2014 Agatha Christie Festival: Part 2 - Monogram Murders

Spanish Barn, Torre Abbey

On the Sunday evening we went to the book launch of Monogram Murders - a new Poirot novel, by Sophie Hannah. I'd never been to a book launch before so didn't know what to expect.

Sophie Hannah

The event was held in the Spanish Barn at Torre Abbey. It was such a lovely setting. Sophie Hannah spoke about her inspiration for the novel and the daunting task of following in the footsteps of the Agatha Christie.

I'd already ordered a signed copy online, but I queued up to get it signed again. When Sophie Hannah saw it had already been signed, she told me she remembered being called to a warehouse in the middle of the night to sign them. Sounds a bit spooky to me...perhaps a good setting for a murder...?

Mathew Prichard

Mathew Prichard was there too!!! He talked a bit about his grandmother and how kind and generous she was, and that she was quite shy. He said they would sit together in the evening while his grandmother read her stories to them. Then they would all take turns guessing who the murderer was!

After the talk, we went up to ask if we could have a photo with him. I was a little star-struck and didn't know what to say, but he was really nice. We kept bumping into him for the remainder of the festival - at Burgh Island and a couple of the other talks.

Reading on the balcony

I read Monogram Murders while we were in Torquay. Sophie Hannah's style of writing was good and the portrayal of Poirot was about right - his meticulous ways and little French/Belgium phrases here and there. But I didn't find it as captivating as an Agatha Christie novel.

I'm not really sure what it was, maybe it was the plot or the different viewpoint - which kept changing (the book was mainly from the viewpoint of a new character, Edward Catchpool). It could be that it wasn't as believable as a Christie novel. I don't know. All I do know is, it was a hard task and would be difficult for anyone. Maybe I'm just biased - I've been reading Christie novels since I was about 12 years old and have read many of them over-and-over again!!


Time to go now - our next adventure was Burgh Island, where Agatha Christie stayed and based some of her novels - there's even a room named after her! Until next time...

2014 Agatha Christie Festival: Part 1 - Arrival

Hesketh Crescent, Torquay

There's still no news of the programme for the 2015 Agatha Christie Festival, so I thought I'd do a bit of reminiscing about what we got up to last year.

It was amazing! I absolutely loved it!

We set off on the Saturday with a festival programme and plan of action in hand, and headed down to the sunny English Riviera.

Hesketh Crescent, Torquay

We stayed in a place called Hesketh Crescent - a beautiful Regency Grade II building, overlooking Meadfoot Beach. The Lucy family - who were friends of Agatha's - used to live there. Agatha even received a proposal from Reggie Lucy in 1911 - but she didn't marry him.

Just think, if she had, she would never have been called Agatha Christie - she might never have written any books!! Oh, it doesn't bear thinking about!

The Christie Dancers

There was a Vintage Fair at Torre Abbey on the Sunday. On our way we passed through Princess Gardens, where they were having a fete. There were loads of stalls - including book stalls and cakes stalls. There was also a band, singers and The Christie Dancers! Lots of people were dressed in 1920s/1930s outfits. It felt like we'd been transported back in time. There was such a good atmosphere.

After we'd had a look round, we carried on walking to Torre Abbey - where we caught our first glimpse of Hercule Poirot!

Which Christie to choose for a Book Club?

Torquay Harbour, Devon



I'm in a book club at work - unfortunately not an Agatha Christie Book Club - but everyone's not as fanatical about Agatha Christie as I am!! We put down suggestions on the board and then randomly pick the next book. My colleagues suggested I pick a Christie book and add that to the board. So, I set about trying to pick just one novel I thought everyone would like to read - and it was pretty difficult to choose.

Should I go for her first novel The Mysterious Affair at Styles? Or, perhaps one of her most acclaimed novels The Murder of Roger Ackroyd - which I must confess, isn't one of my favourites. Or, maybe go for my favourite Evil Under the Sun - which I've read about ten times. Or perhaps a Poirot or a Marple, as everyone knows who they are - but have probably seen an adaptation on TV. Such a difficult decision.

In the end, I chose And Then There Were None. I think it's well written and full of suspense. It keeps you guessing all the way through. I'm not sure when it'll be picked but I'm looking forward to reading it again when it is!

We're reading Book of Human Skin at the moment. It's an 'interesting' book, set in the late 1700s/early 1800s, mainly around Venice and South America. Some parts are a bit gruesome and not so nice. It's in diary form and from the viewpoint of a number of different characters. It's was a bit difficult to get into at first, but now I can't put it down.

Also, I've signed up for another year with the Twinings Tea Club. I really love trying the different teas and have tried so many - black tea, oolong tea, green tea, yellow tea, infusions etc... There have been some really surprising ones like an East African Rwandan Black Tea - I really loved it - it was a very strong, bold black tea. They are all loose leaf teas too so you can keep adding hot water to them and experience different flavours each time. I got an email this weekend to say my new tea will be with me next week!! :)

Everyone's blogging these days...

A few years ago I completed an English Literature degree and as part of this I did a Creative Writing course - which I really enjoyed. I promised myself I would continue writing. However, two years on, I've hardly done anything...

Someone at work suggested I started a blog, so I thought 'Why not? Everyone's blogging these days - aren't they?'

So, here goes. I can't promise anything but I'll try and write as often as possible. There'll probably be a lot about Agatha Christie as she's my favourite author. I'm also waiting for the Agatha Christie Festival programme to be published.

We went last year, and had such a fantastic time. Here are some photos from Burgh Island, where we went for an Agatha Christie Luncheon...

 

I'll add some more photos later.

 

But for now I've got to say bye as my tea is nearly ready. We're having Madras Curry and Pasta. You can have pasta with curry - right....?