And while I’m discussing podcasts, make sure you’re continuing to listen to the Swinging Christies podcast, which I do with Gray Robert Brown. Expect an announcement or two in the next few months…
I’ve finally got around to putting some of my media appearances on YouTube. If you’re so inclined you can see me chat with Sir David Suchet, Lucy Worsley, Alan Carr, Anita Rani and Alan Titchmarsh!
What a busy few months it has been! I’ve been busy working on some new projects, one of which should be announced in a month or two, while some others have now come to fruition.
It’s great to see that Travels with Agatha Christie & Sir David Suchet has now launched on Britbox US and Canada. I was consultant for the series, and pop up in the first episode wishing David luck with his voyage, and showing him some press cuttings. It’s a fascinating series that shows how the world has changed since Agatha and Archie’s 1922 ‘Grand Tour’. It’ll be on Channel 4 in the UK later this year, and I believe it has been picked up by an Australian broadcaster too.
Also, I’ve recently given a few talks to kind and generous audiences, including at Hampshire WI’s annual meeting, where I think I converted a few members into Christie readers!
The Swinging Christies podcast, which I produce and present with Gray Robert Brown, has gone from strength to strength, with some great bonus episodes (even if I do say so myself!) covering everything from Muriel Spark to the new Miss Marple stories. You can catch us on any major podcast app. We will also be speaking at the celebrations surrounding the unveiling of the new Agatha Christie statue in Torquay on 12 April, and at the time of writing there are still a few tickets left for what promises to be a memorable day.
I’m also pleased to see the publication of the book Reassessing Murder, She Wrote, edited by Eva Burke and Jennifer Schnabel. I contribute a chapter exploring the influence of Agatha Christie on the show (of course!).
It’s been a busy couple of months with the launch of my new book Agatha Christie’s Marple: Expert on Wickedness, now out worldwide. The UK publication neatly coincided with the International Agatha Christie Festival in Torquay, which meant there were plenty of opportunities to discuss my work. This included sell-out talks on both Miss Marple and, with Gray Robert Brown, our podcast The Swinging Christies. We even teamed up with Kemper Donovan of All About Agatha for a special crossover episode!
Kemper Donovan, me, Gray Robert Brown
Elsewhere, I’ve been doing plenty of publicity, including an appearance on ITV’s Love Your Weekend with Alan Titchmarsh, which you can watch below. We were keenly overlooked by quite the collection of Miss Marples!
It had been lovely to see the positive reception that my book has received. I was particularly thrilled to get such a good write-up from Nicola Upson in the Times Literary Supplement.
I have plenty of plans in place for next year, including two projects that I was the consultant for. I’m very excited about them, but can’t say much more yet! All will be revealed in the next couple of months…
California’s Kings River Life magazine has published an interview with me to accompany their nice review of my Poirot book. You can read it here and if you’re a US resident you can even enter a competition to win a copy of the book – if you don’t have one yet!
It has been quite a busy couple of months for me because 12 November saw the publication of Agatha Christie’s Poirot: The Greatest Detective in the World in the UK! If you haven’t got your hands on a copy yet what are you waiting for?! It even features a foreword by Mark Gatiss! You can see links to various online retailers here – including The Book Depository, which ships internationally for free for those of you outside the UK. I hope that you enjoy it if you do buy it.
I’ve also taken part in two forthcoming TV documentaries, and so there’s not avoiding me yet! I’ll share more details when I’m able to, but one is due at Christmas and the other at Easter 2021. I was also in a Channel 5 documentary recently, which has been put on YouTube – my interview was filmed as soon as we came out of the first lockdown, which explains my bizarre hair!
Anyway, that’s enough self-publicity for today – I just hope you enjoy the book! And if you do, feel free to tell others, including through reviews on Amazon and Goodreads. It is very difficult to get the word out when you launch a book while all the bookshops are closed…
Firstly, and inevitably, unfortunately all of my talks for this year have now been delayed until 2021. This includes the Greenway Literary Festival, the Agatha Christie Festival, and Perfect Crime in Liverpool. They are all something to look forward to, at least.
During lockdown I have still been talking and writing about Agatha Christie a lot including for the livestreamed event Murder in the Afternoon from Fantom Films, which you can see here.
I was also asked to write another short article for the Agatha Christie website, this time talking about my recommended film adaptations. You can find it here.
I was recently asked by the official Agatha Christie website to put together a list of television adaptations that I recommend. Although the title says they’re my ‘favourite’, they aren’t necessarily (although several are) – instead, I put together a nice variety to keep people amused and entertained while stuck indoors.
Following a lot of Twitter activity regarding swearing in the BBC’s adaptation of The Pale Horse I was asked to discuss the subject of Agatha Christie adaptations on BBC Essex radio this week – it’s interesting that it has inspired so much debate! There are a lot of strong feelings it seems…
Firstly, and inevitably, unfortunately all of my talks for this year have now been delayed until 2021. This includes the Greenway Literary Festival, the Agatha Christie Festival, and Perfect Crime in Liverpool. They are all something to look forward to, at least.
Dr Mark Aldridge 