The Scold's Bridle

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.

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:


 * 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