My school was a quaint little convent in the middle of a busy city. Being a bookworm, my favourite place in the school was the library. The library wasn’t too big, just three walls full of books, rather small I’d say. My favourite shelfs however were the ones in the extreme left corner which had hordes of Enid Blyton books and the one at the far end of the room, which had Agatha Christie books.
I was an Enid Blyton fangirl. I even wore my hair short, a la George from the Famous Five and imagined that I owned an island too. I must have read and re-read and then re-read all of the famous fives, and had no option but to switch to Agatha Christie (I had devoured all of Sherlock Holmes stories as well by that time)
Wondering, why I am taking you a trip down memory lane? Because it was the birthday of one of my favourite authors yesterday, September 15th!
So without further ado, let’s talk about what Christie would want us to talk about…her detectives!
I must admid I took time to warm up to her. My first acquaintance with Miss Marple, an elderly spinster with a knack for solving cases wasn’t too exciting. It was only through ‘The Murder at the Vicarage’ which I read later, that I truly fell in love with her. She is a complete gossip, interfering into people’s lives with elan and offering her ‘I-told-you-so-‘ opinion unabashedly which didn’t really make her a very nice woman, but definitely helped her solve the cases.
Do you think Agatha Christie was a feminist? I’d believe so! To create a character like Miss Marple, who was neither young, nor really like-able and make her take on a man’s job in an era which wasn’t so progressive is brave to say the least.
By the way did you know that Miss Marple was so famous that there is a biography on her life? It has been on my reading list for a while, shall let you know soon how the book was!
A short stout man, with an egg shaped head and upward curled moustache…ring a bell? Ofcourse I am talking about the impeccably dressed Hercule Poirot. ‘The Mysterious Affairs at Styles’, ‘Murder on the Orient Express’ and ‘Death on the Nile’ remain my clear favourites. The Mysterious Affairs… is ofcourse Christie’s first work, wherein she introduces the eccentric Poirot. Apparently Poirot was inspired from Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes, who was in turn inspired from Edgar Allen Poe’s Auguste Dupin (who I have unfortunately not read). And despite the fact that Hercule Poirot is her most famous detective, like Conan Doyle, Christie also apparently got tired of the egoistic Poirot and found him insufferable! However there is no denying Hercule Poirot was widely loved so much so that when Christie killed him off, the New York Times carried an Obituary….read it here – https://www.nytimes.com/1975/08/06/archives/hercule-poirot-is-dead-famed-belgian-detective-hercule-poirot-the.html
Not only was she one of the most successful writers of all times, her personal life was no less than a bestselling book. Do check the movie Agatha by Michael Apted
So Happy Birthday to the Queen of Detective fiction!
More on iconic detectives in the coming weeks!
‘I am taking my Alexa rank to the next level with Blogchatter’
I love Agatha Christie books any given day and I totally agree that she was a Feminist.
LikeLike
Glad you liked the post
LikeLike
I did not read any Agatha Christie as a child. As an adult however, I enjoyed it immensely. thank you for this little recap and tid-bits about the characters!
LikeLike
Glad you liked it
LikeLike
Let’s talk more about Enid Blyton though. Because I never got over her and never read Agatga Christie though many asked me too. I was more into fantasy genre of Enid Blyton. Fairies, pixies, brownies, the Faraway Tree, then I moved on to Nancy Drew. So I skipped Hardy Boys, Malory Towers, Secret Seven etc too. Famous Five is all I read apart from the fantasy genre.
LikeLike
LOL… Yes let’s do… though I must admit I was obsessed with Famous Five… I have only read and re-read that, nothing else of Blyton…
LikeLike
I loved Sherlock Holmes in my school days. Couldn’t read a lot of Agatha Christie’s books but I love her writing.
LikeLike
Sherlock Holmes is my ultimate favourite too😊😊…
LikeLike
I will check out that movie for sure. Thank you for letting me know ☺️
LikeLike
Thanks for stopping by
LikeLike
A wave of nostalgia hit me after reading this post. I miss reading those detective stories! 😦
LikeLike
Indeed indeed.. Thanks for stopping by
LikeLike
This is a lovely series. Yes, am a huge Agatha Christie fan both of Miss Marple and Poirot and I do believe she was a feminist too.
I haven’t seen the movie though… will check it out. Thanks.
LikeLike
Great to connect with a Christie fan…glad you liked the post… Thank you
LikeLike
A nice tribute to the iconic writer.
LikeLike
Thank you
LikeLike
Hey…That’s really fantastic. Thanks for taking me into the memory lane. I have never read a Christie Book. But seems I have to start reading her works. Very nice!!
LikeLike
Do try and tell me what you think… With Christie you either love her or hate her…
LikeLike
I really enjoyed Agatha Christie and Sherlock Holmes series. Thanks for sharing birthday special, remind me back
LikeLike
Glad you enjoyed the post… Thanks you
LikeLike
Wonderful tribute to Agatha Christie, though I must say I am a bigger fan of Enid Blyton. Apart from five find outers and secret seven, my favourite was the faraway tree.
LikeLike
So am I… Enid Blyton any day… Thanks for stopping by
LikeLike
Ah I must check out that movie. I have Murder on the Orient Express that I still need to watch. Looking forward to it.
#MyFriendAlexa #literarylehareads
LikeLike
I didnt like the latest orient express one though… Agatha is interesting though it isn’t an approved biography… It basically is the filmmakers interpretation of what might have happened when Christie disappeared for 11 days…
LikeLiked by 1 person
A very nice tribute to Agatha Christie, she is one of my fav writers and i liked Miss Marple much more coz the stories reflects the creativity in a profound way.
LikeLike
So agree with you… so glad you liked the post
LikeLiked by 1 person
Esha, many of us have grown up on Enid Blyton and Agatha Christie. Both were iconic writers who knew how to engage with the minds of their readers. I love reading their vivid accounts, and their descriptions of places and people. I would love to share this piece on my Facebook timeline, please! Looking forward to your other Detective tales as well. Kudos! 🙂
#DeepTiesReads #MyFriiendAlexa
LikeLike
Deepti… You just made my day.. Thank you for the indulgence and kind words
LikeLiked by 1 person
Keep writing, Esha! All the very best! 🙂
LikeLike
Awesome post took me back to my childhood days.
LikeLike
Glad you liked it… thanks for stopping by
LikeLike
O M G Thank you for the post. I’m a die hard Christie fan, especially Miss Marple, she’s simply the best. I’ve read all Marple books and quite a few Poirot ones.
LikeLike
Yay! Well hello fellow Christie fan… glad you liked the post
LikeLiked by 1 person
This is making me feel nostalgic and lovely read. It feels like picking the book and start reading it again.
LikeLike
So glad you liked it… thanks for stopping by
LikeLike
This is my kinda post!! You transported me back to my childhood… and I relived my love for Enid Blytons… history repeats itself.. now my daughter loved them 🙂
LikeLike
Oh that’s so wonderful..and thanks souch for the kind words
LikeLiked by 1 person
I grew up on a staple diet of Agatha Christie and Enid Blyton. Your post brought back so many wonderful memories. Thank you for sharing. #MyFriendAlexa #MayuraReads
LikeLike
So glad the post resonated with you
LikeLike
Agatha Christie, I am sure many of us here have read her books, but never thought from your angle. Good oone.
LikeLike
Glad you liked this post😊😊
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love Agatha Christie. I read many of her novels in Bengali translation. Those days, many celebrated foreign authors would be translated beautifully in Bengali. I would sit with the book and literally devour it, till it was done.
LikeLike
Such wonderful memories!
LikeLiked by 1 person
there used to be a fight among my class mates for reading those thrilling books. OH good old days..
LikeLike
LOL…yes…😊😊
LikeLike
I loved and still love Enid Blyton 🙂
LikeLike
Yay hi five✋
LikeLiked by 1 person
Agatha Christie is Goddess! Thank you so much for this lovely piece about her and her detectives
LikeLike
Glad you liked it
LikeLike
I really enjoy books of Agatha Christie and Sherlock Holmes. Thanks for sharing
LikeLike
Thanks for the read
LikeLike
The first half of your post completely reminded me of my childhood. A small library in a convent school, reading Enid Blyton in a corner!
LikeLike
Aah…used to be such a thrill ain’t it? thanks for stopping by
LikeLiked by 1 person
Such a nostalgic post! Agatha Christie is my all-time favourite ‘detective’ author ❤
LikeLike
Hi-five friend…thabka for your kind words
LikeLike
I loved your trip down memory lane. Though I have never read a Christie book, I devoured Famous Five, Secret Seven and The 3 Investigators
LikeLike
Hi-five fellow famous five fan
LikeLike
This is so cool. Made me nostalgic and all. I have already bought Enid Blyton books for my son’s library and he’s only three and doesn’t read them yet!
LikeLike
How cool… I guess just a couple of years more and he’d start reading…. Thanks for stopping by
LikeLike
This segment is WOW! It’s so cool you re-read famous five series multiple times… I wish I could go back and read these books again… now, I am afraid I won’t like them much but I suppose i should give them a try once again.
LikeLike
Go ahead give them a try.. I am dying for my son for grow up a bit more so I can start reading Enid Blyton to him. And thank you so much for the encourgement😊😊
LikeLike
Your post took me back to my school days!
LikeLike
❤️❤️
LikeLike