The Enid Blyton Society

Courtenay wrote:

Julie2owlsdene wrote:...I actually used Agatha's boathouse over at Greenway, in my continuation novel on this site - Rook's Rock Mystery.

Did Agatha herself come into it too, Julie? (I'd love to read your story too — I will once I've got around to reading all the original Barney mysteries first!)

Yes, I did mention her, Courtenay!

Julie2owlsdene wrote:Yes, I did mention her, Courtenay!

No they are private houses now Chrissie.
I enjoyed this blog about a visit to Agatha's grave:

https://cemeteryclub.wordpress.com/2016 ... ies-grave/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Here's an account of my own visit:

http://share.pho.to/9fbrr" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

That's really cool, Pete — thanks for sharing. I'll have to let my mum know about Wallingford, as she's a big fan of Agatha Christie and might like to see it another time when she and Dad are visiting Britain. I did show Mum the Agatha Christie memorial in London when we were there once.

pete9012S wrote:No they are private houses now Chrissie.
I enjoyed this blog about a visit to Agatha's grave:

Thank you for the links, Pete!
We just watched a week ago "And then there were None" (2015) and loved it!

pete9012S wrote:Here's an account of my own visit: http://share.pho.to/9fbrr" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Beautiful photos, Pete!
I also like the b & w pic from AC with the river behind her (1950).

Do you know by any chance which village inspired St. Mary Mead?

You may enjoy reading through this Chrissie:

St. Mary Mead

http://agathachristie.wikia.com/wiki/St._Mary_Mead" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

See also:

Proof of Same Universe Theory

So, the question: did Poirot and Marple actually exist in the "same" universe of Christie's? The answer would be "yes", through linking common facts together like a spider's web (or like the famous Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon!).

Poirot has met and collaborated with Mrs. Ariadne Oliver, the mystery writer, on many occasions.
Ariadne Oliver has met the Reverend Dane Calthorp and his wife in The Pale Horse.
Reverend Dane Calthorp and his wife are friends of Marple, as evidenced in The Moving Finger.
Two more connections can be made between Poirot and Marple, only indirectly.

Poirot met the young lady Katherine Grey from The Mystery of the Blue Train, having lived in St. Mary Mead.
St. Mary Mead is of course the village where Miss Marple lives (although some has dismissed this, saying that there are two villages with same name).

http://www.poirot.us/world.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I read in a Miss Marple book distances given between St Mary Mead and various 'real' places. I used a map to make out where the village would be. Sadly, I have forgotten where this was and which book it was in!

I read in a Miss Marple book distances given between St Mary Mead and various 'real' places. I used a map to make out where the village would be. Sadly, I have forgotten where this was and which book it was in!

Wikipedia states 12 miles from Eastbourne and 25 from London. I think we can ignore Eastbourne as no Paddington train would go anywhere near there. 25 miles from Paddington would take us to a small village bewteen Maidenhead and Slough. It could even be Bourne End, as that is 28 miles from Paddington!

Chrissie wrote:Julie, Nigel and Pete, which other books on Agatha Christie could you recommend when one would like to find out more about the AC crime novels and what inspired them?

Chrissie, I have three books to which I constantly refer. A Talent to Deceive - An Appreciation of Agatha Christie, by Robert Barnard (plot summaries of all her books are given - no spoilers!) and The Life and Crimes of Agatha Christie, by Charles Osborne. The third, The Agatha Christie Who's Who, by Randall Toye, lists every character from every book, stating the name of the book and brief character description. Again, no spoilers.
I believe they might be out of print, but an internet search may well find copies.

I was also given The World of Agatha Christie, by Martin Fido, which makes an interesting read. Google* for further information, Chrissie.

*Other search engines are available

Moonraker wrote:Chrissie, I have three books to which I constantly refer. A Talent to Deceive - An Appreciation of Agatha Christie, by Robert Barnard (plot summaries of all her books are given - no spoilers!) and The Life and Crimes of Agatha Christie, by Charles Osborne. The third, The Agatha Christie Who's Who, by Randall Toye, lists every character from every book, stating the name of the book and brief character description. Again, no spoilers.
I was also given The World of Agatha Christie, by Martin Fido, which makes an interesting read. Google* for further information, Chrissie.

Thank you very much, Nigel, for this valuable information.
I checked out our public library and found 3 books on AC's life, but unfortunately not one of the three that you recommend (and no, I never read one of your earlier posts on these 3 books).
So I will try to get them via British amazon in the winter.

pete9012S wrote:You may enjoy reading through this Chrissie
So, the question: did Poirot and Marple actually exist in the "same" universe of Christie's? The answer would be "yes", through linking common facts together like a spider's web (or like the famous Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon!).

Thank you, Pete!
I printed it out as I have so many book marks that my computer no longer keeps the new ones that I add (my husband thinks I need to delete a few hundred bookmarked websites ).
The link with the village map is beautiful!

Moonraker wrote:Chrissie, I have three books to which I constantly refer. A Talent to Deceive - An Appreciation of Agatha Christie, by Robert Barnard (plot summaries of all her books are given - no spoilers!) and The Life and Crimes of Agatha Christie, by Charles Osborne. The third, The Agatha Christie Who's Who, by Randall Toye, lists every character from every book, stating the name of the book and brief character description. Again, no spoilers.
I was also given The World of Agatha Christie, by Martin Fido, which makes an interesting read.

Nigel, I'm thrilled!!!
You've made my day.
Thank you.
I just checked WPL for these 4 books: our public library has them all (even in hardcovers!).
Thank you for the recommendations.

About a week ago I checked for "Agatha Christie" as a keyword, but only 4 biographies came up in our library database which I requested. However, when I searched for these 4 authors (Barnard, Fido, Osborne and Toye), all their AC biographies came up.

The three books Nigel lists really are excellent source material for the Agatha Christie fan. I'm sure you will enjoy them Chrissie.

I'm convinced of it, Pete!
If I may I'll write in a few days/weeks about my impression once I've read them.

The Who's Who is really a reference book, Chrissie - and is so useful when reading a Christie and wanting to check on a character. However, it is still extremely entertaining to read through it. You have a good time ahead!

Chrissie777 wrote:

sixret wrote:Agatha Christie had three homes apart from her childhood's house in Torquay called Ashfield Villa.
1) Sunningdale in Surrey-resided with her first husband, Archie Christie.
2) Winterbrook, Wallingford- her house with her second husband, Max Mallowan.

Sixret, are Sunningdale and Winterbrook open to the public as well?

Apologies for the late response, Chrissie. I didn’t receive any notification. Never do. I’ve just stumbled on your question when I backtracked the conversations in this thread. I maybe wrong but Sunningdale has been up for sale for so long. But Winterbrook is opened to public.