37 leah pallaris from australia: i love desires and devices, Roy marsden was very good in this, PD JAMES masterpiece.he really is what true star quality, is all about..CHARMING, DEDICATED and a real gentleman...
36 Lyndsey from East Snglia: I think Sheila Allen plays the part of Matron Mary Taylor in Shroud for a Nightingale beautifully. I agree bring back Roy Marsden!!
35 Eugenie Quidenus from Melbourne, Australia: P.D. James' books are always a pleasure and Roy Marsden was a unique Commander Dalgliesh. Why is he not in this role anymore?
34 Bobbie M from Warrenville IL: P.D. James is the only reason I started to read fiction mysteries. Previously, I only read non-fiction. Her writing is superb in form, creativity and description; I never want her stories to end. Can't wait to read the newest! On DVD/TV, Roy Marsden is THE one and only Adam Dalgliesch.
33 Ian Pollard from Northumberland UK: I have just been watching Death of an Expert Witness for the third time! It is as good as it was on the first viewing.
32 Paul Bentley from Lancashire: FOUND IT! Finally after looking for months, I have found the theme music by Richard Harvey. You can download it from emule file sharing under "A shroud for a nightingale". Or contact me by e-mail paul.darren.bentley@blueyonder.co.uk
31 Nick from Hove, UK: For those who've been asking, the theme music from the series is called 'Elegy' by Richard Harvey. I'm not sure whether it's available on CD but it was certainly released as a single record in the 1980s. Hope that helps?
30 frank o'connor from Connecticut, USA: I too enjoy Roy Marsden as Inspect. Dalgleisch. He's so believable as a poet as his poems occasionally come into the script.
29 Coralie from England: I enjoy watching PD James/Inspector Dalgleish but it's the haunting violin piece of music at the intro/end that get's me - does anyone know what it's called and where I can get it?
28 Cynthia from stockport, england.: I would just like to reaffirm:- Roy Marsden as the only Adam Dalgliesh! Also best atmospheric theme tune ever! It just takes you there!
27 Vernon Shelton from Oxford, MS, USA: In "Death in Holy Orders" it seemed to me that Martin Shaw was trying to play Roy Marsden rather than Adam Dalgleish. I wish that Marsden would be cast as Dalgleish in any future productions.
26 Martin Fuseli from Cambridgeshire: Like others I was very doubtful that casting Martin Shaw would work, given my admiration for Roy Marsden in his long run in the role - and that I can't remember ever seeing Shaw in anything I liked! But to my surprise I found no difficulty in accepting him once the series started. He is a more intense and physical actor than Roy Marsden, which makes it more believable both that the character has risen to the rank of Commander and that he is a poet. Also, life is unfair: although Marsden is only 4 years older than Shaw, he already looked past police retirement age well before the end of his run in the part - I was watching A Mind to Murder last night for the first time since 1995 and was shocked by how haggard he looked even then. Sadly, there is no way he could have been a convincing AD some 10 years later.
25 brenda from england: Roy Marsden was indeed Commander Dalgleish - no disrespect to Martin Shaw but Roy Marsden played the part to absolute perfection.
I was gripped with the stories from the very first one televised.
Ive also been trying to find the theme tune, but dont know what it is called - it is so haunting and belongs to Dalgleish
24 Jeanette Lau from Sacramento,California: I would like to see Roy Marsden back as Adam Dalgleish. He is my favorite of all the English actors.
23 Janice Monroe from Salt Lake City: I believe it was unfair to have the brilliant actor Martin Shaw play Adam Dalgleish. He is such a great actor but to expect him to be accepted in the perfected roll by Roy Marsden was a mistake by the producers. It is like having someone else play Poirot except David Suchet or another Sherlock Holmes other than Jeremy Brett. If the actors are not available "Leave well enough alone." The old saying: "If it ain't broken, don't fix it."I'd rather watch re-runs of the originals every night (which we are doing here on some stations in the USA) than a new substitute.
22 Candace Noble from Iowa, USA: I looked forward to seeing the unbending of Dalgliesh (as played by Roy Marsden) in Death in Holy Orders and was quite surprised to see him replaced. While Martin Shaw did a journeyman's job at the role, it was not the same without Marsden. Why the replacement? (the rest of the story was well handled, and the inclusion of Robert Hardy was a treat).
21 Sharmistha Singh from India: I admire PD James as a writer and have read many of her novels, i am a real thorough reader when it comes to mystery novels and was a bit dismayed to see a rather blunder mistake in her book 'A Taste For Death', on Pg 358, romantic novelist Millicent Gentle says that as her telephone was 'out of order',she had to take her boat and go across to the restraunt black swan but then on Pg 361,
when she brings Paul Berowne back to her cottage,he asks her for the telephone to make a call and she leaves him to be private-which is a contradiction and it effects the story as that phone call to Black Swan to cancel his appointment for dinner has been treated as a vital clue.
Hope you check it out and inform me if its right.
Except for this dampner, it was a good book.
20 Evelyn Bethel from Las Vegas, NV: P.D. James said Roy Marsden
was not her vision of Adam Dalgleish - Is that why there was a change of actor for Death in Holy Orders. I did not enjoy watching that movie because Roy Marsden wasn't in it.
19 Cynthia L. Elliott from Washington, D.C.: As many other contributors have noted, I, too, have read all of P. D. James' books (including "The Maul and the Peartree which, by the way, helped me to enjoy even more the brilliant Museum of the City of London). As Mr. Mason from Taunton says:"There is only one Adam Dalgleish - Roy Marsden." An interesting subnote to this is that "Death in Holy Orders" was quoted as P.D. James' favorite book to write.
I found "Death in Holy Orders" one of the few books I was slow completing.
To me "A Taste for Death" will always be the quintessential Dalgliesh on film. Enough, back then, to inspire me to finally learn how to program the VCR when it showed the second time. What I don't know is why was Roy Marsden not chosen for Adam Dalgliesh this time?
18 Mary-Lou Chall from Detroit, Michigan, USA: It was a shock to see Martin Shaw playing Adam Dalgliesh instead of Roy Marsden in Death in Holy Orders. I've always thought that Marsden is the perfect Dalgliesh adding enormously to each P.D. James story. Of course James is a fantastic writer who pulls you into her stories. Well, I'm willing to give the new guy a chance ... I must say that the superb actors, in the British series we see here in the States are a pleasure to watch. Even the smallest of roles are played to perfection.
October 9, 2004
17 Gerry Figg-Hoblyn from California: There is no other actor that can portray Adam Dalgleish like Roy Marsden. He is PD James character to the tee.
The recent 1st episode of Death is Holy Orders was a shock, no theme music, and a new guy, that although he is a very good actor, is not the sleek,sophisticated, well dressed Adam that Marsden is.
Martin Shaw is like the English version of Peter Falk's Colombo. Disheveled, uncombed and just not the same.
16 clive ramsden from ireland: I am a huge fan of pd james,and i have read most of the novels. I also love the tv series and think roy marsden is brilliant as adam dalgliesh.
15 DAVID MASON from TAUNTON,SOMERSET,UK: PD James is my second favourite author(ess) after Dickens. There is only 1 Adam Dalgleish - Roy Marsden. The screen adaptation of Death in Holy Orders was a disaster due to the miscasting of Martin Shaw as Dalgleish.
14 tiny oldfield from south africa: With the exception of "The Murder Room", I have read all of Mz James' novels. I enjoy her writing, and am looking forward to reading her latest book.
13 K.K. James from Wirral: I recently bought the DVD Death of an Expert Witness starring Roy Marden. I enjoyed his portrayal of Dalgleish. I remember seeing the series of adaptations of PD James novels and would like to see more on DVD or shown again on television. It is a mystery to me why we don't see them on either medium, after all we do see other programmes from the past in both areas. I love crime stories and especially like PD James. I have spent considerable time in East Anglia during my life and am able to visualise some of the locations. Seeing Dalgliesh portrayed on the screen helps to bring the character to life even if only by association.
12 Gary Roberts from Leicestershire: I bought the Universal-Playback double-disc DVD version of DEATH OF AN EXPERT WITNESS (1983), and was most impressed. Although some of the camerawork and lighting are, by today's ultra-high-tech standards, a little primitive, and the video technique a bit harsh, there are many compensations. Roy Marsden's performance as Adam Dalgliesh is nothing short of excellent, his naturalistic acting style suiting his interpretation of the formidable detective most effectively. Marsden dominates nearly all of the scenes in which he appears, but there is still plenty of room to appreciate the great work of such cosily-identifiable A-grade thesps as Barry Foster and Geoffrey Palmer, both of whom are superb. Ray Brooks's interpretation is pleasingly in-synch with the character portrayed in Ms James's marvellous novel, and Meg Davies is wondrously sexy as Foster's scheming half-sister. Malcolm Terris is also great as Doyle, the sweaty bent copper who has plenty to hide, and his full-blooded performance adds much to the proceedings. Better than practically anything on TV today, and an extremely faithful and creditably calmly-paced work that does much justice to the author's original vision, rather than cutting corners to keep within an allotted schedule. And that title music is wonderful, too...
11 Tjitske de Jong from The Netherlands: I love the music that goes with the tv-series. Was this written especially for the series or is it an existing piece of music and is it available on CD?
Thank you
10 phillip campbell from london: I would be most grateful to find the name of the theme music of the Anglia TV productions of 'Dalgleish'.Most haunting and most celestial.Many thanks from a very long admirer of P.D.James
9 Caroline Muncey from East anglia: I loved "Shroud for a Nightingale" when it was shown years and years ago on the television. Can anyone tell me what became of the actrress Andree Evans, who played Sister Hilda Rolfe?
Regards
Caroline Muncey
8 william from glasgow: only last week at the international book festival, i met p d james.someone asked me if i was P.D JAMES
7 Richard Sharpe from Sheffield: PD James Adam Dalgliesh book are some of the best books to read. Only to Colin Dexter Inspector Morse are as good as the Dalgliesh books. Also Roy Marsden plays Dalgliesh like any world class actor. Like the late and great, John Thaw did with Morse, David Suchet with Poriot and David Jason with Frost.
6 Alan Paterson from Scotland: Quite apart from the brilliant series itself, one of the highlights from my point of view was the superb signature tune which accompanied the series.
5 Pat Haggar from Hants: One of the best whodunnit series on television. Roy Marsden is totally believeable as Dalgleish. Please put me out of my misery and tell me what music is used for the titles and credits.
Thank you.
4 Derdla from New Zealand: I used to buy the PD James paperbacks and read the endings first - so I knew whodunnit.... all this, of course, before I'd watch the tv series!
3 IVA JACOBS from BLOOMFIELD, CONNECTICUT USA: P.D.James in my book is the very best.
I have been fortunate enough to view some of the series on A & E Network here in the USA.
Unfortunately, Granada TV is not available to us even on digital here in Connecticut.
2 Alan Paterson from Falkirk, Scotland: Love the programmes, classic whodunnit,where the viewer is left to find the clues themselves, and (occasionally) solve the case before Mr Dalgleish
1 Wendy Laing from Australia: One of my favourite moments was seing AD covered in mud in 'A mind to Murder' running along the beach at the end. AD is usually so well heeled and in control!
:-)
Wendy