All About Agatha Christie
All About Agatha (Christie)
All About Agatha is a podcast all about, well, Agatha. Agatha Christie, of course: the Queen of Crime, a real-life Dame of the British Empire, and author of sixty-six mystery novels that spanned the Twentieth Century, defining a genre. For five years, Catherine Brobeck and Kemper Donovan revisited these novels in publication order, ranking them according to pre-set criteria (plot, character, etc.). Tragically, Catherine Brobeck passed away at the end of 2021. Since then, Kemper has completed the podcast's ranking project, and now contents himself with celebrating the greatness of Christie by attempting to solve the ultimate mystery where she is concerned. Why Christie--and Christie alone--endures as powerfully as she does.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Mar 1, 2017 • 48min
The Witness for the Prosecution: An Agatha Christie Classic
Back in 1925 Agatha Christie published a short story called "Traitor Hands," which would go on to spawn a successful play and several film adaptations, including the celebrated "Witness for the Prosecution" directed by Billy Wilder, as well as the rather luscious BBC miniseries that aired this past Christmas. Join us as we examine the original story alongside the original play while also taking a closer look at these two adaptations. Wanna kiss me, ducky?!
Feb 15, 2017 • 51min
And Then There Were 59: The Mystery of the Blue Train by Agatha Christie
Tell people you're reading a Christie novel set on a train--a Poirot, no less--and they'll almost definitely think you're reading Murder on The Orient Express. And you might be! But you might also be reading The Mystery of the Blue Train, which predates its much more famous sibling by a few years.... Climb aboard with us and traverse not just the French countryside but a hybrid whodunit/thriller centered on murder, adultery, priceless jewels, and a 33-year-old woman who is apparently in the "autumn" of her life (!!). This one definitely was not Christie's favorite, but we found a lot to enjoy here.
Feb 6, 2017 • 50min
Gone Girl: The Notorious Real-Life Disappearance of Agatha Christie
We’re going true-crime for this one… or is that true-hoax? Sometimes truth really is stranger than fiction, and Agatha Christie’s real-life disappearance for eleven days in 1926 is the perfect encapsulation of this phenomenon. Join us as we unravel the mystery as best we can, including its impact on our beloved author’s work and overall career. There’s also a movie from the ‘70s starring Vanessa Redgrave and Dustin Hoffman that is… interesting. Let’s discuss.
Jan 27, 2017 • 33min
A Hercule Poirot Amuse-Bouche: The Jewel Robbery at the Grand Metropolitan by Agatha Christie
Put on your thinking cap and solve this bare-bones locked-room logic puzzle with us. Then discard your thinking cap and revel in the theater-filled antics of the much more robust Suchet adaptation. Is "Pearls Before Swine" the best title, EVER, for a play? Undoubtedly. Is Poirot constitutionally capable of taking a proper holiday? Not a chance.
Jan 20, 2017 • 39min
A Hercule Poirot Amuse-Bouche: The Adventure of the Egyptian Tomb by Agatha Christie
Do you believe in spirits? Well then M. Poirot believes in YOU. Especially if you happen to find yourself in the vicinity of a murderer willing to kill FOUR people (so... a serial killer) for the slim possibility of a hastily scribbled note passing muster in a probate court as a legitimate will. Join us on one of Dame Agatha's early, pre-Mallowan, archaeological digs.... Hope the sand and heat don't bother you as much as they do Poirot!
Jan 9, 2017 • 56min
And Then There Were 60: The Big Four by Agatha Christie
How do you fit a square peg in a round hole? Awkwardly! In this case the square peg is our beloved M. Poirot, and the round hole is one of Dame Agatha's breezy thrillers from her early years. And yet all is not lost: there is much to love in this episodic novel--and in its adaptation, aired during the final, sepia-tinted season of the Suchet series.... It's 2017 and our resolution is to read as much Christie as possible; let's do this.
Dec 24, 2016 • 40min
A Special HOLIDAY Poirot Amuse-Bouche: The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding by Agatha Christie
What better way to celebrate the holiday season than with a very special Christmas-themed episode? Join Poirot as he partakes of a traditional English Christmas involving pudding, mistletoe, a fresh blanket of snow, a jewel thief, a drugging, and a possibly dead child atop said blanket of snow. You know, the usual.... But really, this one is quite lovely. Enjoy, and happy holidays!
Dec 19, 2016 • 44min
A Hercule Poirot Amuse-Bouche: The Million Dollar Bond Robbery by Agatha Christie
Toot, toot: all aboard the transatlantic steamer "Olympia," where a robbery has occurred. Or has it? Join us as we pick apart this elegant yet unfairly presented short story, and then revel in the maritime hijinks of the Suchet adaptation.... Hope you're not prone to "mal de mer" like poor Captain Hastings. Oh, Hastings.
Dec 13, 2016 • 55min
And Then There Were 61: The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie
Ah, finally, our first real classic. A great, inventive, rule-breaking classic. Before there was "Gone Girl," our inimitable Dame Agatha was playing the long narrative con. Plus, we get Poirot in all his masterful gamesmanship, sly as ever. A certain murderer may have wished that mustachioed Belgian had never retired and gone to grow vegetable marrows, but we (and justice seekers everywhere) are so much the better for his countryside foray.
Dec 1, 2016 • 34min
A Hercule Poirot Amuse-Bouche: The Mystery of Hunter's Lodge by Agatha Christie
We all know getting the flu isn't fun, but if you're Hercule Poirot, this dreaded illness has the extra side-effect of unleashing an un-chaperoned Captain Arthur Hastings on the world as replacement detective.... Let's review the hijinks together, shall we?
