Friday, April 8, 2011

Dame Agatha

Dame Agatha Christie.  The mother of traditional mysteries.  Just her name brings so many things to mind.

Aunt Agatha's Mystery Bookstore in Ann Arbor, MI.  http://www.auntagathas.com/  I've never actually been to Aunt Agatha's, but I've met and talked to owner Robin Agnew several times at conventions or thru the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association.  I'm sure store is as wonderful as she is.

Then there is Malice Domestic http://www.malicedomestic.org/aboutmalice.html, a fan convention honoring the traditional mystery.  The attendees of Malice vote on and present the Agatha Awards.  I'll be there this year, along with a bunch of other Inkers.  We'll be cheering for all the finalists, but in particular, we'll be hoping our own Alan Orloff walks away with Agatha for Best First Novel.  Our past finalists for best first include Lisa Bork, G.M Malliet (winner), Joanna Campbell Slan and Karen MacInerney.

Of course, there are the characters Agatha Christie created.  My favorite is Poirot, particularly David Suchet playing that role.  One of my favorite customers at Booked for Murder had named her cats Tommy and Tuppence.

  Funny Pictures of Cats With Captions


So what about you?  What do you think of when you think of Dame Agatha?  I bet it's not an lolcat!

PS - I will address the evolution of traditional/cozy mysteries in another post.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

My first thought: Awesome. I do love Poirot (and David Suchet as Poirot), but I want to be Miss Marple when I grow up. I particularly like Geraldine McEwan's interpretation. I love to knit and have found a few patterns called Miss Marple. My favorite Christie book: The 4:50 from Paddington (AKA What Miss McGillicuddy Saw).

Lois Winston said...

This is going to sound really weird, but when I think of Agatha Christie, I now think of Aimee Semple McPherson. Last Sept. I was invited to participate in an Agatha Christie celebration on the B&N mystery board. While doing some research into Dame Agatha, I was struck by the similarities between her disappearance and that of ASP. I wrote a blog post about it for Inkspot, the Midnight Ink authors' blog. It's the 9-10-10 post and can be found at http://www.midnightwriters.blogspot.com/

Terri Bischoff said...

Lois - I remember that post. It was very good. :)

Alan Orloff said...

The very first mysteries I remember reading were Christie's. And, although I have trouble remembering the plots of books I've read, I'll never forget Murder on the Orient Express and And Then There Were None.

This year, I have an additional reason to love Dame Agatha :) It's really a thrill having you and the rest of the Inkers in my corner, rooting for our book!

Kathleen Ernst said...

I think of Agatha's disappearance any time I hear her name. Wish we could truly know what had been going on inside.

Lois Winston said...

Thanks, Terri!

Darrell James said...

Definitely think "Poirot" first.
ps. Love the LOLKitties.

Kate Thornton said...

I always think of a trip I took to Jordan years ago where we were treated to the sight of a crumbling desert hotel where Agatha Christie stayed. Then I think of "Murder in Mesopotamia" and then, inexplicably, I think of Harley Quinn...