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Continue reading →: Conyth Little: Crime writing sistersAustralian-born sisters Constance and Gwenyth Little wrote 21 crime novels between 1938-1953. Largely set in America, their mysteries were described as ‘whacky’ and ‘gruesome but satisfying’. Their novels blended humour with a first-rate whodunit, and they were mentioned alongside the works of Agatha Christie.
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Continue reading →: My year with Agatha: Séances and the supernaturalOne of the ‘rules’ of golden age detective fiction was that a crime couldn’t be solved by ‘mumbo-jumbo’ or ‘jiggery-pokery’, and yet Agatha Christie wasn’t adverse to using ghosts, poltergeists, spiritualists, séances, divine intervention and the supernatural across her stories. Perhaps it was because Agatha had her own sixth-sense…
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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.
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.
