How do you say goodbye to a beloved detective? Agatha Christie, of course, made a mystery out of it.
Thanks to my guest, Mark Aldridge. You can find out more about his work at markaldridge.info and order a copy of his new book, Agatha Christie’s Poirot: The Greatest Detective in the World, from all good booksellers.
Spoiler warning: there are major spoilers for Curtain and Sleeping Murder by Agatha Christie in this episode.
Books mentioned and other sources:
— Sleeping Murder by Agatha Christie
— Curtain by Agatha Christie
— The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie
— The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie
— The Thirteen Problems by Agatha Christie
— The Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie
— “The Dispenser” episode about Agatha Christie’s wartime hospital work
— An Autobiography by Agatha Christie
— Evil Under The Sun by Agatha Christie
— Five Little Pigs by Agatha Christie
— The Body in the Library by Agatha Christie
— The Labours of Hercules by Agatha Christie
— Dumb Witness by Agatha Christie
— Agatha Christie’s Complete Secret Notebooks by John Curran
— The Moving Finger by Agatha Christie
— Taken at the Flood by Agatha Christie
— Nemesis by Agatha Christie
— Elephants Can Remember by Agatha Christie
— Postern of Fate by Agatha Christie
— “A Christie for Christmas” episode about Agatha Christie’s seasonal publication schedule
— “Hercule Poirot is Dead; Famed Belgian Detective”: obituary in the New York Times, 6th August 1975
— Cover Her Face by P.D. James
— The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie
— Ronald Knox’s “Ten Commandments” for detective fiction, also discussed on “The Rules” episode of the podcast
NB: Links to Blackwell’s are affiliate links, meaning that the podcast receives a small commission when you purchase a book there (the price remains the same for you). Blackwell’s is a UK independent bookselling chain that ships internationally at no extra charge.
Thanks to today’s sponsor, Best Fiends. You can download Best Fiends free on the Apple App Store or Google Play.
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Find a full transcript of this episode at shedunnitshow.com/swansongtranscript
Music by Audioblocks and Blue Dot Sessions. See shedunnitshow.com/musiccredits for more details.