KOCHI: Playing Hercule Poirot in a high school play remains fresh among my fondest memories from early teen days. The charming, witty Belgian detective — the “little man with enormous moustaches” — was among the celebrated British author Agatha Christie’s finest contributions to the mystery genre in literature.
Graduating from the likes of The Hardy Boys and The Famous Five to Agatha’s crime novels used to be a sign of arrival in adolescence, back in the 1980s and early 90s. Her books, in a way, also taught me the value of libraries.
Those unable to afford personal copies had to patiently wait for their turn at the school library to get one’s hands on Agatha’s novels. And, finally, when one does, the next guy in the queue would start pressuring to “finish it quickly”.
Then, of course, there were hand-me-downs from generous elders, who would gift copies with the signature on the front page, and the mandatory word of advice: “See, this is a classic, take good care of it.” I still cherish the first one I had of my own — Murder on the Orient Express.
This sudden gush of nostalgia is all thanks to ‘sensitivity readers’ who are back in the news for giving Agatha’s novels a snip job. After Roald Dahl and Ian Fleming, it’s her turn on the pruning block. A few days ago, The Telegraph reported that Agatha’s novels — written between 1920 and 1976 — were being cleansed of alleged anti-Semitism and racial references.
A “recent phenomenon in publishing”, sensitivity readers are individuals hired to review a manuscript or other creative work to identify potential issues related to representation, accuracy, and cultural sensitivity. Here are some examples of changes to Agatha’s works, as reported by British newspapers: Poirot’s comment on a character “a Jew, of course” in The Mysterious Affair at Styles has been removed.
The word ‘native’ has been replaced with ‘local’ in several of her works. Reference to a helper as ‘black’ and ‘grinning’ has been deleted; now the character is described as ‘nodding’. Mentions of “Nubian people” — said to be early inhabitants of Nile valley — have been expunged in Death on the Nile.
Other revisions include the description of “a female character’s torso as ‘of black marble’ and a judge’s ‘Indian temper’, and… terms such as ‘Oriental’ and the N-word”.
While the edits have triggered yet another debate on sensitivity snipping, let’s take a quick look at the enigmatic author known as ‘Queen of Crime’ in the literary canon. Well, with the summer vacations on, it is indeed a great time to introduce her to young readers.
With over 60 novels, 14 short story collections, and several plays to her name, Agatha’s works have sold over two billion copies worldwide — said to be the third all-time bestseller list “behind only William Shakespeare and the Bible”.
Agatha was born in 1890 in Torquay, a seaside town in Devon, England. From an early age, she loved storytelling, creating imaginative tales to entertain her siblings and friends. Interestingly, she never received formal education; was educated at home by her mother, a pianist and singer, and her father, a wealthy American stockbroker. Her father’s sudden death when she was just 11 years old had a profound impact on her, and she began to “retreat into her own imagination as a way of coping”.
Agatha’s early years were marked by a sense of adventure and independence. She travelled extensively with her mother, visiting exotic locations such as Egypt, where she became “fascinated by archaeology and ancient civilisations”. These experiences, perhaps, inspired many of her novels, including Death on the Nile and Murder in Mesopotamia.
Working as a nurse during World War I gave Agatha “a unique perspective on human behaviour and psychology”. Notably, her first novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, was not published until 1920, when she was 30 years old. This book introduced Poirot, and marked the beginning of a prolific career that would span five decades.
Agatha’s writing style was unique for its time. She eschewed the violence and sex that were popular in other crime novels of the era. Instead, she aced at “intricate puzzles and clever twists” that kept readers engrossed till the end.
She was prolific; her ability to consistently churn out high-quality work at “a breakneck pace” was just amazing. She would write up to three novels a year, yet her stories never felt rushed or formulaic.
In personal life, despite her immense success, Agatha remained a private and “somewhat mysterious” figure. She had a reputation for being something of a recluse. She had a tumultuous relationship with her first husband, and also battled mental illness.
Agatha once went famously missing in 1926, driving off in a car after leaving her daughter in the care of household helpers. “The next morning, her car was found abandoned several miles away, thus kicking off an intensive search-and-rescue operation that involved thousands of policemen and volunteers. Though divers, bloodhounds and even airplanes were brought in, no trace of the missing crime novelist turned up,” notes the History Channel.
“The press ran wild with the story, with one publication offering a 100-pound reward for information leading to her whereabouts. Finally, 11 days after leaving home, she was recognised at a spa hotel in northern England, to which she had checked in using the surname of her husband’s mistress. Christie claimed to have virtually no recollection of the entire incident, attributing it to a form of amnesia.”
Once a well-kept secret, Agatha had ventured into the realm of romantic literature, too, under the nom de plume Mary Westmacott. Her romantic novels were centred on human relationships, delving deep into the intricate emotions of love, jealousy, and betrayal.
Over the years, Agatha’s works have inspired several adaptations, including TV shows, films, and theatre productions. Her legacy lives on, with many contemporary crime writers citing her as a major influence on their work.
Here is a quick look at ten of Agatha’s best works:
Okay, time for me to go on a mystery tour. Have a thrilling week ahead.
It’s a mystery to me: “expressing confusion or lack of understanding about something”
Shrouded in mystery: “surrounded by secrecy or unknown information”
The mystery deepens: “a situation becomes even more mysterious or difficult to understand”
The great mystery: “a profound or difficult-to-understand question or concept”
Mystery tour: “a trip or excursion in which the destination is unknown or undisclosed beforehand”
Mystery guest: “a person invited to an event or gathering whose identity is kept secret from other attendees”
Mystery house: “a house or building that is rumored to be haunted or have other unexplained phenomena”
Mystery illness: “a medical condition that is difficult to diagnose or treat”
Mystery school: “a type of educational institution or philosophy that emphasizes esoteric or mystical knowledge”
A riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma: “That which is so dense and secretive as to be totally indecipherable or impossible to foretell. It is from a line used by Winston Churchill to describe the intentions and interests of Russia in 1939”; also used as ‘a riddle wrapped in an enigma’.