Happy June, everyone! Happy harbinger of summer! Happy Pride Month! It’s time to trade slacks for shorts (please ignore my pasty legs) and fire up those grills (unless the CC&R’s of your condo association forbid barbecuing). Grab your towel, trunks and bottle of lotion with SPF500 and head to the beach – unless you live … Continue reading THE BAD BOYS OF SUMMER, CHRISTIE-STYLE
Agatha Christie
BOOK CLUB FLIES SOLO, PART ONE: Ten Favorite Stand-Alone Mysteries
Every once in a while, my Book Club eschews the single Title-of-the-Month format and opts for a more general discussion. We select a topic – say, our favorite mysteries of the 1920’s or the best debut novels by a mystery author – craft our separate lists, and pool them together at our meeting - and … Continue reading BOOK CLUB FLIES SOLO, PART ONE: Ten Favorite Stand-Alone Mysteries
ALL HER WORLD’S A STAGE: Theatricality in the Novels and Stories of Agatha Christie, Chapter 5: Design for Murder – Setting the Scene (of the Crime)
The centerpiece of every mystery is the crime itself. Procedurals usually begin with the finished product: a police team rushes to the scene of the crime and begins to piece together the events by sorting clues and interviewing witnesses. The classic detective story might begin with a client approaching the world-famous sleuth with a question: … Continue reading ALL HER WORLD’S A STAGE: Theatricality in the Novels and Stories of Agatha Christie, Chapter 5: Design for Murder – Setting the Scene (of the Crime)
ALONG COMES MARY: Giant’s Bread
I make this confession with a stinging sense of shame: in all my years of reading and re-reading my favorite author Agatha Christie, I have never given Mary Westmacott a chance. I suppose in my early days there was some sense to this decision. I love a good mystery, and the Queen of Crime wrote the … Continue reading ALONG COMES MARY: Giant’s Bread
ALL HER WORLD’S A STAGE: Theatricality in the Novels and Stories of Agatha Christie, Chapter 4: The Devils in Disguise
In classic literature and drama, the concept of characters going about in costume was a commonplace plot device. The Greek gods disguised themselves as mortals to wander about causing trouble. Odysseus disguised himself as a beggar to check up on his wife’s fidelity. In nearly every Shakespearean comedy, somebody wanders around in disguise: often it is … Continue reading ALL HER WORLD’S A STAGE: Theatricality in the Novels and Stories of Agatha Christie, Chapter 4: The Devils in Disguise
FROM BERTRAM’S TO WHITEHAVEN: Agatha Christie’s London by Tina Hodgkinson
Despite the fact that I count London among my three favorite cities in the world, I know far too little about it. I’ve been there four times, hit some of the tourist spots, taken high tea (with and without gluten), and visited with friends. Most of what I have learned about London, however, is what I’ve … Continue reading FROM BERTRAM’S TO WHITEHAVEN: Agatha Christie’s London by Tina Hodgkinson
ALL THE WORLD’S A STAGE: Theatricality in Agatha Christie’s Novels and Stories, Chapter 3: The Actors, Part III
“She was such a beautiful creature. She had such a wonderful gift. She had a great power of love and hate, but no stability. That’s what’s so sad for anyone, to be born with no stability. She couldn’t let the past go, and she could never see the future as it really was, only as … Continue reading ALL THE WORLD’S A STAGE: Theatricality in Agatha Christie’s Novels and Stories, Chapter 3: The Actors, Part III
SWEET SIXTY AND NEVER BEEN KISSED: Agatha Christie’s Best Spinsters
It’s lovely, isn’t it, how one thing can inspire another! My friend Kate Jackson, the proprietor of neighboring mystery blog Cross Examining Crime, started an activity a few years ago that she calls Murder Every Monday! At the start of the week, Kate invites anyone who wishes to participate to post on social media – or even … Continue reading SWEET SIXTY AND NEVER BEEN KISSED: Agatha Christie’s Best Spinsters
SLEUTH DRAFT #1: The Twenty Greatest Literary Detectives of All Time
Back in January, I promised you that this spring the Three Amigos – Mystery Scholar and Film Noirist Extraordinaire Sergio Angelini, actor and Holmes Pasticher Nick Cardillo, and stagestruck Agathologist Yours Truly – would gather together and draft a list of the Twenty Best Literary Detectives of All Time!!! Well, my friends, the Game is … Continue reading SLEUTH DRAFT #1: The Twenty Greatest Literary Detectives of All Time
ALL HER WORLD’S A STAGE: Theatricality in Agatha Christie’s Novels and Stories – Chapter 3: The Actors (Part 2)
In Curtain Up: Agatha Christie, A Life in the Theatre, Julius Green recounts a wonderful story about the actor Francis L. Sullivan, who had entreated his friend Agatha to adapt her novel Death on the Nile with him in the leading role. Let’s remember that Sullivan had played Poirot several times – but Agatha was through with having her … Continue reading ALL HER WORLD’S A STAGE: Theatricality in Agatha Christie’s Novels and Stories – Chapter 3: The Actors (Part 2)
Ah Sweet Mystery! 