Happy Birthday Agatha Christie

Today is the Dame’s birthday. Agatha Christie was born 135 years ago today and her legacy remains as vibrant and relevant as ever. Not only are we waiting for The Seven Dials Mystery to be released on Netflix (hopefully later this year), but there is a new theatre production of Death on the Nile to look forward to. Agatha may have died as long ago as 1976, but the Queen of Crime is, quite literally everywhere.

Television

The much anticipated adaptation of The Seven Dials Mystery that has been produced by Netflix does not have a release date yet, but is set to start starring Mia McKenna-Bruce, Helena Bonham Carter and Martin Freeman. This would be a brilliant Christmas treat so hopefully we will see this around December time.

Another Agatha adaptation has also been mooted, this time for the BBC, and specifically for daytime television. This is The Detection Club, based on the real life group of Detective writers that included Christie, and which produced ‘The Floating Admiral’. This series will commence filming in 2026.

The Detection Club, set in 1930s London, the golden age of detective fiction, sees the mysterious society of the three most famous crime writers of our time Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers and G.K. Chesterton, join forces to solve real-life murders. Honing their craft within the hallowed walls of a secret London location, the three writers come together after receiving an invitation that leads them to their first real murder case. The series follows the trio as they work together to crack cases, all to the despair of D.I. Greenway a young, rookie, real-life detective. 

Theatre

The much anticipated new touring production of Death on the Nile begins this month at The Lowry theatre in Salford. Mark Hadfield is playing Poirot, whilst I am really looking forward to Glynis Barber who has been cast as the outrageous Salome Otterbourne.

I have never seen Death on the Nile on stage, but you can read a previous review of Murder on the Nile here. You can follow this instagram account for play updates.

Another Agatha adaptation will also be taking place next year. Walsall’s independent amateur theatre company, The Grange Players, are returning to Agatha after their staging of the brilliant one act play, The Rats, earlier this year, with a staging of The Mirror Cracked. You can find ticket information here.

Books

Some beautiful new hardback editions and anthologies are being launched this Autumn/Winter.

Last week saw the launch of Country Christie, a collection of 12 short stories set in Devon and Cornwall. There is also a beautiful Art Deco edition of The Seven Dials Mystery that was released in August and is a must for Christie collectors.

Next month will see the release of the latest Sophie Hannah Poirot continuation novel, The Last Death of the Year, whilst I am looking forward to November, when, just in time for Christmas, we are being treated to a beautiful hardback edition of one of the best, standalone novels, The Sittaford Mystery.

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