Banville's sleuth heads to TV

Filming begins later this year of three feature-length episodes of John Banville’s 1950s-set novels about the Dublin pathologist Quirke, written under the pseudonym Benjamin Black.

Pride and Prejudice screenwriter Andrew Davies and Conor McPherson are adapting three of the books for BBC1, Christine Falls, The Silver Swan and Elegy for April, with The Usual Suspects actor Gabriel Byrne taking up the lead role.

Quirke (his first name is never revealed) is a chief pathologist in the Dublin city morgue. He finds himself traversing the smoky streets and wet alleys of the city as he investigates puzzling deaths. Alongside his sleuthing he also enters a journey of self-discovery.

Banville described Byrne as "a perfect choice for the part". He added: "I know both Quirke and Benjamin Black will be wonderfully served by Andrew Davies and Conor McPherson, two masters of their craft."

Read our recent interview with Banville, who described himself as “a hopelessly unreconstructed 19th-century romantic”. His most recent novel is Ancient Light.