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The Murder of Roger Ackroyd full cast audiobook

by Agatha Christie · Hercule Poirot, Book 4

Released · Updated · 6h 54m · 22 voices

The story (no spoilers)

Dr. James Sheppard, the village doctor of King's Abbot, has barely returned from the death of a wealthy widow when his sister Caroline starts guessing at its cause. Mrs. Ferrars is gone, apparently from an overdose, and a year earlier her husband died too. Talk spreads through the English village faster than any physician can contain it. Then Roger Ackroyd, the widow's close friend and the richest man in the district, is found stabbed in his locked study, and the household of relatives, guests and servants falls under suspicion. Hercule Poirot, the Belgian detective, has retired to grow vegetable marrows in the neighbouring cottage, yet he cannot resist a puzzle. He recruits Sheppard as his assistant, and the two move from house to house, weighing alibis, missing money and a stranger seen near the gates. As the inspectors close in on one suspect, Poirot insists on testing every claim. Whose story holds up, and whose will not?

The cast

21 speaking roles are listed; walk-on parts are not. Each voice was designed, or chosen from our library of designed voices, to fit how the book describes the character, and it stays with them from the first chapter to the last. Portraits are illustrated impressions of each character.

  • Illustrated portrait of Hercule Poirot: about 60, jet-black glossy hair, parted dead centre (dyed), dove-grey spats-era suit with a lavender silk cravat

    Hercule Poirot

    Male, about sixty years old, a Belgian retired detective living in an English village in 1926, a comfortable middle-class professional. He speaks with a Belgian French accent, rolling his r's and using foreign idiom. His voice is a light, precise tenor, slightly nasal, from a small, neat man. He speaks briskly and carefully, with sudden sharp rings, cheerful, twinkling and vain.

  • Illustrated portrait of Dr. Sheppard: about 45, sandy-brown thinning hair, neatly combed, heather-blue tweed jacket with a rust knit tie

    Dr. Sheppard

    Male, about forty-five years old, an English village doctor in 1926, a middle-class professional man. He speaks with a modulated educated southern English accent. His voice is a mid-range, even baritone, dry and a little tired. He speaks in clipped, practical sentences at a measured pace, wry, discreet and mildly sceptical.

  • Illustrated portrait of Caroline: about 52, light brown hair streaked with grey, in a low plaited coil, plum wool cardigan over a high lace collar

    Caroline

    Female, about fifty-five years old, an English spinster keeping house for her brother in a village in 1926, middle-class. She speaks with a crisp educated southern English accent. Her voice is a thin, brisk alto with an acid edge and an occasional dry cough. She speaks quickly and decisively, sharp, inquisitive, shrewd and strong-willed.

  • Illustrated portrait of Inspector Raglan: about 42, ginger hair cropped short, navy police-issue overcoat with brass buttons

    Inspector Raglan

    Male, about forty years old, a local English police inspector in 1926, a lower-middle-class official. He speaks with a plain Home Counties accent. His voice is a loud, bright tenor from a stocky, confident man. He speaks eagerly and fast, in confident bursts, brisk, self-assured and quick to leap at conclusions, with a respectful tone creeping in for his betters.

  • Illustrated portrait of Flora Ackroyd: about 25, golden-blond bobbed hair with a wave, coral-pink crepe frock with a scooped neck

    Flora Ackroyd

    Female, about twenty-two years old, an English young woman of a wealthy country-house family in 1926, upper-class. She speaks with a clear, refined received pronunciation. Her voice is a light, clear soprano, cool and level. She speaks at an even, unhurried pace, composed and cool in tone, poised and a little amused, with admirable self-possession.

  • Illustrated portrait of Geoffrey Raymond: about 27, wavy chestnut hair, side-parted, light tan blazer with a mustard-yellow tie

    Geoffrey Raymond

    Male, about thirty years old, an English private secretary at a country house in 1926, an educated middle-class professional. He speaks with a pleasant, crisp upper-middle received pronunciation. His voice is a bright, light tenor, youthful and clear. He speaks quickly and lightly, good-humoured and debonair, imperturbable and easygoing.

  • Illustrated portrait of Hector Blunt: about 48, short-cropped rust-red hair going grizzled, sand-coloured khaki-style tweed jacket

    Hector Blunt

    Male, about fifty-two years old, an English big game hunter and gentleman visiting a country house in 1926, upper-class. He speaks with a clipped upper-class English accent. His voice is a deep, resonant bass, weathered by years outdoors, from a broad, heavy man. He speaks slowly in terse, abrupt sentences, taciturn, deliberate and reserved.

  • Illustrated portrait of Parker: about 50, thin slicked-back black hair going grey at the temples, black tailcoat with a stiff white wing collar and white bow tie

    Parker

    Male, about forty-eight years old, an English butler in a country house in 1926, a respectable servant of the working-middle class. He speaks with a careful, polished southern English servant's accent, aspirates sounded with effort. His voice is a soft, smooth, rather nasal light baritone. He speaks slowly and quietly, impassive, deferential and discreet, with an apologetic cough.

  • Illustrated portrait of Mrs. Ackroyd: about 55, faded fluffy silver-blonde curls, mauve chiffon blouse with a pearl choker

    Mrs. Ackroyd

    Female, about fifty-two years old, an English gentry widow living in a country house in 1926, upper-class. She speaks with a drawling upper-class received pronunciation. Her voice is a soft, wavering, slightly breathy soprano, with a plaintive whine. She speaks slowly with languid, trailing phrases, self-pitying, fluttery and mildly aggrieved.

  • Illustrated portrait of Ursula Bourne: about 25, dark auburn hair pinned back, black parlourmaid dress with a crisp white apron straps

    Ursula Bourne

    Female, about twenty-five years old, an Irish parlourmaid of impoverished gentry family in an English country house in 1926, working-class by occupation. She speaks with a soft Irish accent. Her voice is a low, gentle mezzo-soprano, steady but quiet. She speaks softly at a moderate pace, nervous under pressure, steadfast, honest and reserved.

  • Illustrated portrait of Inspector Davis: about 35, wavy sandy-blond hair, side-parted, tan overcoat with a bottle-green scarf

    Inspector Davis

    Male, about thirty-six years old, an English police inspector in 1926, a working-middle-class official. He speaks with a flat Midlands English accent. His voice is a dull, low-mid baritone from a solid, heavy man. He speaks slowly in a flat, level monotone, stolid, glum and unexcitable, sometimes lowering his voice.

  • Illustrated portrait of Miss Russell: about 45, jet-black hair with grey wings, severely swept back, steel-blue dress with a white collar and cameo brooch

    Miss Russell

    Female, about forty-five years old, an English housekeeper in a country house in 1926, a self-reliant working woman of the middle class. She speaks with a precise, cool educated English accent. Her voice is a low, firm contralto, tall and handsome, with a cast-iron edge. She speaks in a low, rather hurried manner, composed, forbidding and acid.

  • Illustrated portrait of Roger Ackroyd: about 57, thinning grey hair, balding on top, russet tweed Norfolk jacket with a cream waistcoat

    Roger Ackroyd

    Male, about fifty-seven years old, a wealthy English manufacturer and landowner in 1926, upper-middle-class gentleman farmer. He speaks with a hearty country-squire English accent. His voice is a round, full baritone, hearty and rather loud, from a stout man. He speaks briskly and warmly, bluff, genial and assertive, lowering to a monotone when troubled.

  • Illustrated portrait of Ralph Paton: about 25, thick dark wavy hair, tousled, cobalt-blue open-necked shirt with a cream sweater

    Ralph Paton

    Male, about twenty-five years old, an English army captain and adopted son of a wealthy family in 1926, upper-class. He speaks with a relaxed, slangy upper-class English accent. His voice is a warm, slightly husky baritone, easy and lazy. He speaks at a loose, casual pace, charming, careless and good-natured.

  • Illustrated portrait of Miss Ganett: about 58, snow-white hair in short marcel waves, mustard-yellow knitted jumper with a jet brooch

    Miss Ganett

    Female, about fifty-eight years old, an English village spinster and newsmonger in 1926, lower-middle-class. She speaks with a fluting village-gentility English accent. Her voice is a high, thin, slightly nasal soprano, always a little out of breath. She speaks very fast in breathless rushes, significant, knowing and eager.

  • Illustrated portrait of Colonel Carter: about 65, white hair, thin and brushed back, burgundy smoking jacket-style cardigan with a paisley cravat

    Colonel Carter

    Male, about sixty-eight years old, a retired English army colonel living in a village in 1926, upper-middle-class. He speaks with a clipped, old-fashioned military English accent. His voice is a gravelly, rasping baritone, aged and a little wheezy. He speaks at a slow, genial pace in short colloquial phrases, hearty, good-natured and fond of tall stories.

  • Illustrated portrait of Colonel Melrose: about 55, silver hair cut short, receding, houndstooth jacket with a burgundy tie

    Colonel Melrose

    Male, about sixty years old, an English chief constable and country gentleman in 1926, upper-class. He speaks with a crisp, courteous received pronunciation. His voice is a bright, light baritone, clear and carrying. He speaks fast and breezily, in a louder voice, warm, courteous and brisk.

  • Illustrated portrait of Mr. Hammond: about 60, bald with a thin white fringe, charcoal frock coat with a stiff white collar and black tie

    Mr. Hammond

    Male, about sixty-three years old, an English family solicitor in 1926, a precise middle-class professional. He speaks with a dry, formal London educated accent. His voice is a thin, dry, somewhat reedy tenor with a small dry cough. He speaks in short, clipped little barks, precise, cautious and attentive.

  • Illustrated portrait of Charles Kent: about 30, lank mouse-brown hair under a cap, frayed blue-and-white neckerchief, shabby brown jacket

    Charles Kent

    Male, about thirty-two years old, an Englishman in a village in southern England in 1926, a working-class labouring man of no fixed trade. He speaks in a rough London working-class accent, dropping some aitches. His voice is a hoarse, mid-low baritone with a nasal edge, lean and wiry build. He speaks in short, blunt, clipped bursts at a brisk pace, gruff and flat. Temperament: guarded, defiant and quick to bristle.

  • Illustrated portrait of Superintendent Hayes: about 50, thinning dark-brown hair, side-parted, dark-brown overcoat with a tartan scarf in red

    Superintendent Hayes

    Male, about fifty years old, an English police superintendent in 1926, a working-middle-class officer risen through the ranks. He speaks with a broad London-tinged English accent. His voice is a warm, gravelly bass-baritone from a burly man. He speaks at an easy, hearty pace, cheerful, blunt and respectful to those he admires.

  • Illustrated portrait of Mrs. Folliott: faded auburn-red hair in a loose knot, moss-green wool dress with a rounded white collar

    Mrs. Folliott

    Female, about forty years old, an English gentlewoman and mistress of a house in 1926, upper-middle-class. She speaks with a genteel southern English accent. Her voice is a soft, breathy, slightly high mezzo from a tall woman. She speaks hesitantly, with halting pauses and trailing phrases, nervous, uneasy and evasive.

Chapters

27 chapter markers; each link opens the video on YouTube at that point.

  1. Chapter 1: Dr. Sheppard at the Breakfast Table
  2. Chapter 2: Who’s Who in King’s Abbot
  3. Chapter 3: The Man Who Grew Vegetable Marrows
  4. Chapter 4: Dinner at Fernly
  5. Chapter 5: Murder
  6. Chapter 6: The Tunisian Dagger
  7. Chapter 7: I Learn My Neighbor’s Profession
  8. Chapter 8: Inspector Raglan Is Confident
  9. Chapter 9: The Goldfish Pond
  10. Chapter 10: The Parlormaid
  11. Chapter 11: Poirot Pays a Call
  12. Chapter 12: Round the Table
  13. Chapter 13: The Goose Quill
  14. Chapter 14: Mrs. Ackroyd
  15. Chapter 15: Geoffrey Raymond
  16. Chapter 16: An Evening at Mah Jong
  17. Chapter 17: Parker
  18. Chapter 18: Charles Kent
  19. Chapter 19: Flora Ackroyd
  20. Chapter 20: Miss Russell
  21. Chapter 21: The Paragraph in the Paper
  22. Chapter 22: Ursula’s Story
  23. Chapter 23: Poirot’s Little Reunion
  24. Chapter 24: Ralph Paton’s Story
  25. Chapter 25: The Whole Truth
  26. Chapter 26: And Nothing but the Truth
  27. Chapter 27: Apologia

Series

Book 4 of 34 in Hercule Poirot. 5 released so far.

About this recording

Narrator
Told in Dr. Sheppard's own character voice
Runtime
6h 54m (complete and unabridged)
Voices
22
Channel
Full Cast Audiobooks on YouTube
Released
Updated
Author
Agatha Christie
First published
1926
Kind
mystery novel
Source edition
Project Gutenberg eBook #69087
Public domain (US)
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (1926) by Agatha Christie is in the public domain in the United States; text from Project Gutenberg.