Big Finish The Adventure of the Diogenes Damsel A Benny Audio Adventure

Author	Jim Smith
Released	2008
Cover	Adrian Salmon

Starring: Lisa Bowerman as Professor Bernice Summerfield

Synopsis: Diverted to Victorian London by persons or powers unknown, twenty seventh century archaeologist, adventureress and inadvertent absent mother Bernice Summerfield finds herself beset with problems of a kind that those unused to time-travel could barely even imagine. What are the plans of the mysterious Lord Straxus? Who is Ludvig Cooray and what has the number seven to do with all this? Can Bernice acquire the help of Mycroft Holmes, the cleverest man of the age - and more importantly how is she going to get home?

• A Review by Thomas Tiley

A Review by Thomas Tiley 8/4/17

I enjoyed this story and by enjoyed I mean loved it. Bernice finds herself stranded in Victorian London and tries to track down an old friend from her New Adventure days for help. Of course Dr Watson is on a cruise and Sherlock Holmes faked his own death, so his brother will have to do. Bernice Summerfield and Mycroft Holmes solving mysteries in Late Victorian England? What's not to love about that?

David Warner as Holmes was fantastic, I think he'd make a great Doctor, his voice perfectly suited for an audio such as this. It would have been nice to have him tag along for further adventures with Bernice or for her to be stuck in the past for a bit longer.

Peter Miles and Simon Kingsley as the villains of the piece are good as well. Miles plays Lord Straxus, an individual with a lot in common with another old friend/travelling companion of Bernice's, and Kinsley is his henchman who also has an interesting connection with Bernice (not to mention resolves an age old problem of how on earth do you pronounce the name Cwej?).

And of course Lisa Bowerman as Bernice Summerfield: fantastic as always, funny and serious in equal measure.

I liked how we got to hear Benny write away at her diary (her voice mixed in with the sound of a scribbling pen, a very nice piece of sound design), her feelings at having left her son alone in the future and her stuck in the past, and of course all the links and references to the old New Adventures book line.

A well written and performed audio story, a must-have for any fan of Benny's adventures. 10/10