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
There's a decent chance you've heard about the recent online course put out by BBC Maestro, in which a digitally manipulated representation of Agatha Christie teaches the craft of writing a mystery. Yes, really! I was fortunate enough to sit down with the person responsible for all the research that went into this quite heavily researched project: Dr. Mark Aldridge. As many longtime listeners will kno...
When A+++ podcast listener Helen Frank contacted me about doing a themed episode on the secretaries of Agatha Christie, little did I know there would be so much to talk about. And little did she know that I would hoodwink her into co-hosting the episode in question! But I'm so glad I did. I think you'll be as well.
Loose Lips, the second book in my Ghostwriter Mysteries series, is current...
It was a delight to speak to Jeffrey Round--both about his work, and of course, about Agatha Christie. He is every bit as much of a Christie fan as me, and so many of you....
You can visit Jeffrey at his website, or check out his novel The Sulphur Springs Cure directly.
To visit and subscribe to the podcast's Patreon page, click here.
What fun it was to put together this roving episode of All About Agatha! Thanks again to Christopher Diehl for inviting me to A Poirot Double Bill. I'm already looking forward to his next Christie theatrical production.
Come see me this week, May 4th-9th, on my tour of the (U.S.) South! Click on my website for more details.
Visit and subscribe to the podcast's Patreon page.
You can still buy tickets for my upcoming appearance at t...
We've done so many Christies for Christmas, it's about time we did one for Easter. Alas, mutations from the radioactive byproduct of a 1960s-era nuclear power plant did not move me or my guest co-host the way Christie seems to have intended. But perhaps your mileage varies.
The following titles are spoiled to varying degrees in this episode: The Man from the Sea, The Mirror Crack’d from Side to Side, The Murder at the Vicarage, Nem...
It isn't every day I get to interview a map designer on All About Agatha. Nor is it every day I get to work on a map with a map designer, which is something I've been doing on the side in tribute to my late co-host, Catherine Brobeck, whom Ben and I talk about at some length in our conversation. We also talk some Christie, because of course we do; I know Catherine wouldn't have had it any other way.
Visit my website for details on ...
Letters! We get letters! We get stacks and stacks of letters! It's a mailbag-only episode of All About Agatha, and you know what that means: Sia's heartbreaking "Breathe Me" song underlying my chatter at various points in the episode! No, I couldn't have predicted this either, but the Sia is a testament to how deeply I cherish all these messages, and how important they are to the podcast. Thank you, one and all, for your contributi...
First, dogs. Now, cats. Who knows where this podcast will lead me next?
Come see me on tour! 4th-9th of March in the Northeastern U.S.! Visit my website for more details.
You can now buy Loose Lips, the second book in my Ghostwriter Mysteries series, here in the United States.
Check out Kate Jackson's excellent article about cats and mysteries.
Love and marriage are said to go together like a horse and carriage, but what about love and murder? Like a sheep and herder, maybe? I'm just spitballing here, forgive me; I'm a little delirious after exploring so many iterations of love in so many different Christie works. I hope you enjoy the episode. It was a labor of--well, you know.
BLANKET SPOILER WARNING: spoilers abound in this episode (I cover a lot of ground), so if you a...
Chances are you know exactly who Lucy Foley is, and have read one of her bestselling mystery thrillers, all of which have been compared to Agatha Christie. Lucy is also a massive Christie fan herself, and it was such a joy to speak with her about her work, and our shared love of Dame Agatha (and in particular Miss Marple!).
Here are a few organizations to contribute to, in L.A.'s ongoing effort to combat and recover from these deva...
Thank you to everyone for understanding. As I mentioned, here are a few organizations you can contribute to, if you are so inclined.
Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation
California Community Foundation's Wildlife Recovery
Stay safe, everyone.
It's always a joy to have the Reverend Doctor Sarah Hinlicky Wilson on the show to explain to us what the heck Agatha Christie Mallowan is getting at in the extremely personal and extremely Christian short stories she wrote within her Star Over Bethlehem and Other Stories collection. Happy holidays to all who celebrate; we certainly know that Agatha Christie did!
Please note there are a few minor spoilers for Passenger to Frankfurt...
It was a joy to welcome Dr. Michelle Kazmer back on the podcast to discuss an early and unusual Christie short story that contains echoes of so much of what we love about Christie overall. For those in the United States who may be feeling a bit fatigued from all the tryptophan consumed this holiday weekend, just be thankful it's nothing compared to the "sleepytime" embrace of one Isobel Loring....
You can pre-order Loose Lips, the ...
Take comfort, for Maureen Johnson is back on the podcast to talk about her newest (standalone) YA mystery novel, and to talk about the nature of YA mystery itself!
You can find out more about Maureen and check out all her brilliant books at her website here.
You can pre-order Loose Lips, the second book in my Ghostwriter Mysteries series, here in the United States.
To visit and subscribe to the podcast's Patreon page, click here.
We've got strange goings-on in this early, supernatural Christie short story. What happened to poor Felicie Bault? Could it be a multiple personality disorder? A body swap?! Or something even WEIRDER? You be the judge... but first, delight with me in heaps upon heaps of listener correspondence. Happy Hallowe'en, everyone!
For U.S. listeners: pre-order Loose Lips, the second book in my Ghostwriter Mysteries series, at your bookselle...
Did you know that Superman's appearance on I Love Lucy is considered by some to be the first crossover episode of television? In that case, I was blessed with the appearance of *TWO* supermen on this crossover episode of All About Agatha and The Swinging Christies, in which I sat down (in Agatha Christie's birthplace and on Agatha Christie's birthday, no less!) with co-hosts Mark Aldridge and Gray Robert Brown. Together, we discuss...
Marci Kay Monson has created something very interesting in this children's picture-book version of The Mysterious Affair at Styles. I can't think of a better way to start off what I hope is a long-running discussion of YA mystery, here on the podcast.
You can check out Marci's book on her website here.
You can pre-order Loose Lips, the second book in my Ghostwriter Mysteries series, here in the United States.
It's time for another live episode from the Agatha Christie Festival in Torquay, with a to-die-for panel of Agathologists! And guess what? The sound quality of this one is SUPERB, thanks to the presence of an on-site technician. Thank you to the Festival for making this happen!
I hope you all enjoy; I know we did....
I'm appearing at Bloody Scotland tomorrow, Saturday 14 September, and hope to see some listeners there!
You can cur...
I hope you enjoy this trip down memory lane, especially since it will help prepare you for my upcoming live episode at the Agatha Christie Festival, concerning which among the many (many!) screen adaptations of Christie's work is the best....
To find out more and purchase tickets for my appearance at the Bloody Scotland festival on Saturday, 14 September at 11:30am, please click here.
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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