Shroud for a Nightingale is a 1971 detective novel

Detective fiction

Detective fiction is a sub-genre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator , either professional or amateur, investigates a crime, often murder.-In ancient literature:...

 written by PD James in her Adam Dalgliesh

Adam Dalgliesh

Adam Dalgliesh is a fictional character who has been the protagonist of fourteen mystery novels by P. D. James. Dalgliesh first appeared in James's 1962 novel Cover Her Face and has appeared in a number of subsequent novels.-Character:...

 series. Chief Superintendent Adam Dalgliesh of Scotland Yard is called in to investigate the death of two student nurses at the hospital nursing school of Nightingale House. The novel was adapted as a television miniseries by Anglia Television

Anglia Television

Anglia Television is the ITV franchise holder for the East Anglia franchise region. Although Anglia Television takes its name from East Anglia, its transmission coverage extends beyond the generally accepted boundaries of that region. The station is based at Anglia House in Norwich, with regional...

 in 1984, with Roy Marsden

Roy Marsden

Roy Marsden is an English actor, who is probably best known for his portrayal of Adam Dalgliesh in the Anglia Television dramatisations of P. D. James's detective novels.- Education :...

 as Dalgliesh and Joss Ackland

Joss Ackland

Sidney Edmond Jocelyn Ackland CBE , known as Joss Ackland, is an English actor who has appeared in more than 130 films and numerous television roles.-Early life:...

 as the surgeon, Stephen Courtney-Briggs.

Plot Summary

Student nurses Heather Pearce and Josephine Fallon have died of mysterious circumstances in the hospital nursing school of Nightingale House. As Scotland Yard’s Commander [he is not yet Commander, but Chief Superintendent] Adam Dalgliesh

Adam Dalgliesh

Adam Dalgliesh is a fictional character who has been the protagonist of fourteen mystery novels by P. D. James. Dalgliesh first appeared in James's 1962 novel Cover Her Face and has appeared in a number of subsequent novels.-Character:...

 uncovers sexual secrets and blackmail within the closed community of the hospital, he finds himself in mortal danger.

Television Version

A television version was produced for Britain's ITV

ITV

ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...

 network in 1984. It starred Roy Marsden

Roy Marsden

Roy Marsden is an English actor, who is probably best known for his portrayal of Adam Dalgliesh in the Anglia Television dramatisations of P. D. James's detective novels.- Education :...

 as Adam Dalgliesh and Sheila Allen

Sheila Allen (English actress)

Sheila Allen was an English actress, who was best known to the wider public for her role on television as Cassie Manson in Bouquet Of Barbed Wire and its sequel Another Bouquet...

 as Mary Taylor.

Trivia

This production marks the only time that Only Fools and Horses

Only Fools and Horses

Only Fools and Horses is a British sitcom, created and written by John Sullivan. Seven series were originally broadcast on BBC One in the United Kingdom between 1981 and 1991, with sporadic Christmas specials until 2003...

 mainstays: Lennard Pearce

Lennard Pearce

Lennard Pearce was an English actor who worked mostly in the theatre, but also appeared in a number of British television programmes. He landed his most notable TV role during the final few years of his life, starring as Edward "Grandad" Trotter in the popular sitcom, Only Fools and Horses from...

 and Buster Merryfield

Buster Merryfield

Harry "Buster" Merryfield was an English actor best known for starring in the BBC comedy Only Fools and Horses.-Early life:...

worked together.