Agatha Christie historian and speaker
Christie Time – aka Gray Robert Brown and me – have just launched our newest project… Westmapod! This limited run podcast covers Agatha Christie’s non-crime novels written under the Mary Westmacott. We have lots to discuss! The introduction episode is out now, with a new ep every two weeks. Listen wherever you get your podcasts.
On 30 April I was thrilled to head to Claridge’s for the launch event for BBC Maestro’s new Agatha Christie course. I spent two years on the project, leading the research and writing, and it was a thrill. BBC Maestro and Agatha Christie Ltd took a huge amount of care over the process. You can learn more about it here.
Also, Gray and I have been busy with our Swinging Christies podcast, including piggybacking on a US research trip to record a couple of episodes. They’ve gone down really well, so have a listen if you haven’t yet!
I’m also really looking forward to returning to the International Agatha Christie Festival in September, ready to discuss Witness for the Prosecution and (with Gray) some Swinging Christies images – maybe see you there..?
It has only been just over a month since we launched The Swinging Christies, but we have already been invited to give our first live talk! In September, Gray and I will be in Torquay ready to share some material that we couldn’t fit into the podcast.
Tickets are on sale now – hope to see you there! The main Festival events haven’t yet been announced but I have had a sneak preview of some of the highlights and know it’ll be great year. You might even see me popping up elsewhere…
As part of Wallingford’s Agatha Christie Weekend I’ll be giving my talk ‘Hercule Poirot: A Life in Crime’ at the Corn Exchange on 8 September. Hope to see you there: tickets on sale now.
Do check out the other events too, sounds like it’ll be a lot of fun!
Just a quick note to say that this week saw the fortunate coincidence of my completion of a full draft of Agatha Christie’s Marple and it going up for preorder on Amazon UK, with a provisional publication month of June 2024. If you’re very keen you can preorder here, or of course you can support your local book shop closer to the time.
There are still some tickets left for my talk at the International Agatha Christie Festival in Torquay this September, although they seem to be selling fast this year. If you’re in the area why not come along to the Agatha Christie Conference too. It may be a little more academic but it’s always loads of fun! I’m a keynote alongside Michelle Kazmer.
Great to see that tickets for the International Agatha Christie Festival are on sale now! I’m taking parts in three of the events: the All About Agatha discussion (14 Sept), speaking after dinner at Greenway (15 Sept), and giving a talk about Margaret Rutherford’s Miss Marple before a screening of Murder at the Gallop (16 Sept). I have lots of new and fun info to share, so hope to see some of you there!
Tickets available to buy here (at the time of writing, the Greenway dinner is not yet on sale – keep an eye out if you’re keen as it goes quickly). Of course, there are loads of other great events going on as well.
Registration is also open for the Agatha Christie Conference, taking place 12-13 Sept. I’m one of the two keynotes and will be asking what we know about Miss Marple, as I share some of the research for my next book.
Some great news for Agatha Christie scholars and fans – the conference is back for 2023, taking place in Exeter in September.
I’m also honoured to say that I will be one of the keynotes this year, alongside the brilliant Michelle Kazmer. You can expect some previews of my Marple research, a full year before the book comes out…
The conference Call for Papers is here. Hope to see you there!
It’s also great that the conference takes place 11-13 September, just before the International Agatha Christie Festival (14-17 Sept) so perfect for those who want to do both. Festival details should be announced on their website soon.
A few weeks ago Radio 4’s Open Book asked me to take part in their Boxing Day episode , as they wanted to cover Agatha Christie at Christmas. Of course a ‘Christie for Christmas’ is more about publishing routine than story content, but I think it was a fun episode anyway. You can hear it here – and now is a good time to wish everyone the best for 2023!
This three-part documentary is now on iPlayer for those of us in the UK. You can see it here. I pop up in the second episode, which I haven’t seen properly yet, but judging by the first one it’s a really fresh and in-depth look at Christie’s life and works.
I was very pleased to take delivery of this new book about you-know-who. It was lovely to be asked by the editors to contribute a chapter about adaptations. It’s a very expensive book, apparently designed for libraries, so ask yours if you fancy reading it!
Dr Mark Aldridge 