The Body in the Library by Agatha Christie
published 1942
I had the great joy of taking part in an Australian radio
programme last weekend: The Death of the Reader, a
blissful series on Sydney’s 2Sr radio station.
Felix Shannon and Benjamin Herder – Flex and Herds – describe
their programme like this: they ‘take you on a Murder Mystery World Tour...
From classic British puzzles in the Golden Age of Detective Fiction to the
weirdest of foreign detective fiction, explore everything in the grisly world
of the 'locked room'. Each week we'll feature academics, authors and more as we
trace the influences of the genre around the world.’
The concept is wonderful: the programme looks at a notable
crime story over several weeks. They discuss the chapters in detail – sleuths,
methods, clues and alibis. And then one of the presenters, Flex, has not read
the book before, and live, in real time, has to guess what the solution will
be. Brilliant, such a great idea. The programme is as excellent as it sounds,
and you can listen to it live, or it is produced as a podcast afterwards. I
think many of my readers will love it.
And this is the podcast link: The Body in the Library by Agatha
Christie - Part Two - Whooshkaa
And The Body in the Library! A really good Christie
book, AND, one of the first books ever featured here on Clothes
in Books. I loved a passage in Chapter 13 where Miss Marple points
out that the dead girl is wearing the wrong dress
“…Why” demanded Miss Marple “was she wearing an old dress?... I think she’d wear her best dress. Girls do… The sensible thing to do would be to change into trousers and pullover, or into tweeds. That, of course (I don’t want to be snobbish, but I’m afraid it’s unavoidable), that’s what a girl of - of our class would do… Ruby, of course, wasn’t – well to put it bluntly – Ruby wasn’t a lady. She belonged to a class that wear their best clothes however unsuitable to the occasion…’
This is clothes detection at
its finest, a major concept in the life of the blog.
Picture from the Clover Vintage tumbler.
The dress is from the early 1950s, but then Johan, one of my revered readers,
has a theory that Christie, although writing in 1942, set this book in a
post-war future. He makes a good case.
What a great concept for a radio show, Moira! And you're the perfect person to discuss an Agatha Christie book. Thanks for sharing this.
ReplyDeleteThanks for kind words Margot, and it really was fun. A great programme!
DeleteSorry to be pedantic, but I think "grizzly" should be "grisly".
ReplyDeleteIndeed it should, I have changed it, thanks!
DeleteA good book, even if one secondary aspect of the solution involves some baffling behavior. I look forward to when you come to it on Spoiler Warning.
ReplyDeleteI think the whole plot is ludicrous, and it is a tribute to Christie that she makes it sound almost plausible. Every time I read it I have more questions - this time over someone's physical ability to fulfil their role in the crimes. BUT, I also absolutely love the book, one of my favourites, and would love to do a Spoiler Warning. I feel Marple not as popular as Poirot with listeners, so may need an undemocratic push to get it picked!
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