"Out flew the web and floated wide . . . " "The mirror crack'd from side to side . . . " "The curse is come upon me cried the Lady of Shalott." That “special” look is one of my favorite Agatha Christie devices, and the myriad ways she employed it throughout her career illustrates … Continue reading RANKING MARPLE #9: The Mirror Crack’d from Side to Side
Agatha Christie
IN DEVELOPMENT: What I Wish Was Coming Up in the Christie-Verse
In about two weeks, I’m going to drop a review here for Kenneth Branagh’s A Haunting in Venice, the latest film adaptation of an Agatha Christie novel. This time, it’s not set on the Nile or the Orient Express; instead, we have a lesser-known (and less liked) late novel, Hallowe’en Party – you remember, the one set in Italy … Continue reading IN DEVELOPMENT: What I Wish Was Coming Up in the Christie-Verse
SNOOP SISTER: The Alarm of the Black Cat by Dolores Hitchens
Maud Silver, Consulting Detective I have a great fondness for little old lady detectives, but they can be a problem. It’s not that the classic mystery genre ever made a claim of being realistic. And goodness knows that the “shock value” of an sweet, elderly spinster beating the big bad policemen at their own game has entertained … Continue reading SNOOP SISTER: The Alarm of the Black Cat by Dolores Hitchens
RANKING MARPLE #8: 4:50 from Paddington (aka What Mrs. McGillicuddy Saw)
“Another locomotive one – murder seen as two trains pass each other in the same direction. Later settles down into a good old family murder. Contains one of Christie’s few sympathetic independent women. Miss Marple apparently solves the crime by divine guidance, for there is very little in the way of clues or logical deduction.” Robert … Continue reading RANKING MARPLE #8: 4:50 from Paddington (aka What Mrs. McGillicuddy Saw)
RANKING MARPLE #7: A Pocket Full of Rye
Sing a song of sixpence, a pocket full of rye. Four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie. When the pie was opened the birds began to sing. Wasn’t that a dainty dish to set before the king? Juxtaposing nursery rhymes with mysteries is an effective way to mix the balm of childhood innocence with … Continue reading RANKING MARPLE #7: A Pocket Full of Rye
RANKING MARPLE #6: They Do It with Mirrors
“. . . All the things that seemed to be true, were only illusions. Illusions created for a definite purpose – in the same ways that conjurers create illusions, to deceive an audience. We were the audience.” Nobody excelled at misdirection better than Agatha Christie. Her bag of tricks was large and, if it wasn’t infinite, she … Continue reading RANKING MARPLE #6: They Do It with Mirrors
RANKING MARPLE #5: A Murder Is Announced
Toward the end of Agatha Christie: A Mysterious Life, biographer Laura Thompson writes: “It is a paradox, although, perhaps, not a surprise, but Agatha’s popularity should have increased as her powers declined. After 1950 she wrote a handful of brilliant and unusual books – Destination Unknown, Ordeal by Innocence, The Pale Horse, Endless Night, and Passenger to Frankfurt – but she produced her … Continue reading RANKING MARPLE #5: A Murder Is Announced
A CRIMINAL GAME FOR CHRISTIE FANS
Perhaps you have had a chance to see the trailer for Kenneth Branagh’s third (and possibly final?) Hercule Poirot film, A Haunting in Venice. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVrKNPMG6Dk Perhaps it . . . confused you in a way that his previous films, Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile did not. For despite the fact that Branagh’s Poirot sports a … Continue reading A CRIMINAL GAME FOR CHRISTIE FANS
“The most unkindest cut of all”: On Re-editing Christie
Fasten your seat belts: let’s talk about censorship. In March, the Guardian reported that Agatha Christie’s publisher, Harper Collins, would be scrubbing some of the more problematic language out of her books in future reissues: “The updates follow edits made to books by Roald Dahl and Ian Fleming to remove offensive references to gender and race in … Continue reading “The most unkindest cut of all”: On Re-editing Christie
RANKING MARPLE #4: Sleeping Murder
“’Miss Marple and Dr. Kennedy both said, “Leave it alone.” Why don’t we, Giles? What makes us go on? Is it her?’ “’Her?’ “’Helen. Is that why I remember? Is my childish memory the only link she’s got with life – with truth? Is it Helen who’s using me – and you - so that the truth will … Continue reading RANKING MARPLE #4: Sleeping Murder
Ah Sweet Mystery! 