WWW Wednesday

Today's post is WWW Wednesday, which is hosted by shouldbereading.wordpress.com
and I am answering these three questions:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you'll read next?


What are you currently reading?

I am working my way through Agatha Christie: An Autobiography. When I first starting reading Agatha Christie's novels, someone recommended her autobiography to me. But I felt I didn't really know enough of her books, and I didn't want to learn about why she had written a certain book before I read it.

Considering she was writing books for a period of almost 50 years, I wanted to see how her style of writing changed for myself. The first book was published in 1924 (The Mysterious Affair at Styles) and the last book she wrote was Postern of Fate in 1973.


Through reading her novels and short stories, I felt I could better appreciate the true scope of her work and just how well thought out and plotted each story was.


 
The autobiography itself (first published in 1977) is vividly written and full of wonderful anecdotes about her life. Society seemed so different, very formal and rigid compared to today. Her education surprised me, as well as the late start she had into writing. Certainly as a child, her aim was to become a famous pianist rather than a writer!

Agatha when young

I love reading about dating, and the formal 'courting' that went on which seems so different to how men and women behave now! Here is a short excerpt, describing romance and flirting when Agatha was a young woman in 1910:

Flirtation, as I have said, was an art carefully cultivated by girls of my generation. We knew the rules back to front. It was true that in France no young girl was ever left alone with a young man, but in England that was certainly not so. You went for a walk with a man, you went out riding with a man - but you did not go to a dance alone with a young man: either your mother sat there, or some other bored dowager, or appearances were satisfied by a young married woman being in your party. But having kept the rules, and having danced with a young man, you then strolled out in the moonlight or wandered into the conservatory, and charming tete a tetes could take place without decorum being abandoned in the eyes of the world.

What did you recently finish reading?

Simon Brett featured in my last WWW Wednesday (click here for post) and he has featured again!


I finished Bones Under the Beach Hut (2011) which is another in the Fethering mystery series. The whole series of books is based in the fictional town of Fethering, which is on the south coast of England. Two neighbours, Carole and Jude, somehow become involved in murder in this book after human remains are found under a beach hut Carole was renting.

This was the twelfth book in the series, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Set on the seaside, it definitely made me fancy a trip to the beach.

I find the books in this series are very an easy enjoyable read; good plots with lots of twists and red herrings. Perfect after a hard day's work!

What do you think you'll read next?

I am trying to read some more non-fiction this year, but so far all that has meant is more books sitting on the bookshelf!

My aim is to read Max Hastings' book - Finest Years, Churchill as Warlord 1940-45. I got this book as a present almost a year ago and have never made it past the first few chapters!

Churchill visiting Coventry in 1941

I couldn't go without any fiction at all, so I also plan to read Dr. No (1958) by Ian Fleming. I love the film, so it will be good to see where the storyline came from and if the film resembles the book in anyway.

I will be blogging about this book, as it is #1958book month on Past Offences (link here).
Still plenty of time to sign up and read a crime book first published in 1958, if you want to join in!

 Sean Connery as Bond

Thank you for reading :) If you have a WWW Wednesday post on your blog, please leave the link as a comment below and I will check it out!

Agatha Christie- Graphic Novels

Have you discovered any of the graphic novels of Agatha Christie's works? Her crime novels, as well as being adapted into films, plays and on television, have been reworked into wonderful comic style books.

'Famed for her crime masterpieces, Agatha Christie's books have become the best-selling in the world, appealing to readers young and old for their ingenious plots and immediately recognizable characters.
The stories have also transcended the printed page, become bestselling audiobooks and award-winning films, plays and television series. Now words and pictures combine in an exciting new way of telling these stories -- full-colour graphic novels which enhance the original stories and offer a completely new way of enjoying some of the world's most popular and exciting mysteries.'
from agathachristie.com

Not all of her books have been adapted, but here is the list so far of graphic novels:

Hercule Poirot:

The Murder on the Links
Murder on the Orient Express
Death on the Nile
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
The Mystery of the Blue Train
The Big Four
Murder in Mesopotamia
Hallowe'en Party
Peril at End House
Dumb Witness
Cards on the Table
Five Little Pigs
Dead Man's Folly
Evil Under the Sun

Miss Marple: 

The Murder at the Vicarage

Non Poirot/Marple:

The Secret of Chimneys
The Man in the Brown Suit
And Then There Were None
Endless Night
Ordeal by Innocence

Tommy and Tuppence:
The Secret Adversary
 
As you can see, the list is rather Poirot heavy, with only one Miss Marple adaptation. Perhaps she or the stories doesn't come across very well in this format? There are also many of the classic stories, such as And Then There Were None.

I think it is great that the books have been relaunched, and it is a good way of keeping them up to date. Younger readers will enjoy them, and perhaps then go on to read the full length novel. I feel that the stories are so iconic, the shorter version books can easily be read alongside the novel.

I particularly like the way they have captured Poirot, exactly as I would imagine him!

Murder on the Orient Express (left) and Death on the Nile

Of course, in order to shorten the books the dialogue has been simplified a little bit but none of the plot has been lost. I think the best versions are those of stories set in Egypt, such as Death on the Nile. I love the drawings of the famous monuments, and they add to the atmosphere.

The only complaint I have is that flashback sequences don't work quite as well as they do in the books.

If you are looking for another format of your favourite Christie story, then why not try one of these? I am shortly going to have a blog post comparing the two, starting with Dead Man's Folly (with my favourite Ariadne Oliver). Keep an eye out for it!




Do you think you would enjoy these books? Or do you think that it is best to read the full length novels? Please leave a comment and let me know!

Book Review- Forgotten Fiction

Death of a Star (1932) by G.D.H. and M. Cole

Synopsis:

The story begins with a typical London scene: a black taxi, the River Thames and a traditional uniformed policeman. We are introduced to Police Constable Wedderburn as he is making his usual night time patrol alongside the River. He is stopped by a cabbie, seeking directions after dropping off their last fare.

The driver mentions a parcel, which was left behind by their passenger, and how uneasy it makes him feel. Upon investigation in the moonlight, the parcel of crumpled newspaper wrapped in a fish bag is found to be a decapitated head with 'eyes wide open and staring'.

How did the head come to end up in the taxi? How did the head come to be separated from the body, a head quickly identified as that of famous starlet Rita Morning? And just where is the body?

These are all questions PC Wedderburn, Inspector Hennessy and Chief Inspector Camp will have to answer. Members of the public, Patrick Sayle and Everard Blatchington also offer their assistance, after they stumble across the scene.

    Having been intrigued by the idea of a husband and wife writing books together, this was the first of their books I have read.

As you can surmise, there is no one overall detective, in contrast to Agatha Christie's works featuring the famous Poirot. This is where the whole books becomes slightly confusing, flashing from one narrative to another. It hardly seems important who will solve the case, just as long as the case ends up solved.

    I was expecting one main 'hero of the hour' who would wade through the red herrings and deceit to solve the murder of poor Rita Morning. The constant stream of sleuths, some working together and others putting in a solo effort, made for a fast paced read that rattled along nicely.

No sooner had one policeman cursed himself for a lack of progress in the case, then another member of the police force took up the reins. They would promptly sniff out three clues, overturn an alibi and whittle down the suspect list. No bad for one chapter's work!

    I presumed one of the main characters would be Patrick Sayle. It is in his road that the taxi turns up, and he resolves to solve the mystery before the police blame it on the taxi driver. Interesting class prejudice- the taxi driver is worried he will be the scapegoat. "Law's different for poor men, sir", he remarks mournfully. So our people's champion, Sayle, decides to investigate the case. The Coles then decided not to mention Sayle for three long winded chapters, by which time I had promptly forgotten how he came in be involved in the whole matter.

Admirable Art Deco inspired title page

    After several days of inquests and interrogations, the case is solved by Chief Inspector Camp (not Sayle!). The choice of perpetrator seems to come completely out of the blue, making for a surprising ending.

    I found the story enjoyable, although the abundance of policemen of varying ranks and characters did take some getting used to. Several plot points are explored, and then never mentioned again until the summing up in the final chapter. I hadn't a hope in hell of solving the mystery, or of guessing the killer's identity!

    Still, all writers’ styles take some getting used to and I have already earmarked some more books by Mr. and Mrs. Cole for the future. Their quick style engages the reader, and I found the concept of a taxi passenger 'accidentally' misplacing a hacked off head both original and fresh!

Drinks mentioned: 

Whisky

A nice whisky cures all problems, even finding a human head! 

'His face was white and glistening under the lamp.

"Find a double whisky, quick, will you?"

More whisky!

'The inspector....seized from the tray the large double whisky which was his daily portion'

Drinking to excess

"Death of the Morning - jolly good poster," he said, chuckling over his sixth whiskey-and-soda.'

 

Punch

It is drunk a party, described as a 'good stiff drink' and 'golden'.

Afternoon tea

'Lady's Christine's club was comparatively cool and comparatively pleasant to look at, and they secured a cool table in the window and a large selection of sandwiches.'

 Rum

Chosen as it works quickest on the drinker! 'He stretched a vague hand for the glass, automatically splashed some soda into it, and took a deep gulp.'

Body Count: Just the one, the unfortunate head-less Rita Morning.

 

Overall verdict: 3 and a half champagne glasses out of 5

Have you read any books by G.D.H and M. Cole? Do you have any suggestions of forgotten authors for future reviews? Leave a comment below!

-bodyinthelibrary