For the discussion of all aspects of the life and works of Enid Blyton.
http://www.enidblytonsociety.co.uk/forums/
http://www.enidblytonsociety.co.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=2775
Unforgivable, Pete. You may well have ruined the joy of reading this book for many people.Courtenay wrote:You've gone and done the Roger Ackroyd spoiler there, Pete — although I'd heard it before, which is the main reason why I've never bothered to read that one
http://cheadlevillage.net/local-history/abney-hall" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;Cheadle Grove Printworks was built in 1760, and whilst it was in operation, a series of reservoirs were constructed in the grounds to store water from Chorlton Brook, however, these were later filled in. unfortunately, 87 years later, in 1847 there was a huge disaster, the printworks were razed to the ground, as bad as this was at the time, an Alfred Orell, former mayor of Stockport, seized the opportunity to build what is today, one of Cheadle's grandest buildings, Abney Hall.
However, it wasn't named Abney Hall to start with, it was named 'The Grove' by Alfred Orell. After his death at the tender age of 33, only two years after marrying Louisa Broadhurst and with the Hall still not fully constructed, it was bought by a James Watts, who owned the large haberdashery wholesalers, S & J Watts with his brothers, and their warehouse was in the building which houses Britannia Hotel in Portland Street, Manchester.
James Watts finished the building work and extended the house. It was at this point that James Watts was responsible for renaming it 'Abney Hall' after in the words of his son, "Sir Thomas Abney who entertained Sir Isaac Watts for thirty years".
Built as a private home, the hall has reception rooms dating from the 1850s designed and decorated by A.N.N. Pugin and J.G. Crace. These were the most fashionable interior designers of the time and worked on the Houses of Parliament and other aristocratic residences throughout the British Empire. Unfortunately, Augustus Pugin died in 1852 before it was completed, so it was handed over to J G Crace, a disciple of Pugin, who was well known for his wallpaper designs and decors, to complete the task between 1852 and 1857.
The interior of the Hall still bears the signs of the Gothic influence so much favoured bu Pugin and Crace. Further extensions took place in the 1890s.
It was 1857 in fact, that the Hall was considered ready for the arrival of Prince Albert, who was visiting Manchester on a two day visit, and the building was described as one of the most princely mansions in the neighbourhood!
The grounds of the Hall were already laid out and fully landscaped when Watts bought the Hall. The walled garden in the grounds hides an ingenious but extravagant invention which kept the orchard and vegetable garden warm and healthy throughout the year. The walls contain cavities and during the heyday of the hall, warm air was blown from a furnace in the cellar, through the cavities and out of a gothic style ventilation shaft so there was very little to do, and the grounds are now only a tenth of the original size.
Abney Hall has accommodated to name but a few....Benjamin Disraeli, King Edward Vll, William Gladstone (1862), Prince Albert (1857), and Agatha Christie. It also became the Cheadle & Gatley Town Hall in 1959 to replace Bruntwood Hall (built 1861, which previously acted as town hall 1944-1959).
A succession of Watts had elder sons called James, and no fewer than four of them lived at the Hall during their ownership.
The wife of the second of these James Watts was the sister of Agatha Christie, the novelist Agatha Christie was said to have written the short story 'After the funeral' which was based on Abney Hall, and 'The adventures of the Christmas pudding' she describes a child's Christmas at the Hall.
It was the last great mystery that Agatha Christie left unsolved – claiming amnesia after she disappeared for 11 days in 1926.
Now writer Andrew Wilson has unveiled a new theory as to why she vanished with no explanation: that she had left her home intending to take her own life.
But after crashing her car she was overcome by her Christian belief that suicide was a sin, and felt so ashamed of herself that she constructed the idea that she suffered from memory loss, according to Wilson.
Wilson's new novel A Talent For Murder is fictional, but is based on his theory that the truth about Christie’s disappearance has been “hiding in plain sight”.
This has already been explained in the Doctor Who story - The Unicorn and the Wasp (Series 4 Ep7).It was the last great mystery that Agatha Christie left unsolved – claiming amnesia after she disappeared for 11 days in 1926.
Most interesting, Pete.pete9012S wrote:Images of Agatha Christie throughout her life...
https://imgur.com/a/dvXnY" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
I think the Unicorn and the Wasp made more sense than that theory!Julie2owlsdene wrote:I saw a TV film about Agatha booking into the hotel in Harrogate and was going to electrocute herself. It was on a few years ago now. And to me it seemed the logical explanation of her disappearance to commit suicide.
Yes, good point - and this article offers an even more sensational suggestion:Julie2owlsdene wrote:I saw a TV film about Agatha booking into the hotel in Harrogate and was going to electrocute herself. It was on a few years ago now. And to me it seemed the logical explanation of her disappearance to commit suicide.
Pete, Andrew Wilson also wrote an excellent biography on one of my favorite crime novelists, Patricia Highsmith:pete9012S wrote:Now writer Andrew Wilson has unveiled a new theory as to why she vanished with no explanation: that she had left her home intending to take her own life.
Wilson's new novel A Talent For Murder is fictional, but is based on his theory that the truth about Christie’s disappearance has been “hiding in plain sight”.