Appointment With Agatha discussion

As many (most) of the members probably already know, Agatha Christie wrote 6 books under the pseudonym of "Mary Westamacott." The first of those books, Giant's Bread, was published in 1930, along with our current monthly read, The Murder at the Vicarage.

The Six Mary Westmacotts:

Giant's Bread, 1930
Unfinished Portrait, 1934
Absent in the Spring, 1944
The Rose and the Yew Tree, 1947
A Daughter's a Daughter, 1952
The Burden, 1956

These can be a bit difficult to source. None of them are available as ebooks, as far as I can tell, and they are all out of print. Used copies can be found on Abebooks or Amazon.

I have read one of them - The Burden - I didn't like it. However, I am a Christie completist and I plan to read the rest. Is anyone interested in doing a sporadic buddy read with me?

I have all of them as audiobooks (Audible) but so far have lacked to motivation to go anywhere near them -- this is total prejudice of course, but I have a feeling I'm not greatly going to care about them, either.

Maybe the occasional buddy read is going to be just the thing!

Speaking of which and at the risk of pushing it, are you still interested in continuing our on-again-off-again "Agatha Christie's plays" buddy reads, too? (I've been meaning to go back to those for some time.)

Themis-Athena (Lioness at Large) wrote: "Speaking of which and at the risk of pushing it, are you still interested in continuing our on-again-off-again "Agatha Christie's plays" buddy reads, too? (I've been meaning to go back to those for some time.).."

I definitely am! I am doing the Back to the Classics challenge this year, and it includes a classic play, so I am planning on one of the plays before the end of the year.

Do you have a play/time frame in mind? When we started our rather fizzled project back on BL, I bought The Mousetrap and Other Plays, which includes:

Ten Little Indians
Appointment with Death
The Hollow
The Mousetrap
Witness for the Prosecution
Towards Zero
Verdict
Go Back For Murder

So I'm up for all of them, eventually.

And, re: the Westmacotts, I think it would be interesting to read them in order and at least vaguely in time context, so I would propose reading Giant's Bread in the next few months, while we are still in the early 1930's, and maybe Unfinished Portrait early next year (January-April), while we are in the mid-1930's? I will need to acquire both of them. The only other one I own is Absent in Spring, which I picked up somewhere.

I really liked Absent in the Spring but omg The Burden was unfinishable for me. And I tried it twice! I tried very hard.

Btw, they are available as ebooks (kindle) in the UK. I have all of them.

Btw, they are available as ebooks (kindle) in the UK. I have all of them."

Jealous. Not here!

Christine PNW wrote: "Do you have a play/time frame in mind? When we started our rather fizzled project back on BL, I bought The Mousetrap and Other Plays"

I think when we last looked at this, we'd sort of settled on the stage version of Towards Zero. We could just pick up things where we'd left them with that one? (I think synching the plays with the "official" Appointment with Agatha reads would mean we'd be pushing the whole thing off until next year or later, as the corresponding novels almost all fall into the 1940s and 1950s.)

OR we could do one of the "play only" / "play and short story" things first (The Mousetrap, Witness for the Prosecution, Akhenaten) ... all fine with me.

Christine PNW wrote: "And, re: the Westmacotts, I think it would be interesting to read them in order and at least vaguely in time context, so I would propose reading Giant's Bread in the next few months, while we are s..."

Starting with Giant's Bread and reading the Westmacotts in context with the main reads sounds good!

Themis-Athena (Lioness at Large) wrote: "I think when we last looked at this, we'd sort of settled on the stage version of Towards Zero. We could just pick up things where we'd left them with that one? (I think synching the plays with the "official" Appointment with Agatha reads would mean we'd be pushing the whole thing off until next year or later, as the corresponding novels almost all fall into the 1940s and 1950s.)."

Since we've already both read all of the books, I don't think we necessarily need to wait until we get to the book to read the play, but I'm good with whatever.

Christine PNW wrote: "Since we've already both read all of the books, I don't think we necessarily need to wait until we get to the book to read the play, but I'm good with whatever."

I was just thinking if we do the buddy read here, it would probably act as a sort of spoiler to those in the group who come across the buddy read thread(s) without having had the corresponding novels yet. Maybe preface the the thread(s) with a general spoiler warning?

Themis-Athena (Lioness at Large) wrote: "Christine PNW wrote: "And, re: the Westmacotts, I think it would be interesting to read them in order and at least vaguely in time context, so I would propose reading Giant's Bread in the next few ..."

I’m in! On the hunt for Giant’s Bread.

Themis-Athena (Lioness at Large) wrote: "I was just thinking if we do the buddy read here, it would probably act as a sort of spoiler to those in the group who come across the buddy read thread(s) without having had the corresponding novels yet. Maybe preface the the thread(s) with a general spoiler warning?"

That does make sense. Maybe we should try to stay sort of in line with the group advancement.

We could start with The Mousetrap or Witness for the Prosecution, since we won't be reading either of them.

Marie wrote: "I’m in! On the hunt for Giant’s Bread."

Great! The more, the merrier ...

Christine PNW wrote: "We could start with The Mousetrap or Witness for the Prosecution, since we won't be reading either of them."

Let's maybe do The Witness for the Prosecution at some point in summer or fall and The Mousetrap once winter rolls around since it's got a snowed-in setting?

I think I own 4 of the Westmacott's, including Giant's Bread, so I am totally in to read!

I might be in for the plays as well since I have some of them.

Themis-Athena (Lioness at Large) wrote: "Let's maybe do The Witness for the Prosecution at some point in summer or fall and The Mousetrap once winter rolls around since it's got a snowed-in setting?"

This sounds like a great plan!

Christine PNW wrote: "Themis-Athena (Lioness at Large) wrote: "Let's maybe do The Witness for the Prosecution at some point in summer or fall and The Mousetrap once winter rolls around since it's got a snowed-in setting?"

This sounds like a great plan!"

Suggested schedule then:

* Giant's Bread in July or August,
* The Witness for the Prosecution in September or October,
* The Mousetrap in December or January?

Also FWIW, in terms of timing: the second Mary Westmacott novel (Unfinished Portrait) was published in 1934, between Murder on the Orient Express (or final 2021 "main read") and Why Didn't They Ask Evans? (our first "main read" of 2022). Do we want to read it between the two novels -- and the two plays -- or after all of the above? Or keep it open at this point? (There's no other Mary Westmacott novel until 1944, so it's not like we're pressed for time, even if we want to continue having the Westmacott books coincide with the main reads.)

BrokenTune wrote: "I might be in for the plays as well since I have some of them."

Which ones do you have?

If I can get a Westmacott, I´ll try one and see if I´ll read the others too.

Btw there´s a typo in the title of the thread. ;)

Themis-Athena (Lioness at Large) wrote: "BrokenTune wrote: "I might be in for the plays as well since I have some of them."

Which ones do you have?"

- And Then There Were None
- Appointment With Death
- The Hollow
- The Mousetrap
- Witness for the Prosecution
- Towards Zero
- Verdict
- Go Back for Murder

This collection, in other words?

Michaela wrote: "If I can get a Westmacott, I´ll try one and see if I´ll read the others too.

Btw there´s a typo in the title of the thread. ;)"

Fixed it - thanks!

Themis-Athena (Lioness at Large) wrote: "This collection, in other words? "

Different cover but yes, that is the one. :)

BrokenTune wrote: "Themis-Athena (Lioness at Large) wrote: "This collection, in other words? "

Different cover but yes, that is the one. :)"

that's the one I have, too.

Christine PNW wrote: "BrokenTune wrote: "Themis-Athena (Lioness at Large) wrote: "This collection, in other words? "

Different cover but yes, that is the one. :)"

that's the one I have, too."

Yes, me as well -- plus a couple of Samuel French editions of plays not collected anywhere else.

Themis-Athena (Lioness at Large) wrote: "Christine PNW wrote: "BrokenTune wrote: "Themis-Athena (Lioness at Large) wrote: "This collection, in other words? "

Different cover but yes, that i..."

I have that collection, too (bought it during a London trip), so if you don´t mind I would like to join in with the plays.
And I might be giving a Westmacott novel a try as well.

Lillelara wrote: "Themis-Athena (Lioness at Large) wrote: "Christine PNW wrote: "BrokenTune wrote: "Themis-Athena (Lioness at Large) wrote: "This collection, in other words? [bookcover:The Mousetrap and Other Plays|..."

It would be excellent to have you along for the ride!

I wish I could see one of her plays performed.

Christine PNW wrote: "Lillelara wrote: "Themis-Athena (Lioness at Large) wrote: "Christine PNW wrote: "BrokenTune wrote: "Themis-Athena (Lioness at Large) wrote: "This collection, in other words? [bookcover:The Mousetra..."

I hope you will be able to do that sometime in the future, Christine :). I´ve seen the Mousetrap in London and it was absolutely brilliant.

Lillelara wrote: "I hope you will be able to do that sometime in the future, Christine :). I´ve seen the Mousetrap in London and it was absolutely brilliant."

It was (is). It's the one play by her that I've seen on stage several times -- in London as well as elsewhere -- and it just never gets boring.

Themis-Athena (Lioness at Large) wrote: "Lillelara wrote: "I hope you will be able to do that sometime in the future, Christine :). I´ve seen the Mousetrap in London and it was absolutely brilliant."

It was (is). It's the one play by her..."

Yeah, it is pretty good.

I'd love to see some of the other ones, too.

BrokenTune wrote: "I'd love to see some of the other ones, too."

Me too (live, that is).

YouTube has video editions of several plays -- Murder on the Nile, Ten Little Indians and Spider's Web among them. (Spider's Web is a movie, but except for an extra scene at the beginning it's essentially the play as written.)

https://youtu.be/OXOxOt97XRM
https://youtu.be/AuIWIsZvcxg
https://youtu.be/qwtqg8XJ348

ETA: Also The Unexpected Guest: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mwu4u...

Themis-Athena (Lioness at Large) wrote: "BrokenTune wrote: "I'd love to see some of the other ones, too."
Me too (live, that is).
YouTube has video editions of several plays -- Murder on the Nile and Spider's Web among them. (Spider's W..."

I watched that Spider's Web one last year. I thought it was very entertaining.

BrokenTune wrote: "I watched that Spider's Web one last year. I thought it was very entertaining."

I thought so, too.

Themis-Athena (Lioness at Large) wrote: "BrokenTune wrote: "I'd love to see some of the other ones, too."

Me too (live, that is).

YouTube has video editions of several plays -- Murder on the Nile, Ten Little Indians and Spider's Web amo..."

I didn't realise you could watch whole plays on YouTube!

Ruth wrote: "I didn't realise you could watch whole plays on YouTube!"

Whole plays, movies, TV series (e.g., you can find every single Poirot episode starring David Suchet on Youtube), audiobooks (including many by Agatha Christie) ... it all depends on whether the rights holder has given permission or, if they haven't, how quickly you find it before the upload is pulled and the account deleted. The Poirot episodes appear to be legal uploads; they've been on Youtube for a long time.

Well, I think I've got some exploring to do!

I have two old paperbacks I found in a used bookstore

I have ordered a copy of Giant's Bread - when do we want to read? Sometime in August would work well for me, as both of the poll leaders for our side read are rereads, and I should be able to get through whichever one is ultimately chosen.

Does a start date of Friday, August 6 sound good?

Friday, August 6 is fine for me. I just received my omnibus volume with all of the Westmacott novels!

Works for me

August 6 works for me, too.

Ditto.

My copy of Giant's Bread has arrived, so I'm ready to go on August 6! Woot!

Christine PNW wrote: "My copy of Giant's Bread has arrived, so I'm ready to go on August 6! Woot!"

Excellent!

I will join in with the Westmacott. And August 6th works for me, too.

Christine PNW wrote: "My copy of Giant's Bread has arrived, so I'm ready to go on August 6! Woot!"

Just wondering -- are we still doing this?

Themis-Athena (Lioness at Large) wrote: "Christine PNW wrote: "My copy of Giant's Bread has arrived, so I'm ready to go on August 6! Woot!"

Just wondering -- are we still doing this?"

Yep, completely forgot about this buddy read. But I´m good to go.

Lillelara wrote: "Themis-Athena (Lioness at Large) wrote: "Christine PNW wrote: "My copy of Giant's Bread has arrived, so I'm ready to go on August 6! Woot!"

Just wondering -- are we still doing this?"

Yep, comple..."

I am also ready to go. Did we pick a date? I just finished Sittaford, so I am ready!

Christine PNW wrote: "Lillelara wrote: "Themis-Athena (Lioness at Large) wrote: "Christine PNW wrote: "My copy of Giant's Bread has arrived, so I'm ready to go on August 6! Woot!"

Just wondering -- are we still doing t..."

We were supposed to be starting 2 days ago, but I forgot, too -- it just came back to me after I finally had a few moments to sort myself out today. I'm ready to go, too!