The Scold's Bridle
Encyclopedia
The Scold's Bridle is a crime novel by English
writer Minette Walters
. The book, Walters' third, won a CWA Gold Dagger
.
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 prime suspect in her murder after police discover that she's been left a great deal of money in the will.
Detective Sergeant Cooper, an elderly policeman nearing retirement, is under pressure from his superiors to bring in a verdict of suicide. And even Mathilda's daughter and granddaughter insist that illness drove her to commit the desperate, final act. Only Sarah and her husband, Jack, refuse to believe that the Mathilda they knew would have killed herself. Already deeply troubled by recent events, Sarah is thrown into turmoil as she suddenly becomes the target of some vicious local gossip. Almost everyone, it seems, had loathed Mathilda Gillespie - even enough to want her dead. With Sergeant Cooper her only ally, Sarah decides to find out why. But only Mathilda's diaries can fully explain the life she led before her terrible death. And Mathilda's diaries have disappeared. To clear her name, Sarah delves deep into Mathilda's mysterious past, and subsequently unravels an intricate web of greed, abuse and depravity.
. The cast featured Miranda Richardson
as Dr. Blakeney, Bob Peck
as Detective Cooper and Douglas Hodge
as Jack Blakeney.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
writer Minette Walters
Minette Walters
Minette Walters is an English crime writer.- Life and work :After her birth in Bishop’s Stortford to a serving army officer, Capt Samuel Jebb and his wife Colleen, the first 10 years of Minette’s life were spent moving between army bases in the north and south of England...
. The book, Walters' third, won a CWA Gold Dagger
Gold Dagger
The Gold Dagger Award was an award given annually by the Crime Writers' Association for the best crime novel of the year.For its first five years, the organization's top honor was known as the Crossed Red Herring Award....
.
Synopsis
Mathilda Gillespie, an eccentricEccentricity (behavior)
In popular usage, eccentricity refers to unusual or odd behavior on the part of an individual. This behavior would typically be perceived as unusual or unnecessary, without being demonstrably maladaptive...
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
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
. The dead woman's only friend, Dr. Sarah Blakeney, becomes prime suspect in her murder after police discover that she's been left a great deal of money in the will.
Detective Sergeant Cooper, an elderly policeman nearing retirement, is under pressure from his superiors to bring in a verdict of suicide. And even Mathilda's daughter and granddaughter insist that illness drove her to commit the desperate, final act. Only Sarah and her husband, Jack, refuse to believe that the Mathilda they knew would have killed herself. Already deeply troubled by recent events, Sarah is thrown into turmoil as she suddenly becomes the target of some vicious local gossip. Almost everyone, it seems, had loathed Mathilda Gillespie - even enough to want her dead. With Sergeant Cooper her only ally, Sarah decides to find out why. But only Mathilda's diaries can fully explain the life she led before her terrible death. And Mathilda's diaries have disappeared. To clear her name, Sarah delves deep into Mathilda's mysterious past, and subsequently unravels an intricate web of greed, abuse and depravity.
Television adaptation
In 1998 this story was adapted for television by the BBCBBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
. The cast featured Miranda Richardson
Miranda Richardson
Miranda Jane Richardson is an English stage, film and television actor. She has been nominated for two Academy Awards, and has won two Golden Globes and a BAFTA during her career....
as Dr. Blakeney, Bob Peck
Bob Peck
Bob Peck was an English stage, television and film actor.-Early life:He went to Leeds Modern School in Lawnswood...
as Detective Cooper and Douglas Hodge
Douglas Hodge
Douglas Hodge is an English actor, director, and musician who trained for the stage at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.Hodge is a council member of the National Youth Theatre for whom, in 1989, he co-wrote Pacha Mama's Blessing about the Amazon rain forests staged at the Almeida...
as Jack Blakeney.