“In my end is my beginning.” Many books begin with an epigraph; Agatha Christie’s characters speak in them. The occasion, more often than not, is dark. After all, these people are bearing witness to – or maybe committing – murder. “Who would have thought the old man to have had so much blood in him?” … Continue reading A HUNDRED YEARS OF CHRISTIE – THE FINAL CHAPTER: The Millennium and Beyond
A HUNDRED YEARS OF CHRISTIE: Entr’acte at the Vicarage
Hello, fellow Christie fans! I'm busy working on the next but last chapter of my celebration of the Christie centenary, decade by decade. I need a little more time with the "aughts," so I thought I would distract you with a very good time I recently had talking with Moira (Clothes in Books) and Jim … Continue reading A HUNDRED YEARS OF CHRISTIE: Entr’acte at the Vicarage
A HUNDRED YEARS OF CHRISTIE: Doubtful Devotion in the 90’s
“Even Max admitted that she was elusive. He once said a revealing thing about her to me - that she was an exceptional combination of outer diffidence and inner confidence. Both of these were utterly genuine, like everything about her. It is extraordinary enough that, with all her worldwide fame, she should have been so … Continue reading A HUNDRED YEARS OF CHRISTIE: Doubtful Devotion in the 90’s
A HUNDRED YEARS OF CHRISTIE, PART SEVEN: Mistress of Media in the 80’s
When I was a student, focused on the study of literature and theatre, I learned a hard lesson: there was a schism between those works which are deemed “art” and those classified as “popular culture”. As a child, my love of comic books was derided as . . . well, childish. Studying drama at U.C. … Continue reading A HUNDRED YEARS OF CHRISTIE, PART SEVEN: Mistress of Media in the 80’s
A HUNDRED YEARS OF CHRISTIE, PART SIX: Requiem and Rebirth in the 70’s
“What can I say at seventy-five? ‘Thank God for my good life, and for all the love that has been given to me.’” Agatha Christie: An Autobiography “It’s sad really, but nowadays one is only interested in the deaths!” Nemesis (1971) Six Novels Passenger to Frankfurt (1970) Nemesis (1971) Elephants Can Remember (1972) Postern of Fate (1973) Curtain (1975) * Sleeping … Continue reading A HUNDRED YEARS OF CHRISTIE, PART SIX: Requiem and Rebirth in the 70’s
HOW HELEN MCCLOY HELPED RID ME OF MY OCD
I may be knee deep in my monthlong survey of Agatha Christie (the 70’s drop tomorrow!), but I’m still trying to carve out the time and energy to read other authors. Seven months of lockdown have admittedly done a number on me, concentration-wise, so bare with me if after a long fallow period, I attempt … Continue reading HOW HELEN MCCLOY HELPED RID ME OF MY OCD
A CENTURY OF AGATHA CHRISTIE, PART FIVE: The Pendulum Swings in the Swinging 60’s
“You know . . . I really can’t think how anyone ever gets away with a murder in real life. It seems to me that the moment you’ve done a murder the whole thing is so terribly obvious. . . The murder part is quite easy and simple. It’s the covering up that’s so difficult. … Continue reading A CENTURY OF AGATHA CHRISTIE, PART FIVE: The Pendulum Swings in the Swinging 60’s
A CENTURY OF AGATHA CHRISTIE, PART FOUR: The Iffy 50’s
“Fifteen years ago one knew who everybody was. The Bantrys in the big house – and the Hartnells and the Price Ridleys and the Weatherbys . . . But it’s not like that anymore. Every village and small country place is full of people who’ve just come and settled there without any ties to bring them . … Continue reading A CENTURY OF AGATHA CHRISTIE, PART FOUR: The Iffy 50’s
A CENTURY OF AGATHA CHRISTIE, PART THREE: Death – and Depth – in the 1940’s
“There is sometimes a deep chasm between the past and the future. When one has walked in the valley of the shadow of death, and come out of it into the sunshine – then, mon cher, it is a new life that begins . . . The past will not serve . . . “ Sad Cypress (1940) Thirteen … Continue reading A CENTURY OF AGATHA CHRISTIE, PART THREE: Death – and Depth – in the 1940’s
A CENTURY OF AGATHA CHRISTIE, PART TWO: The Glittering 1930’s
“They say all the world loves a lover – apply that saying to murder and you have an even more infallible truth. No one can fail to be interested in a murder.” The Murder at the Vicarage (1930) WORKS Seventeen Novels (as Agatha Christie) The Murder at the Vicarage (1930) The Sittaford Mystery (1931) Peril at End House (1932) … Continue reading A CENTURY OF AGATHA CHRISTIE, PART TWO: The Glittering 1930’s
Ah Sweet Mystery! 