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Continue reading →: My year with Agatha: a penchant for poisonPoison is the murder method most often associated with Agatha Christie. One idea that proved particularly inspiring to Agatha was death by poisoned chocolates. In the early twentieth century, she would have had many real life cases to choose from as inspiration…
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Continue reading →: My year with Agatha: All hail the QueenIn 1950, Agatha celebrated her jubilee with the publication of her fiftieth book, A Murder is Announced. This classic Miss Marple whodunnit features a murder game (or so they think), and an iconic chocolate cake called ‘Delicious Death’, a recipe I just had to try for myself.
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Continue reading →: My year with Agatha: Adventure and archaeologyIn 1928, Agatha the adventuress set off on a solo journey to the Middle East. The journey took her on the Orient Express and then across the desert by bus to Baghdad. Adventure and an introduction to archaeology awaited.
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Continue reading →: My year with Agatha: the story of Three Blind MiceAgatha Christie’s The Mousetrap started its life as a radio play. When Agatha adapted it for the stage, she thought it would run for eight months. The Mousetrap went on to become the longest running play in theatrical history. Let’s peek behind the curtain of this iconic whodunnit.
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Continue reading →: My year with Agatha: Wartime spies and sleuthsIn 1941 Agatha Christie published her wartime thriller N or M? It was an interesting exploration into wartime Britain, hostilities towards foreigners, and suspicions about spies lurking around every corner. It also brought Agatha to the attention of MI-5.
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Continue reading →: Review: The Walnut Tree: women, violence and the law by Kate MorganMarriage or misery is how some historical novelists presented the choices available to women from the Georgian period onwards, but what about the stories of women who endured marriage AND misery? The history of women, violence and the law is explored in Kate Morgan’s book The Walnut Tree.
Hello,
I’m Melissa Jones
I’m a Librarian with an Agatha Christie obsession. You’ll often find me with my nose in a book. My areas of interest for my research and writing include: the history of crime and policing, true crime & crime writing, Victorian era literature, British history, folk and fairy tales, children’s literature, local and family history, special collections, libraries, and oral histories.
I am an alumni of the Faber Writing Academy Creative Non-fiction course and am currently writing my first historical true crime book which investigates an unsolved mystery from 1920s London through the lens of golden age detective fiction.
I’m currently based in Melbourne, Australia, but previously lived in Edinburgh, Scotland.
In the library with Mel 