tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post9066566716192246081..comments2024-03-28T20:46:22.875+00:00Comments on Clothes In Books: Tuesday Night Club: Helen & Agatha ChristieClothes In Bookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14680610242823846662noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-53747482817296602202017-06-02T12:34:02.781+01:002017-06-02T12:34:02.781+01:00Yes the French setting is really unusual - normall...Yes the French setting is really unusual - normally she went abroad with groups of English. That provincial, almost bourgeois (if people weren't so rich) setting is interesting - I'm going to have to think about whether we see it anywhere except in Poirot's memories in the Chocolate Box Case. (I'm aware that's Belgian - but I think the point holds.)<br />I actually could have done with more of Cinderella, but she didn't fit the setup did she... Clothes In Bookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14680610242823846662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-27792813358425061272017-06-02T12:30:08.862+01:002017-06-02T12:30:08.862+01:00Yes, and I like the feeling that I can read it aga...Yes, and I like the feeling that I can read it again in another couple of years and still not remember the whole solution... Agatha never fails you.Clothes In Bookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14680610242823846662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-27469620498128538982017-06-02T01:09:14.792+01:002017-06-02T01:09:14.792+01:00'Cinderella' becomes a sort of Schrodinger...'Cinderella' becomes a sort of Schrodinger's Wife for Hastings, hovering offstage in limbo (rather like Mary Watson or even Mrs Hudson in the original Sherlock Holmes stories). Christie wanted to lose the binary NarratorSidekick/Detective dynamic of the Holmes stories that she had used in the first Poirot stories, but she couldn't bring herself to make Cinders the narrator. What did she think when her husband hurtled towards Poirot as soon as she allowed him off the farm? In my wilder moments I can imagine the whole thing in terms of the DEAR DIEDRE photo problem page in THE SUN--My husband is obsessed with a short Belgian Detective! What can I do?<br /><br />LINKS does feel subtly different from some of her later books. A lot of her 1920s stuff has that sense that she's still settling into the Christie persona. From the '30s onwards they're much more uniform (not in a bad way) but in the '20s it's as if she's not certain whether she wants to be a thriller writer or a detective story writer.<br /><br />In general you're probably luckier if you fall for the Great Detective rather than his sidekick. Like you say, it looks like the beginning of a very interesting list.<br /><br />ggaryAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-51266130386466096962017-05-31T19:28:27.592+01:002017-05-31T19:28:27.592+01:00I read this a couple of years ago and enjoyed it -...I read this a couple of years ago and enjoyed it - as you say, not the best, but thoroughly entertaining all the same.Christinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16510409974009816550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-386233058068007302017-05-31T16:42:32.927+01:002017-05-31T16:42:32.927+01:00You have a warmer heart than the rest of us non-ro...You have a warmer heart than the rest of us non-romantics Tracy...Clothes In Bookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14680610242823846662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-69170909307388750282017-05-31T16:42:12.012+01:002017-05-31T16:42:12.012+01:00Yes indeed, I can read them almost as if for the f...Yes indeed, I can read them almost as if for the first time. And Agatha does always put lots of sidelines and subplots in, and I've certainly forgotten most of them. Clothes In Bookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14680610242823846662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-26114442173875849122017-05-31T16:41:20.384+01:002017-05-31T16:41:20.384+01:00You know I will keep on at you until you do Col! (...You know I will keep on at you until you do Col! (But I promise never to make you read the Mitfords)Clothes In Bookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14680610242823846662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-30955702768987569472017-05-31T16:40:45.957+01:002017-05-31T16:40:45.957+01:00Had to look up the Cartwright Boys - Bonanza! Marg...Had to look up the Cartwright Boys - Bonanza! Margery Allingham's Inspector Luke finds a bride in dramatic form, but then she is killed off, in childbirth maybe? I see the beginnings of a great list here... Clothes In Bookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14680610242823846662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-23819900076035887762017-05-31T14:31:03.867+01:002017-05-31T14:31:03.867+01:00Yes, a sad fate for Cinderella and Mary Morstan. ...Yes, a sad fate for Cinderella and Mary Morstan. Take heed, gentle maidens: never fall in love with a Great Detective's Sidekick or one of the Cartwright Boys.Susan Dhttp://dalyght.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-17981561566120738812017-05-31T04:59:06.923+01:002017-05-31T04:59:06.923+01:00My favorite thing about this book was Hastings'...My favorite thing about this book was Hastings' romance. Ah well, I am in the minority. TracyKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08303342674824383688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-42531100210346596392017-05-31T04:42:03.430+01:002017-05-31T04:42:03.430+01:00Lately, books that are 'not top rank, but ther...Lately, books that are 'not top rank, but therefore not as memorable, and therefore you can re-read without remembering the solution’ are my favorite kinds of books! Although I recently re-read 'The Murder of Roger Ackroyd' and, as unforgettable as that ending is, I was surprised how much I had forgotten! The joys of becoming senile!!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07418612871246199865noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-3415757324642991462017-05-31T04:11:45.992+01:002017-05-31T04:11:45.992+01:00I keep threatening to read AC some time, but I dou...I keep threatening to read AC some time, but I doubt it will be this one. One day.... I can't put it off for ever!col2910https://www.blogger.com/profile/06422138069939709043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-75034427412664629052017-05-30T20:15:39.549+01:002017-05-30T20:15:39.549+01:00No, we could never worry that much about Cinderell...No, we could never worry that much about Cinderella. But the book does have its points of interest. I will always keep my copy, and come back to it now and again.<br />Clothes In Bookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14680610242823846662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-59909062138215078492017-05-30T20:12:44.892+01:002017-05-30T20:12:44.892+01:00Yes, and I think we'd agree that even middling...Yes, and I think we'd agree that even middling Christie is better than most others' best. And yes, there are details of the time and setting that make it an interesting read.Clothes In Bookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14680610242823846662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-68285941968549157252017-05-30T14:06:38.638+01:002017-05-30T14:06:38.638+01:00Count me in, too, Moira! This is one that I don...Count me in, too, Moira! This is one that I don't rush back to much, but it is interesting how different this case is from STYLES. Cinderella went the way of most Watsonian wives: banished to South America and motherhood, died early enough for Hastings to flirt with suspects in CURTAIN. I always felt she wasn't in LINKS long enough for me to care much about her or about them. But those wild, impetuous '20's . . . you know!Brad (ahsweetmystery)https://www.blogger.com/profile/12012914349226406144noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-1000070848825363542017-05-30T12:49:45.457+01:002017-05-30T12:49:45.457+01:00I would put this one in the same sort of category,...I would put this one in the same sort of category, Moira. Not Christie's best, but certainly not her weakest. And, if I'm being honest, I do like the seaside setting. It's interesting, too, about Hastings' decision about that marriage. It seems to be successful, as we don't hear that it's not. But still....Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com