Agatha Annotated: Investigating the Books of the 1920s: Obscure Terms and Historical References in the Works of Agatha Christie

by Kate K. Gingold

Do you love Agatha Christie mystery novels, but skip over any unfamiliar references? Then you’re missing out! Read Christie’s books as if you were her 1920s contemporary by exploring the background Years of research by history buff and Christie fan Kate Gingold has been collected in this glossary covering the first decade of Agatha Christie’s mysteries. Inside you will find over 1800 terms, including 347 French phrases from Hercule Poirot, each with a definition and its location within the stories. Nearly 200 are accompanied by an illustration. As a bonus, the author takes a “Closer Look” at a topic from each of Christie’s first eleven books. Enjoy your favorite Agatha Christie novel even more with this guide to deciphering the definition and context of these hundred-year-old words and phrases.

“Ms. Gingold anticipates virtually any question a Christie reader might have.” – Patricia Rockwell, Cozy Cat Press

Genres: Nonfiction

275 pages, Paperback

Published June 7, 2023

About the author

Long an Agatha Christie fan and already a writer of local history, I put these two interests together to research and compile a glossary of obscure words in Christie’s 1920s novels. While readers certainly enjoy her books without a glossary, getting the low-down on these hundred-year-old nuances makes them even better!

I get into the details of England’s 1920 history even further at the Agatha Annotated website with twice-monthly blog posts and the Word of the Week newsletter.

Earlier books and blog posts have been about Illinois history in the 1800s, specifically in Naperville where we raised our children. I’ve also been writing about digital marketing since 2003 for my “day job,” so I spend a lot of time at the keyboard. If I can, I’ll bring the laptop out on the porch so I can enjoy my garden while I’m writing.

Reviews

[Sophia · Rating 5 out of 5]

In recent years, I've been revisiting Agatha Christie books on audio and enjoying my reacquaintance with Christie's books. Like the author of Agatha Annotated, I originally read the books years ago and my modus operandi for historic terms or French I was unfamiliar with was to gain the meaning from the context or simply ignore it. These years later, I'm more curious about the obscurities and knowing details.

So, imagine how thrilled I was that someone tackled the daunting task of making the terms in Christie novels published in the 1920's easier to understand a hundred years later. Besides an A-Z listing of terms and foreign phrases that are helpfully cross-referenced by book title they are found in, the author also wrote 11 briefings to coincide with historical setting like the background of WWI to explain the set up of Mysterious Affair at Styles and the author doesn't shy away from a frank look at Colonialism, Imperialism and Presentation that come up in such books as Man in the Brown Suit.

Agatha Annotated: Investigating the Books of the 1920's is a meticulous researched book with a casual armchair scholar tone. But, it is a book that I felt trustworthy with the lists of the people and institutions who made contribution and were given their due. I will look foward to Kate Gingold's furthering my historical knowledge of all things Christie with entries featuring the additional decades of Agatha Christie's writing. For the fan who enjoys getting the historical context and meaning beyond the brilliant plots.

Gifted copy

[Katherine · Rating 2 out of 5]

A really mixed bag. Where Gingold is helpful (references to faded stars, antiquated British expressions or customs), she's pretty good. But much of the book seemed to have been written for a time before the Internet and the speed of Google searching. Entries such as "rice", "Sherlock Holmes", and "Morocco" make me question which reader is finding these obscure.

In addition, Gingold often chooses not to cross-reference (although she is inconsistent in this choice), instead repeating nearly-identical paragraphs for, say, "Housemaid", "Second Housemaid", and "Third Housemaid". Some explanations are lengthy beyond the information needed, and others don't even cover the necessary: for "Signet Ring" we get the Latin origin of Signum and et and the information that "these tokens were used to officially seal documents". How? No idea.

At least one explanation revealed a lack of investigation ("Greenish Evening Dress" most likely refers to the age of the garments worn, as black suits acquire a greenish tint with age and wear, rather than the speculated reflection of limelight).

The promised "an essay on each of the 11 books" is "an essay on some point tangentially related to each book".

Worth checking out if you don't mind wading through to find the pieces worth retaining, but not recommended.

[Lex · Rating 3 out of 5]

A generous 3 stars to reflect the work that went into making this, and some interesting entries and tidbits. However:
1) It needed a further proofread/edit before publication to pick up errors and cut down on repetition.
2) Some of the "obscure" terms are not obscure at all, but this could be because I'm British and this seems to have been written for an American audience.

[Hannah Duckett · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a very interesting book looking into the language and phrases used in Agatha Christie’s books. Although, it did get repetitive at times.

[Janel · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful reference tool. I referred to it while reading The Mystery Of The Blue Train.

[Samantha Windell · Rating 4 out of 5]

ok book ,knew most of it but a few things learnt ,great companion for Christie fans

[Christine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Feel a little mean giving only 2 stars, when I am really the one at fault - I failed to realise that this is essentially an American book for American readers and as an elderly Brit, I find a lot of the 'notes' unnecessary and even vaguely patronising. The author has obviously put a lot of work into this endeavour so I am sure the information is accurate, however I was a little surprised one of her first annotations, in which she provides an expanation of 21/-, she does not expand the note to mention guineas.

If you are young (especially if you are American) and just discovering Christie I imagine you would find this work invaluable and I would recommend it to you; if you are a crotchety old Brit like me, maybe not so much

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

For my full review click on the link below:
https://crossexaminingcrime.wordpress...