All About Agatha Christie

Latest Episodes:

Special Announcement: I'm Coming to Scotland! Aug 17, 2024

Show notes

I'm thrilled to be participating in the Bloody Scotland festival this September! Click here for more information about my panel on Saturday, 14 September at 11:30am, at Trinity Church in Stirling.

And for those of you in Southern California, here are the details for my upcoming appearance at a brand-new Barnes & Noble in Santa Monica on Saturday, 31 August at 10:00am, at the Third Street Promenade.

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Interview with Kate Gingold, Author of Agatha Annotated Aug 10, 2024

Show notes

It was such a pleasure to speak with Kate Gingold about her glossary of annotations of Christie novels and short stories from the 1920s.

You can find Kate, her book, and many other offerings at her website: Agatha Annotated. You can also find her on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, and you can find out more about her non-Agatha offerings on this website.

You can find out more about Kate's talk at the Agatha Christie Festival (and purchase a ticket) here.

To visit and subscribe to the podcast's Patreon page, click here.

Visit the podcast on Twitter and Instagram.

Visit me personally on Facebook at Kemper Donovan Books, or at my personal website.

You can buy my debut mystery novel, The Busy Body, at your bookseller of choice (make it an indie if you possibly can!) in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia and New Zealand.

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Woof: The Dogs of Agatha Christie Jul 26, 2024

Show notes

Whether it's teeny-tiny dogs like the Pekingese, more medium-sized dogs like the VAST array of terriers who appear in this episode, or large dogs like the scary greyhound who makes quite a memorable appearance, there is something for everyone in my discussion of the canine species in Agatha Christie's works. Special thanks to Kate Jackson and Michelle Kazmer, whose expertise I leaned on in preparing this episode.

Click here to visit and subscribe to Patreon for bonus episodes. And I encourage you to listen to my Patreon episode all about Next to a Dog, as referenced in this episode. If you don't want to become a paying member, simply sign up as a free member, and you can listen free of charge for up to two weeks following the release of this episode.

Please watch the PBS SoCal YouTube series Won't You Be My Gamer?, in which I play a videogame adaptation of Murder on the Orient Express with two experts! Great fun.

You can read Kate Jackson's excellent lecture on animals in classic mystery fiction here.

Here is a link to that old, dog-and-cat-centric episode of the Crown Court series that I mentioned, Evil Liver, written by Ngaio Marsh and starring Joan Hickson (among others).

Visit the podcast on Twitter and Instagram.

Visit me personally on Facebook at Kemper Donovan Books, or at my personal website.

Click here to purchase tickets for my panel at the upcoming Agatha Christie Festival.

You can buy my debut mystery novel, The Busy Body, at your bookseller of choice (make it an indie if you possibly can!) in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia and New Zealand.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Interview with David Morris of Collecting Christie Jul 13, 2024

Show notes

It was a dream to be able to sit down with David Morris, and pore over all the priceless goodies he brought with him having to do with Agatha Christie books, art, and ephemera.

The following titles are spoiled during the course of our conversation: The Mystery of the Blue Train, Death on the Nile.

To watch me watch two gamers play Murder on the Orient Express the videogame while we discuss all things Agatha Christie, click here. This is the first episode of the PBS SoCal series Won't You Be My Gamer? It was a lot of fun.

For more of David's scholarly work from a collector's point of view, you can visit his website here, find him on Twitter here, and on Facebook here. You can also check out his upcoming talk at the Agatha Christie Festival here.

To visit and subscribe to the podcast's Patreon page, click here.

Visit the podcast on Twitter and Instagram.

Visit me personally on Facebook at Kemper Donovan Books, or at my personal website.

Click here to purchase tickets for my panel at the upcoming Agatha Christie Festival.

You can buy my debut mystery novel, The Busy Body, at your bookseller of choice (make it an indie if you possibly can!) in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia and New Zealand.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Overbearing, Rich, and Idiomatic: The Americans of Agatha Christie Jun 29, 2024

Show notes

It's time to discuss those pesky Americans who appear in the Christie canon, and answer such burning questions as: Are all Americans millionaires? (Alas, no.) Do all Americans speak solely by way of idiom? (Happily, no.) I was also able to answer a ton of mailbag questions, which involved one hundred percent more Spice Girls than I expected it to.

The following titles are spoiled to varying degrees in this episode: The Actress; After the Funeral; The Big Four; A Caribbean Mystery; Cat Among the Pigeons; Death on the Nile; Destination Unknown; Endless Night; Evil Under the Sun; Lord Edgware Dies; The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side; Motive v. Opportunity; The Mousetrap (though only in a minor way), Mrs. McGinty's Dead; A Murder is Announced, Murder on the Orient Express; The Soul of the Croupier; Sparkling Cyanide; They Do It With Mirrors.

To visit and subscribe to the podcast's Patreon page, click here.

Visit the podcast on Twitter and Instagram.

Visit me personally on Facebook at Kemper Donovan Books, or at my personal website.

Click here to purchase tickets for my panel at the upcoming Agatha Christie Festival.

You can buy my debut mystery novel, The Busy Body, at your bookseller of choice (make it an indie if you possibly can!) in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia and New Zealand.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Collecting the Collectors: The Gays of Agatha Christie (Special *PRIDE* Edition... with Bonus Jamie Bernthal!) Jun 15, 2024

Show notes

It's raining long-haired, antique-loving, architecturally-inclined men! And a few women, too! June is Pride month for the LGBTQIA+ community here in the United States, which I took as an opportunity to explore the topic of "gay" characters in Christie... along with revisiting an interview Catherine Brobeck and I did with long-time friend of the podcast, Jamie Bernthal. Enjoy, my dears!

The following titles are spoiled to varying degrees in this episode: The Mousetrap, The Rats, "Death by Drowning," "Greenshaw's Folly," After the Funeral, Cards on the Table, Endless Night, Five Little Pigs, Hallowe'en Party, Lord Edgware Dies, The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side, The Moving Finger, Mrs. McGinty's Dead, A Murder is Announced, Murder is Easy, Nemesis.

To visit and subscribe to the podcast's Patreon page, click here.

Visit the podcast on Twitter and Instagram.

Visit me personally on Facebook at Kemper Donovan Books, or at my personal website.

Click here to purchase tickets for my panel at the upcoming Agatha Christie Festival.

You can buy my debut mystery novel, The Busy Body, at your bookseller of choice (make it an indie if you possibly can!) in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia and New Zealand.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Interview with Journalist Karen Robinson on the Discovery of a Rare, Early Agatha Christie Artifact Jun 01, 2024

Show notes

It isn't every day a new discovery is made regarding a physical record of Agatha Christie's writing, especially one from her earliest days as a writer.... Thank you to journalist Karen Robinson for sitting down with me to talk about What We Did in the Great War by Agatha Christie... and by others in the VAD in Torquay during the First World War! It was a fantastic discussion.

For information about the exhibition in London where you can see this handmade magazine for yourself, click here.

To visit and subscribe to the podcast's Patreon page, click here.

Visit the podcast on Twitter and Instagram.

Visit me personally on Facebook at Kemper Donovan Books, or at my personal website.

Click here to purchase tickets for my panel at the upcoming Agatha Christie Festival.

You can buy my debut mystery novel, The Busy Body, at your bookseller of choice (make it an indie if you possibly can!) in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia and New Zealand.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Ten Little Poirots & Marples: Ranking Agatha Christie's Detectives on the Screen May 17, 2024

Show notes

It's another episode focused on the adaptations of Agatha Christie: specifically, those talented actors who have brought life to Monsieur Poirot and Miss Marple in films and television for nearly 100 years now. Who will win the title of Greatest Poirot and Greatest Marple of Them All? And how will the rankings leading up to my #1 picks shake out? I surprised myself with a few of my choices here, and I look forward to receiving outraged responses from at least a few of you. Special thanks to Scott Ratner for his spirited commentary on one of these actors, and the valuable insights his perspective provided.

Please note that I spoil the plot of Curtain, and also the 2018 adaptation of The ABC Murders in this episode.

Click here to purchase tickets for my panel at the upcoming Agatha Christie Festival.

Please visit and subscribe to the podcast's Patreon page by clicking here.

You can buy my debut mystery novel, The Busy Body, at your bookseller of choice in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia and New Zealand.

I mentioned a few different adaptations over the course of this episode. Click below to access them.

Agatha Christie's Great Detectives Poirot and Marple (Japanese-language animated series)

Murder by the Book (starring Ian Holm and Peggy Ashcroft)

Various BBC radio plays

Viki.com (where you can watch Ms. Ma, Nemesis)

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*LIVE!* Episode: Interview with Kemper Donovan, Author of The Busy Body (and Busman's Holidayer) Apr 26, 2024

Show notes

Saturday, April 27th is Independent Bookstore Day here in the United States, and what better way to celebrate than with this live interview from my book tour last week at Schuler Books in Grand Rapids, Michigan?! Special thanks to Elizabeth Bosscher for conducting this interview. I had such a great time sitting down with her.

If you'd like to visit or learn more about Schuler Books, which has four locations in Michigan, click here.

Please visit and subscribe to the podcast's Patreon page by clicking here.

Click here to purchase tickets for my upcoming panel at the Agatha Christie Festival.

You can buy my debut mystery novel, The Busy Body, at your bookseller of choice (though please do opt for an indie if you possibly can!) in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia and New Zealand.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Interview with Andrew Winans, Director of The Hollow by Agatha Christie Apr 12, 2024

Show notes

Andrew Winans is the director of a new off-Broadway production of Christie's theatrical adaptation of her superb novel, The Hollow. I loved getting to speak with someone who has been in the trenches with his cast of actors and crew of professionals over the past few months, bringing this Agatha Christie play to life....

To purchase tickets for this run of The Hollow (13-21 April) at The Players Theatre in downtown New York, click here.

Come visit me on my ongoing book tour for my mystery novel, The Busy Body! Click here for details.

The Busy Body is available to purchase in the United States, the United Kingdom (where it is available via Kindle for £0.99 for all of April!), and Australia and New Zealand.

Please visit and subscribe to the podcast's Patreon page here.

Click here to purchase tickets for my upcoming panel at the Agatha Christie Festival in September.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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