It Was a Dark and Stormy Night: The Thirteen Problems | 1932

(image from here) "'I know human nature,' said Miss Marple. 'It's impossible not to know human nature living in a village all these years.'" -The Thirteen Problems, p. 198 The Sum of It: As a helpless mystery nerd, I cannot think of a more pleasant way to pass an evening than to get a small group of good friends together, put on a pot of tea, and try to deduce "unsolved mysteries." That is the premise of our first read of this week, The Thirteen...

When You Don't Know Where to Start | EPIC LISTS!

When we started getting ready for this project last fall, the first thing we did was sit down and figure out exactly how many books we were going to be reading and in which order we should read them. Now, of course we could have just turned to the good old Google machine to look up a list of Agatha's works, but it's loads more fun to have them in a handy-dandy list format with a checklist and everything (#checklistsrule). AS LUCK WOULD HAVE IT,...

Isn't it Romantic: The Man in the Brown Suit | 1924

"I would put all my eggs in one basket. 'First class,' I said. I was now definitely committed to the adventure." - The Man in the Brown Suit, p. 46 Ok, guys, first of all this was a new Agatha story for me, and it's now in my top five. There's something fresh and sprightly about these early stories where the main character (in this case, narrator) is a plucky young girl whose curiosity and yen for romance and adventure gets the better of any...

The Angle of Attack: The Sittaford Mystery | 1931

(image found here) "'This young gentleman that the police are holding on account of the murder, it's my belief that he's the one she's set on. And she's come up here to nose about and see what she can find out. And mark my words,' said Mrs. Curtis, rattling china, 'if there's anything to find out she will find it!'"  - The Sittaford Mystery, p. 111 The Sum of It: I could not have picked a better week to read this book. We don't...

The Essence of Agatha Christie: Writing (A VIDEO!)

We've been doing lots of research on Agatha and her books for this project (duh), and one of the best and most delightful spots to spend an hour (or so...) in an Internet rabbit hole is the official site of the Agatha Christie Trust (aptly housed at agathachristie.com), which is managed by Agatha's only and blessed grandson, Mathew Prichard.  One of the most interesting things we've been considering is how the untrained Agatha got so...

All the Cloaks and All the Daggers: The Big Four | 1927

(image from here) "It is a duel to the death, mon ami. You and I on the one side, the Big Four on the other. They have won the first trick; but they have failed in their plan to get me out of the way, and in the future they have to reckon with Hercule Poirot!" - The Big Four, p. 16 The Sum of It: So you know that thing where you go to see the latest James Bond movie and it's all spy-ish and everyone is constantly dressed in evening wear...

Less Golf Than You'd Think: The Murder on the Links | 1923

"The trained observer, the expert, without doubt he is useful! But the others, the Hercules Poirots, they are above the experts! To them the experts bring the facts, their business is the method of the crime, its logical deduction, the proper sequence and order of the facts; above all, the true psychology of the case." - The Murder on the Links, p. 14 The Sum of it All: This, Agatha's third published book, begins with Hastings (Poirot's sidekick,...

The Only Saxophone Soundtrack You Need: Or, Songs of the Jazz Age

When I was a little kid, my parents decided it would be a good idea to introduce their 4th grader to Masterpiece Mystery! on PBS. THANK GOODNESS they did, because it quickly became my most favorite show (see ya, Sesame Street) and is most certainly responsible for my lifelong obsession with Agatha. The best Masterpiece Mystery! episodes (in my opinion) were (and still are) the glorious adaptations of Hercule Poirot novels, starring David...

How to be Charming: The Secret Adversary | 1922

"You must stifle this longing for vulgar sensation, Tuppence. Remember that if Mr. Brown is all he is reported to be, it's a wonder that he has not ere now done us to death. That's a good sentence, quite a literary flavor about it." "You're really more conceited than I am--with less excuse!" - Tommy & Tuppence banter exhibit 4 million from The Secret Adversary, p. 57 The Sum of It: The Secret Adversary begins with a prologue set in...

Intro to Agatha: The Mysterious Affair at Styles | 1920

(image found here) "The company once assembled, Poirot rose from his seat with the air of a popular lecturer, and bowed politely to his audience. 'Messieurs, mesdames...'" -The Mysterious Affair at Styles, p. 160-161. Welcome to week one of The Year of Agatha! There is no better place to kick off a year of reading through Agatha Christie's complete works than where it all began: The Mysterious Affair at Styles. (FUN FACT: This...

Agatha by the Numbers

We are hard at work completing our assigned readings for this week, so in the meantime we put together some key Agatha facts in a handy dandy infographic! See you on January 9 for The Mysterious Affair at Styles and The Secret Adversary. (These fun facts come from agathachristie.com, inconsolata.com/image/110743413522, and An Autobiography by Agatha herself!) ...

2016: The Year of Agatha

Hi, we’re Audrey and Emily. The Year of Agatha is a project we conceived via text message in 2015 while simultaneously watching episodes of Marple in our respective homes. Agatha Christie has been one of the best known and best loved masters of mystery for almost 100 years. Since we both admit to being occasionally teased, nay, mocked for our devotion to almost century-old British mysteries, we wanted to explore what it is that makes her stories...