Agatha Christie
| Fandom | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Agatha Christie novels |
| Abbreviation(s): | |
| Creator: | Agatha Christie |
| Date(s): | 1920-1976 |
| Medium: | books |
| Country of Origin: | Britain |
| External Links: | Wikipedia |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Agatha Christie is known for her crime novels, which epitomise the Golden Age of crimewriting, with house parties, butlers, vicars, and That Scene Where Everyone Gathers To Hear Whodunnit. They have been adapted countless times for film, television, theatre & radio, and have spawned countless imitations. Christie's life has also been the focus of several popular dramas exploring her eleven-day disappearance in 1926, most recently the Doctor Who episode, 'The Unicorn and the Wasp'.
The Books
Several of her series have a fannish following, including:
- The Poirot novels are reminiscent of Sherlock Holmes, starring a finicky Belgian private detective (Hercule Poirot) whose 'little grey cells' are famous, a dim military sidekick (Captain Hastings) with an eye for the ladies, and a not-quite-so-dim Scotland Yard detective (Inspector Japp) prone to arresting the wrong suspect. There's also a sharp secretary to keep the men in order (Miss Lemon).
- The Miss Marple series centres around an elderly spinster, Jane Marple, who loves knitting & gossip, and frequently beats Scotland Yard's finest to solving vicious crimes, which frequently remind her of events in village life
- The Tommy and Tuppence series features a husband & wife duo of 'Bright Young Things'.
- The Mysterious Mr Quin stories.
- The novel And Then There Were None (and its multiple screen and stage adaptations).
The Mousetrap
The Mousetrap is a murder mystery play by Agatha Christie. The play opened in London's West End in 1952 and ran continuously until 16 March 2020, when the stage performances had to be temporarily discontinued during the COVID-19 pandemic. It then re-opened on 17 May 2021. The longest-running West End show, it also has by far the longest run of any play in the world, with its 29,500th performance having taken place as of February 2024. The play has been seen by over 10 million people in London.[1]
The Moustrap had its world premiere on 6 October 1952 at the Theatre Royal, Nottingham; and travelled around until opening in London on 25th November. Over subsequent decades, it has travelled broadly, including Australia and the USA. In 2022, it celebrated its 70th birthday.[2]
The Fandom
Agatha Christie is a small fandom, generally considered to be rarelit, although much Poirot fan activity is based in the television series starring David Suchet. Poirot is the most popular series, and the Poirot & Marple series are both perennial requests at Yuletide. Hercule Poirot & Jane Marple often pop up in crossovers. Poirot fanworks are frequently Arthur Hastings/Hercule Poirot slash, while Miss Marple fanworks are usually gen, and the fandoms don't always overlap. There is also a small amount of fanfiction for other Agatha Christie works, including the Tommy and Tuppence series and the Mysterious Mr Quin stories.
Shipping and Ships
The prevalence of shipping in the Agatha Christie fandom depends on which fandom is approached. Arthur Hastings/Hercule Poirot is a popular slash ship in the Poirot fandom, while het and femslash ships tend to be much smaller in number there (although not non-existent). Shipping tends not to occur much in the Miss Marple fandom on AO3, but when it does it tends to be either canonic het pairings (such as Mary Durrant/Philip Durrant) or femslash (such as Honoria Lucasta Dowager Duchess of Denver/Jane Marple). In the Tommy and Tuppence universe, the het ship Tommy Beresford/Tuppence Beresford reigns supreme.
Example Fanworks
Poirot
- Coffee and Cognac by Gwenhwyvar—character study written for Yuletide (2006)
- The Real Captain Hastings by The Android—widely recommended Poirot/Hastings novel (before 2004)
- Death in the Diplomatic Service by austenfan1990 -- casefic novel (2010–11)
- The Affair of the Private Affairs of Miss Lemon by cimorene—popular Yuletide story exploring views of Miss Lemon's orientation (2014)
Miss Marple
- Interview in the Waiting Room by Brightbear—Miss Marple meets the local police inspector; the earliest story on AO3/ff.net, written for Yuletide (2008)
- So We Meet at Last by Lost Spook—popular crossover with Dracula, inspired by a film version with Joan Hickson (2013)
- Why Miss Marple Prefers Knitting to Embroidery by Delancey654—Backstory & casefic (2014)
Other
- Mr. Satterthwaite's Harlequinade by Lucy Gillam -- Mysterious Mr Quin slash (2010)
Archives and Communities
The livejournal community agathachristie is a general community with mainly discussion & icons. poirot_fans contains discussion, fanfiction & fanart for Poirot. agathas_express focuses on the Poirot novel/film, Murder on the Orient Express. agatha_stills is an icon community. Fanfiction occasionally appears at rarelitslash, and discussion at vintage_crime. There are no Agatha Christie-specific archives.
Poirot
Miss Marple
And Then There Were None
Notes
- ^ Wikipedia.
- ^ Ther Mousetrap
- ^ Stats as of 16 Feb 2021