieval manor of Ledditch.

Starring Philip Madoc as Brother Cadfael.

Episode 4 1:12:43
The Wolves' Nest
Brother Cadfael searches for Ives Hugonin and Brother Elyas who are missing in a blizzard.

Episode 5 1:48:31
Discoveries
Detective monk Brother Cadfael discovers outlaws have taken Ives Hugonin prisoner.

Conclusion starring Philip Madoc as Brother Cadfael.

Starring Philip Madoc as Brother Cadfael.
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