Jen here, and I’m thrilled to welcome Amanda Chapman (a.k.a. Amy Pershing) to the blog. As you know, I’m an avid Christie fan, so I’m delighted Amanda is our guest and that she’s written a mystery with a huge nod to Dame Agatha. Plus, our very own Ellen Byron blurbed the book! Take it away, Amanda/Amy!
Getting to Know the Queen of Crime In Her Own Words
by Amanda Chapman
When I came up with the idea for MRS. CHRISTIE AT THE MYSTERY GUILD LIBRARY, I had no idea what I was getting into. Because when a major character in your book may (or may not) be Agatha Christie, it behooves you to get to know the real Agatha Christie. And I could only do that by letting Dame Agatha speak for herself. Here are four wonderful books from my research in which this charming, sometimes very funny, woman does just that.
Agatha Christie: An Autobiography
Just to give you a flavor of the kind of joys to be found here, I’m including the opening sentence of my own Mrs. Christie at the Mystery Guild Library, in which I borrow quite a bit from Mrs. Christie herself:
“Do you know, when I was a child, it was the lavatory to which I retired for quiet meditation. I would close the heavy, mahogany, shelflike cover and sit on it,” the voice—high and fluting, slightly breathless—continued, “giving myself up to reflection.”
The Grand Tour: Around the World with the Queen of Mystery
In 1922 Agatha Christie set sail on a ten-month voyage around the world with her first husband, Archibald Christie. This compilation of her letters home includes a missive from Hawaii (from which I realized that she was much, much braver than I could ever be):
“Oh it was heaven! Nothing like it! Nothing like that rushing through the water at what seems to you a speed of about two hundred miles an hour… It is one of the most perfect physical pleasures that I have known.”
Come Tell Me How You Live: An Archaeological Memoir
In 1930 Agatha and her second husband, the archaeologist Sir Max Mallowan, went on their first dig together in Syria. Here is the shy Lady Mallowan trying to buck herself up in response to the initial reserve of the dig’s the young architect, Robin “Mac” Macartney:
“First of all, I say to myself, you are old enough to be Mac’s mother. You are also an authoress – a well-known authoress. Why, one of your characters has even been the clue in a Times crossword (High-water mark of fame!) What is more, you are the wife of the Leader of the Expedition! Come now, if anyone is to snub anyone, it is you who will snub the young man, not the young man who will snub you.”
Which, of course, she does not do. Instead, she becomes Mac’s lifelong friend.
Agatha Christie’s Secret Notebooks:
Culled from 73 (!) volumes of handwritten notes for her books, plays and stories, in Mrs. Christie’s notes I found a writer who could come up with seven possible motives to set a plot in motion:
Man marries secretly one of the twins
Or
Man was really already married
Or
Barrister’s ‘sister’ who lives with him (really wife)
Or
Double murder – that is to say – A poisons B – B stabs A – but really owing to plan by C
Or
Blackmailing wife finds out – then she is found dead
Or
He really likes wife – goes off to start life again with her
Or
Dentists killed – 1 London – 1 County
Which, I confess, as a mystery novelist myself, was pretty daunting. Impressive, yes, but daunting.
So there you have it: Introspective, brave, shy, brilliant. My friend, Agatha Christie. In her own words.
A Question for Readers: I’m curious — do you have a favorite Agatha Christie mystery? And what is it about that book that speaks to you? And a Giveaway! I’ll be choosing one of you (at random, I promise!) to receive a free copy of Mrs. Christie at the Mystery Guild Library!
About Mrs. Christie at the Mystery Guild Library:
Book conservator Tory Van Dyne and a woman claiming to be Agatha Christie on holiday from the Great Beyond join forces to catch a killer in this spirited mystery from Amanda Chapman.
Tory Van Dyne is the most down-to-earth member of a decidedly eccentric old-money New York family. For one thing, as book conservator at Manhattan’s Mystery Guild Library, she actually has a job. Plus, she’s left up-town society behind for a quiet life downtown. So she’s not thrilled when she discovers a woman in the library’s Christie Room who calmly introduces herself as Agatha Christie, politely requests a cocktail, and announces she’s there to help solve a murder—that has not yet happened.
But as soon as Tory determines that this is just a fairly nutty Christie fangirl, her socialite/actress cousin Nicola gets caught up in the suspicious death of her less-than-lovable talent agent. Nic, as always, looks to Tory for help. Tory, in turn, looks to Mrs. Christie. The woman, whoever or whatever she is, clearly knows her stuff when it comes to crime.
Aided by an unlikely band of fellow sleuths—including a snarky librarian, an eleven-year-old computer whiz, and an NYPD detective with terrible taste in suits—Tory and the woman claiming to be her very much deceased literary idol begin to unravel the twists and turns of a murderer’s devious mind. Because, in the immortal words of Miss Jane Marple, “murder is never simple.”
You can order Mrs. Christie at the Mystery Guild Library here:
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/763557/mrs-christie-at-the-mystery-guild-library-by-amanda-chapman/
About me: I am a lifelong mystery lover and wordsmith. As a book editor, fashion reporter and, eventually, the head of employee communications at a global bank, I’ve always made a living with my pen. But when the book-writing bug hit, I cheerfully waved goodbye to all that to write mysteries full time. Under the name Amy Pershing, I first wrote the Cape Cod Foodie Mysteries. MRS. CHRISTIE AT THE MYSTERY GUILD LIBRARY is the first book in my new Agatha Inc. mystery series. You can learn more about me (and sign up for my newsletter!) on my website as well as follow me on Facebook and Instagram.
Chicks on the Case 
Murder on the Orient Express and Murder at the Vicarage
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Murder on the Orient Express is classic Christie! And there is so much good stuff in Murder at the Vicarage! My favorite quote: “There is no detective in England equal to a spinster lady of uncertain age with plenty of time on her hands.”
Cheers!
Amanda
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Congrats Amy on your upcoming book release. My favorite Agatha Christie book is Murder on the Orient Express.
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Thanks so much, Dru Ann!
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And that makes two votes for Murder on the Orient Express!
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Amanda!!! Thank you so much for visiting with us. I love your post. Thank you so much for sharing your Agatha Christie research with us. Exciting! Your book sounds fabulous. I love a mystery inside a mystery; who killed the victim and is the sleuth really Agatha Christie??? Fun!!! I admit it’s hard to pick one Agatha Christie favorite. For today, I’ll choose And Then There Were None. Congratulations on your upcoming release! Best wishes for great sales!
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Thank you, Patricia! “A mystery inside a mystery” — I love that! And you’re right — that’s exactly what Mrs. Christie at the Mystery Guild Library is. You’re also right that your favorite Agatha Christie mystery can depend on the day you’re choosing it. But there are a lot of days when I’d chose And Then There Were None, too. A great book!
Cheers, Amanda
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Death on the Nile is one book I enjoyed. Thank you for the chance. Deborah
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Loved Death on the Nile! My favorite quote is: “Well, here’s to crime.” I use it when I raise a glass for a toast 😉
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Congratulations Amy/Amanda! I’ve read Christie’s autobiography. It was fascinating.
MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS and AND THEN THERE WERE NONE are my two favorite Christie novels.
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Thanks so much, Liz. I loved her autobiography, too. I’ve tried to keep that voice — charming, sometimes funny, always sincere –when my Mrs. Christie talks.
So now, folks, we have three votes for Murder on the Orient Express and two for And Then There Were None..
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Oh gosh, choosing just one is all but impossible. A couple of my favorites have been mentioned already, so for something different I’ll pick The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. She always has such great twists at the end and this one was so shocking.
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I totally agree about the shock value of the twist at end of The Murder of Roger Ackroyd! Absolutely superb and never been topped.
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Too hard to choose! I think “The Mousetrap” because it was the first Christie work I read, The Murder at the Vicarage for introducing me to Miss Marple, and The Murder of Roger Ackroyd for still stumping me after reading it again! Also, I finally read “Witness for the Prosecution” and loved it.
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Wow, Jen. You really know your Christie! I’m currently re-reading Murder at the Vicarage now for the zillionth time. I love Miss Jane Marple. Did you know that Agatha Christie actually re-wrote the original Witness for the Prosecution to give it a new ending? (That’s our Agatha Christie trivia for the day!)
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No, I didn’t! What fun trivia!
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Not necessarily my favorite Christie, but I have a soft spot for “Nemesis,” in which Miss Marple takes a coach holiday (i.e., bus tour, to us Yanks) and guess what happens… My mom handed me the book to read when I was 16 after she’d finished it, and it started me on my love of Christie–and mysteries in general.
Thanks so much for visiting the Chicks today, Amanda–this new book looks like so much fun! Congrats!
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Thank you, Leslie! And I love your shout-out to your mom. My mother started handing me her Christies at just about the same age, and I’ve never looked back.
Nemesis is a terrific book, I agree. I like the “treasure hunt” approach and somehow the idea of the coach holiday is so charming, so Miss Marple-ish.
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I know,right?
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Aww, what a sweet memory of your mom, Leslie!
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I admit I haven’t read all of them, I’m working on it but have a ways to go. My favorite is And Then There Were None, that we read in my high school Novels class. Second is probably Sleeping Murder, the first of hers I ever read when I was about 9 or 10.
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How great that you read Agatha Christie’s last book when you were just starting out! Now you should read them in reverse (just kidding — read them in any order at all!)
The votes are piling up for And Then There Were None!
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I wish I got to read Agatha Christie as a class assignment in high school!
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And Then There Were None was the beginning of my love of locked room and isolated location mystery novels. To me, these are very suspenseful and I like the twist (first time I read it was shocking). Thanks for the chance to enter. Congratulations on the new release! Khpinelake (at) gmail (dot) com
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Totally agree, Katherine — there is nothing like an isolated location mystery! So I think we’re up to five votes for And Then There Were None!
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Congrats on the new book! I can imagine how daunting it would be to capture her fictionally. Sounds like some interesting books you found to help.
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I have to say, Mark, the research didn’t even feel like research. It was so much fun to get to know her (she’s so funny in Come Tell Me How You Live). By the time I got down to writing her, I honestly felt I could hear her voice in my head. Fingers crossed I got it right…
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My favorite is SLEEPING MURDER. As a theatre major, how can I not love a book where they pivotal clue revolves around a quote from the dark, dark Jacobean play, THE DUCHESS OF MALFI? It’s a dark book in general. And she reuses a plot device. Do I care? Not one bit. BTW, I don’t think Agatha gets credit for how dark she was or how witty she could be. She gets written off as a “cozy” author – like a lot of us, grrrr.
Congrats on the book! It’s a delight. Happy for you!
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Yes! Grrrr. Agatha Christie is not cozy. I mean, look at Miss Marple, who has no problem believing in the evil that men (and sometimes women) do — and calling it out. And you’re right, basing a book on the Dutchess of Malfi is not the sign of a sweetness-and-light kind of writer. Also, AC has a very sly way of poking fun at the pompous and the self-satisfied that I love.
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It’s been way too long since I read an Agatha Christie mystery. Much though I admire and like Hercule Poirot, the duo of Tuppence and Tommy takes first place. And as a knitter, Jane Marple always has a spot in my heart.
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Tuppence and Tommy! Who doesn’t love Tuppence and Tommy? Did you know that Britbox is working on a Tuppence and Tommy series? Can’t wait! You could knit through the whole thing 😉
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I like the hercule poirot books. Murder in the Orient Express.
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Love Hercule and his “little grey cells”! And now we’ve got four votes for Murder on the Orient Express…
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Friends (Old and New)! You all wrote such interesting/funny/thoughtful comments that it was no easy task to choose a winner for the Mrs. Christie at the Mystery Guild Library giveaway. But without further ado, I’m pleased to say that I’ll be sending that free book to Marcia Kennedy!
Thanks again to all!!!
Amanda/Amy
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