Review: Secrets From The Agatha Christie Archives by Jared Cole

Synopsis: Dame Agatha Christie reigns supreme as the ‘Queen of Crime.’ Numerous books have been written about the legendary crime writer, focusing on nearly every aspect of her craft. But until now no one has carried out an in-depth investigation into how she conquered the serial market with her thrilling tales of murder and intrigue.

In the UK and US, Agatha Christie’s work was serialized in the most prestigious magazines and newspapers of the day, often under an array of different titles, prior to being published by Collins and Dodd, Mead and Company. Second serial rights could result in a single title being syndicated to over 40 newspapers. Over the decades, numerous records have been lost or destroyed and keeping track of her literary legacy has proved a major challenge for her publishers, literary agents and others until now.

Jared Cade, author of the ground-breaking biography Agatha Christie and the Eleven Missing Days, has unearthed a huge plethora of hitherto unknown facts about the timeline of her publishing history that will delight her devotees and enable future generations to write about her work with far greater authority and accuracy than ever before, especially when correlating her publications to the parallels in her life.

Illustrated with rare pictures, Secrets from the Agatha Christie Archives is destined to become an essential reference tool for fans, librarians, scholars, antiquarian booksellers, broadcasters and others interested in the making of one of the 20th century's most beloved writers.

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Whilst some may have come to this with their own thoughts on what this book was actually about, the author is quite up-front by letting the reader know that this is "an in-depth investigation into how she conquered the serial market" - ergo, it is a study or a chronology of her books vis a vis their publication history.

This is a discourse on each title - publication, inspiration, historical background - and a history of each tome's serialisation. It is about the book (novel, short story, other volumes) and it's journey from the creative mind of Agatha Christie to the printed page and the book held by the reader.

The author finishes this bibliography of Christie's works with a chapter on the parodies and tributes by other authors (1936 - 2017), and also on the novels in which Christie features as a character (1978 - 2025). There is also a list of non-fiction books on Agatha herself.

This is definitely one for the fans of the great Agatha Christie, of which I count myself as one among the many!

Review: Murder By Invitation Only by Colleen Cambridge

Synopsis: In this engaging historical mystery, Agatha Christie’s ever-capable housekeeper, Phyllida Bright, not only keeps the celebrated author’s English country home in tip-top shape, she excels as an amateur sleuth. But when a murder-themed game goes awry, can she outfox the guilty party?“A murder will occur tonight at Beecham House . . .” Who could resist such a compelling invitation? Of course, the murder in question purports to be a party game, and Phyllida looks forward to using some of the deductive skills she has acquired thanks to her employer, Mrs. Agatha, who is unable to attend in person.

The hosts, Mr. and Mrs. Wokesley, are new to the area, and Phyllida gladly offers their own overwhelmed housekeeper some guidance while events get underway. Family friends have been enlisted to play the suspects, and Mr. Wokesley excels in his role of dead body. Unfortunately, when the game’s solution is about to be unveiled, the participants discover that life has imitated art. Mr. Wokesley really is dead!

In the absence of Inspector Cork, Phyllida takes temporary charge of the investigation, guiding the local constable through interviews with the Murder Game actors. At first, there seems no motive to want Mr. Wokesley dead . . . but then Phyllida begins to connect each of the suspects with the roles they played and the motives assigned to them. It soon becomes clear that everyone had a reason to murder their host—both in the game and in real life. Before long, Phyllida is embroiled in a fiendishly puzzling case, with a killer who refuses to play by the rules . . .

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Unfortunately, yet another book that I found myself far from being as engaged as I thought I would be. I mean, a mystery set at the time of one of my favourite authors - Agatha Christie - using the person of her housekeeper as the main character, and from who's "adventures in crime" Agatha bases her own stories around. This outting - I believe to be the second or third in a potential series - becomes the inspiration for Agatha's book, A Death Is Announced.

For sake of continuity, I would suggest reading this series from the start and not jumping in somewhere is the middle. I also found no connection with any of the characters, including Agatha herself.

Agatha Christie novels reworked to remove potentially offensive language

The Guardian:

Poirot and Miss Marple mysteries have passages edited by sensitivity readers for latest HarperCollins editions.

Several Agatha Christie novels have been edited to remove potentially offensive language, including insults and references to ethnicity.

Poirot and Miss Marple mysteries written between 1920 and 1976 have had passages reworked or removed in new editions published by HarperCollins to strip them of language and descriptions that modern audiences find offensive, especially those involving the characters Christie’s protagonists encounter outside the UK.

Sensitivity readers had made the edits, which were evident in digital versions of the new editions, including the entire Miss Marple run and selected Poirot novels set to be released or that have been released since 2020, the Telegraph reported.

The updates follow edits made to books by Roald Dahl and Ian Fleming to remove offensive references to gender and race in a bid to preserve their relevance to modern readers.

Read more here @ The Guardian

If a reader is so immature and close-minded that they cannot appreciate a work for what it is and when it was written, then they don't deserve to have any voice in publishing.  As far as I am concerned, this is something akin to censorship and sensitivity readers should be consigned to Dante's Sixth Circle of Hell - Heresy! I am so glad that my collection is still in its glorious, politically incorrect, original format. 

'Queen of crime' Agatha Christie goes to Bollywood

From BBC News:

A murder takes place in a misty Himalayan hill resort. As the whodunit unfolds, a couple almost unwittingly begin sleuthing to get to the bottom of the crime. And the story is based on a novel by the world's most celebrated crime writer.

That's all Indian filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj is willing to reveal now about his upcoming film, based on a novel by "queen of crime" Agatha Christie.

It is also the first time that Agatha Christie Limited, which looks after the author's estate, has franchised her stories to an Indian filmmaker. "We have done many adaptations across the world and every country brings its own flavour to the piece. I have no doubt that this will be the same," James Prichard, Christie's great grandson and the CEO of the estate, told me.

Bollywood's Christie would not be the first adaptation to have music and dance. An episode of a series in French - Les Petits Meurtres d'Agatha Christie - had "many musical numbers," says Prichard. "So never say never."

It's possibly apt that Christie is going to Bollywood in the 100th year since the publication of her first novel The Mysterious Affairs at Styles. Since then, an astonishing two billion copies of her books have sold in more than 100 languages, including English, according to her estate. Last year alone, her books sold more than two million copies. They have been adapted by television, film and theatre, a testament to their timelessness.

read more here @ BBC News

see also

- Bollywood Crime Thrillers Based On Agatha Christie Novels

- Bollywood Adaptions of Agatha Christie

- 6 Indian Movies Inspired By Agatha Christie

Review: Midwinter Murder by Agatha Christie

Synopsis: There’s a chill in the air and the days are growing shorter . . . It’s the perfect time to curl up in front of a crackling fire with these wintry whodunits from the legendary Agatha Christie. But beware of deadly snowdrifts and dangerous gifts, poisoned meals and mysterious guests. This chilling compendium of short stories—some featuring beloved detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple—is an essential omnibus for Christie fans and the perfect holiday gift for mystery lovers.

A wonderful collection of short stories curated around the theme sof winter and Christmas. These stories, featuring well known characters such as Poirot, Marple, Pyne, and Quin, have all appeared in previously published tomes - listed at the end. This will make a nice addition to anyone's Agatha Christie library - and will be adding it to my own. 

A Talent for Murder by Andrew Wilson – when Agatha went missing | Books | The Guardian

Review - The Guardian: 

A thriller based around Agatha Christie’s real-life disappearance in 1926 is deft, dark and thoroughly good fun.

In a real-life mystery as intriguing as the plots from her novels, Agatha Christie went missing for 10 days in the winter of 1926. To this day, no one really knows what she got up to, and literary biographer Andrew Wilson can’t resist the opportunity to use this fascinating set-up as a starting point for a really enjoyable – and wholly fictional – blackmail and murder-laden thriller. It’s a simple premise easily encapsulated on the jacket: “You, Mrs Christie, are going to commit a murder… but, before then, you are going to disappear.” But with a backdrop of marital breakdown and real-life scandal it feels a lot less stagey than a typical Christie novel.

A Talent for Murder is the first in a series and has been optioned for TV: it’s not difficult to see why. Wilson not only knows his subject but he deftly moves this Agatha Christie tale away from mere literary ventriloquism and into darker, more psychological territory. Great fun, too.

Review: The Woman on the Orient Express by Lindsay Jayne Ashford

Different to what I was expecting - reviews are mixed. 

Three stories intertwine on a journey on the Orient Express with Agatha Christie front and centre. Apart from a little to-ing and fro-ing at the start to get characters sorted, it quite readable. I don't mind a little artistic licence when it comes to plausibly filling in the gaps or maybe adding a little twist.

Our story starts much later in Agatha's life as a visit from a young man recalls images of a story not long forgotten but left untold.  We are then taken back to 1928, and divorce from her husband Archie becomes a catalyst for Agatha's journey to Baghdad.  Travelling under the assumed name of Mary Miller, Agatha encounters two women (Nancy Nelson and Katherine Keeling), both with secrets of their own, and both also heading to Baghdad.

Ashford creatively uses known facts to weave a intricate story of Agatha's journey to the Middle East - she did in fact travel to Istanbul on the Orient Express in 1928.  She also did meet Katherine Woolley (nee Keeling) at a dig at Ur.  We get a sense too of where some of Agatha's later stories based in Mesopotamia originate.  However, her meeting with her future second husband, Max Mallowan was not until two years later. 

All in all, this is a captivating and vivid spin on the beginning of a new chapter in Agatha's life - it is not a typical Agatha Christie style mystery, but a good historical fiction story.  Some liberties are taken - this is fiction afterall!

Agatha Christie by Laura Thompson

From Pegasus Books:

It has been one hundred years since Agatha Christie wrote her first novel and created the formidable Hercule Poirot. A brilliant and award winning biographer, Laura Thompson now turns her sharp eye to Agatha Christie. Arguably the greatest crime writer in the world, Christie's books still sell over four million copies each year—more than thirty years after her death—and it shows no signs of slowing.

But who was the woman behind these mystifying, yet eternally pleasing, puzzlers? Thompson reveals the Edwardian world in which Christie grew up, explores her relationships, including those with her two husbands and daughter, and investigates the many mysteries still surrounding Christie's life, most notably, her eleven-day disappearance in 1926.

Agatha Christie is as mysterious as the stories she penned, and writing about her is a detection job in itself. With unprecedented access to all of Christie's letters, papers, and notebooks, as well as fresh and insightful interviews with her grandson, daughter, son-in-law and their living relations, Thompson is able to unravel not only the detailed workings of Christie's detective fiction, but the truth behind this mysterious woman.

Witness For The Prosecution

A quick Sunday blog as here in Australia, a new adaption of Agatha Christie's Witness For The Prosecution hits the screens.

As a long-time fan of Agatha Christie (thanks Mum), I have read all her books, plays, short stories, and seen many of her works translated onto the screen, whether as a film or TV series. But one of my all-time favourite films was, and still is, Witness For The Prosecution - the Billy Wilder version starring Charles Laughton, Marlene Dietrich and Tyrone Power. I have this on VCR and DVD.

Synopsis: young man, older woman, murder. Most of the drama takes place in the court room or the offices of legendary barrister, Sir Wilfred Robarts (Laughton). It is suspenseful, dramatic, sometimes entertaining (due to Wilder's direction) - and nothing is revealed until we reach the climatic end.

Now the novel was originally published in January 1925 as Traitor Hands before being re-published in 1933 as part of stories before being expanded on by Christie in 1953 for the play version.

Witness For The Prosecution (1953 play)

The 1953 play opened in London on 28 October 1953 at the Winter Garden Theatre, and starred:

• Derek Blomfield as Leonard Vole
• David Horne as Sir Wilfrid Robarts, QC
• Patricia Jessel as Romaine

The play opened on Broadway at Henry Miller's Theatre, New York City on 16 December 1954, starring:

• Francis L. Sullivan as Sir Wilfred Robarts, QC
• Gene Lyons as Leonard Vole
• Patricia Jessel as Romaine

Witness For The Prosecution (1957 Film)

This 1957 film version was presented as a typical courtroom drama with film noir elements directed by Billy Wilder, set in the Old Bailey in London. The film, based on the play of the same name by Agatha Christie, deals with the trial of a man accused of murder. The first film adaptation of this story, it stars Tyrone Power (Leonard Vole), Marlene Dietrich (Christine Vole / Romaine), and Charles Laughton (Sir Wilfrid Roberts), and features Elsa Lanchester (Miss Plimsoll - she was also Laughton's wife, starring in many films together). Also look out for Una O'Connor (Janet - I loved her in the Flynn version of "Robin Hood" and  also in "The Informer"). The 1957 film was adapted by Billy Wilder from the play of the same name.

Side note: Billy Wilder was responsible for such hits as "Some Like It Hot", "The Apartment", "Double Indemnity", and of course - "Sunset Boulevard". You can view Wilder's extensive filmography HERE.

Then there is the 1982 film version, which is considered to be more faithful to the original story, starring: 

• Ralph Richardson as Sir Wilfred Robarts
• Deborah Kerr as Miss Plimsoll, the nurse
• Diana Rigg as Christine Vole (Romaine)
• Beau Bridges as Leonard Vole
• Donald Pleasence as Mr. Myers, the prosecutor

And now to the 2016 mini-series which was adapted by Sarah Phelps and directed by Julian Jarrold  This version is again based on Agatha Christie's original short story. The cast this time around are:

• Toby Jones as John Mayhew
• Andrea Riseborough as Romaine Heilger
• Kim Cattrall as Emily French
• David Haig as Sir Charles Carter
• Billy Howle as Leonard Vole
• Monica Dolan as Janet McIntyre

There is no Sir Wildred in this rendition - there is only John Mayhew with Sir Charles Carter prosecuting. And, according to the tabloids, "The biggest coup of the BBC's festive adaptation was that not only did it revert to Christie's original twist, but added considerably to it, making for a far more emotionally ending […which…] transformed a tale of moral turpitude and greed into something of much greater depth and contemporary resonance." 

Whichever version of the story, whether film, play, mini-series, I highly recommend tracking down a copy for yourself.  You won't regret it.

See also: Agatha Christie's - Witness For The Prosecution

126 remarkable Agatha Christie facts

126 remarkable Agatha Christie facts
With Poirot-like diligence, expert John Curran has gathered 126 facts about the Queen of Crime .... and as a huge Agatha fan, thank you John Curran for this list.

Here's a little tempter ....

Although her name is shorthand for “murder mystery” and she is the most translated and biggest-selling writer in history, Agatha Christie shunned publicity. She rarely gave print interviews and steadfastly refused to appear on television or radio. Surviving radio documentaries feature mainly other people talking about her and her work. Authorised biographies appeared only long after her death and her own Autobiography is maddeningly offhand about her writing. With Poirot-like diligence I have gathered together these 126 facts about the Queen of Crime to mark what would have been her 126th birthday last month.

1. Christie has been outsold only by Shakespeare and the Bible.
2. It was never Christie’s intention to become a writer, but she was determined to rise to the challenge set by her sister Madge who had dared her to write a detective story.

Continue reading the rest of John's list via The Irish Times.