"Agatha Christie Code"

[LaRocha]

Interesting commentary all round. Ishtat had it right the 'Code' Documentary included many attemps to find technical, 'writerly' reasons why Christie's work has remained popular over the years.

"And then there were none", as a Play, has been running in London for 53 years consistently, as I recall from the program.

I sense some disdainn at my confession to having read none of Christie, add to that, no Sherlock Holmes, no Auther Conan Doyle, no horror books or flicks and I have never watched a single episode of Monty Python or the Simpsons.

Then again, I don't watch professional wrestling and I don't and never have frequented Bowling Alleys.

Personally I find the mystery genre, especially the formula type, to be utterly boring. I am however, curious to understand the current popularity of Vampire and Zombie stories and films as I see no value whatsoever in either.

I place the mystery and horror genre's in the same category as Soap Opera's, stories intended to entertain bored women during the daytime.

Amicus

Agatha Christie is like reading James Bond novels, Conan Doyle is part of the literary canon.

 

[ishtat]

Conan Doyle was a master story teller and wrote some excellent short stories apart from SH. One I remember was "The Master of Croxley" which is almost a lesson in how to write a short story.

It is the story of how a poor medical student unable to finance his education becomes a professional fighter to achieve his goals. The plot is simple but the execution is superb.

 

[oggbashan]

Og, I have a copy of the first edition of Agatha Christies American "And then there were None" and also the same book under its British title "Ten Little Niggers"(1939)

I understand that the British first edition is worth considerably more than the less notoriously titled American version?

If you have the genuine first Collins Crime Club 1939 edition in perfect condition with a very good dustwrapper - it is worth about £2,000. But there are different impressions of the first, and of the dustwrapper.

Without the dustwrapper? £250. That flimsy piece of paper is valuable. A later impression than the first? £50.

Any English book first published in the UK will be worth more than the later US first. Conversely, any US book first published in the US will be worth more than the later UK first.

The easy way to check any book's value: look on www.abebooks.com or www.abebooks.co.uk

Og

 

[PoppingTom]

I sense some disdainn at my confession to having read none of Christie, add to that, no Sherlock Holmes, no Auther Conan Doyle, ...... and I have never watched a single episode of Monty Python or the Simpsons.
......
Personally I find the mystery genre, especially the formula type, to be utterly boring.

I hope I understand you right, and you don't think any of the above mentioned has something to do with the mystery genre.

 

[Verdad]

I loved Agatha Christie's books as a kid. I must have read some twenty-thirty of them. The genre never held much fascination for me later, probably because there are too many whodunits on TV to bother with reading them, but there was a phase when I was about ten when I loved her stuff.

Tom—it is called mystery. (Murder) mystery is a synonym for detective fiction or crime fiction or whodunit.

 

[PoppingTom]

Tom—it is called mystery. (Murder) mystery is a synonym for detective fiction or crime fiction or whodunit.

Thanks, I never knew that....

 

[Verdad]

Thanks, I never knew that....

No problem. It does sound misleading.