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A is for Arsenic: The Poisons of Agatha Christie (Bloomsbury Sigma) Hardcover – September 8, 2015
People are fascinated by murder. The popularity of murder mystery books, TV series, and even board games shows that there is an appetite for death, and the more unusual or macabre the method, the better. With gunshots or stabbings the cause of death is obvious, but poisons are inherently more mysterious. How are some compounds so deadly in such tiny amounts?
Agatha Christie used poison to kill her characters more often than any other crime fiction writer. The poison was a central part of the novel, and her choice of deadly substances was far from random; the chemical and physiological characteristics of each poison provide vital clues to the discovery of the murderer. Christie demonstrated her extensive chemical knowledge (much of it gleaned by working in a pharmacy during both world wars) in many of her novels, but this is rarely appreciated by the reader.
Written by former research chemist Kathryn Harkup, each chapter takes a different novel and investigates the poison used by the murderer. Fact- and fun-packed, A is for Arsenic looks at why certain chemicals kill, how they interact with the body, and the feasibility of obtaining, administering, and detecting these poisons, both when Christie was writing and today.
- Print length320 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherBloomsbury Sigma
- Publication dateSeptember 8, 2015
- Dimensions5.69 x 1.1 x 8.55 inches
- ISBN-109781472911308
- ISBN-13978-1472911308
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Editorial Reviews
Review
“[An] intriguing and illuminating examination of Christie's use of poisons in her mysteries . . . This compilation should please mystery fans, true crime readers, and lovers of popular science.” ―Publishers Weekly
“This would be a perfect reference for anyone writing murder mysteries and is scientific enough to be used as a textbook . . . The addition of real-life cases and comparisons to Christie's works make this a nice little murder mystery of its own. Fear not, she's careful not to spoil the endings of the classic novels.” ―Kirkus
“Remember the homicidal glee of that old Cary Grant movie 'Arsenic and Old Lace'? Those adorable aged aunts, earnestly luring lonely old men to their house so they could knock them off with poison-laced elderberry wine? If you liked that, you'll like 'A Is for Arsenic: The Poisons of Agatha Christie'; it has a little of that lethal charm . . . And while it's essentially good book-club-style fun, the book has a practical application: For every poison, it offers some antidotes.” ―Washington Post
“If you're an Agatha Christie fan, read this book. If you're a forensic-science fan, read this book. If you know someone harboring a grudge and an unseemly interest in poison, hide this book. Harkup, a chemist, has written a knockout analysis of poisons used in Christie's novels and short stories . . . This is an absolutely bravura chemical compound.” ―starred review, Booklist
“You don’t have to be familiar with the likes of Miss Marple or Hercule Poirot, however, to enjoy Harkup's detailed, near-gleeful dip into what she calls Christie's 'deadly dispensary.'” ―Discover Magazine
About the Author
Product details
- ASIN : 147291130X
- Publisher : Bloomsbury Sigma; First Edition (September 8, 2015)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 320 pages
- ISBN-10 : 9781472911308
- ISBN-13 : 978-1472911308
- Item Weight : 15.6 ounces
- Dimensions : 5.69 x 1.1 x 8.55 inches
- Customer Reviews:
About the author
Kathryn is a former chemist turned vampirologist and science communicator. She writes and gives regular public talks on the disgusting and dangerous side of science.
Kathryn’s first book was the international best-seller A is for Arsenic: The Poisons of Agatha Christie, which was shortlisted for a Mystery Readers International Macavity Award and a BMA Book Award. She has also written books on Frankenstein, vampires, Shakespeare, James Bond and chemistry.
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Top reviews
Top reviews from the United States
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The book is very stylishly presented with artwork which is wonderfully evocative of the 1930s art deco style that I somehow assign to the Christie novels even though they were not all written during, or for, that time period. Maybe the really good television series has something to do with that. Each chapter deals with one specific poison beginning with arsenic, then belladonna, cyanide, digitalis, eserine, hemlock, monkshood, nicotine, opium, phosphorus, ricin, strychnine, thallium, and veronal. Each chapter leads off with a brief synopsis of the major novel, or in one instance a short story, the author will be using as an example of the use of that specific poison, then moves on to the story (history) of the poison, how the poison works in the body to kill, whether there is an antidote, some real-life cases, and then how Christie used the poison. I had been afraid the chemistry associated with where the poison comes from and how it works within the body would have been either too technical or too boring for me to enjoy. Wow, was I ever wrong. I discovered all kinds of wonderful facts. This book is wonderfully readable by those of us who aren't trained in the science of chemicals. Plus Kathryn Harkup has a very wry sense of humor which caused me to get some strange looks when I was sitting in a doctor's waiting room laughing out loud while reading a book about poisons. Let's just say the chairs on each side of me became vacant when someone asked what book I was reading. This is the type of book Agatha Christie fans will keep right on the shelf with all their copies of the novels for reference during future re-readings of the novels. Because let's face it, if you love Agatha Christie novels you don't read them just once.
Another fascinating section of the book is Appendix 1: Christie's Causes of Death. This is a chart listing each novel and short story written by Agatha Christie and the method of the murder in that story. Sometimes, with multiple victims there are multiple murder methods. I found this absolutely fascinating and used the list to make sure I do own each story Christie wrote. Actually I own them multiple times over, but there is no need to go into my personal addiction here.
In discussing how Christie used the poisons the author has revealed some spoilers, but she always warns the reader to skip ahead to another section if they aren't familiar with the story and don't want to know who and how. I really appreciated how Harkup complimented Christie on her thoroughness and knowledge when it was warranted, but she didn't hesitate on several occasions to point out that Christie had gotten some things wrong. Interesting for me was how seldom Christie made mistakes in her information.
This book is most definitely aimed at the devoted Agatha Christie fan. I found it fascinating and if you didn't, well........I challenge you to a duel with the infamous Calabar bean!
Added Sept. 10, 2015: I received this book as an ARC through the Amazon Vine Voices program. Often ARC copies don't hold up very well over time and they will have portions omitted because it is not the shelf-ready book. I enjoyed this one so much I purchased the finished copy in hard cover to keep on my shelf for reference material when I'm reading mysteries.
lifelong fan of Agatha Christie and immediately after finishing Poirot and Me by David Suchet. Her explanations of the science are highly readable. Her insights into how Christie selected her poisons makes a lot of sense (e.g., Christie's dispensary training, contemporary accounts of crimes).
I was particularly struck by the range of detail in the book. The use of scientific data mixed with literary examples gives the reader a unique view into the 'behind the scenes thinking and knowledge' Dame Christie may have in fact utilized as she developed her storylines and plans for a character's demise.
As a cozy mystery writer and reader, I found the information to be extremely helpful and enlightening. I will definitely be reading more of Author Harkup's 'science meets literary' works. A fascinating read, highly recommended!
Top reviews from other countries
A book of great knowlegde!
Must read for anyone interested in the field of forensics… especially in Poisons/Chemicals .. 🔥
Each poison has a section to itself and the author relates the history of the substance and its uses, if any, in medicine as well as a poison. How easy or difficult it would have been to obtain the poison at the time Christie's books or stories were written is also detailed together with the ways the law has changed since then. Real life poisoning cases are also detailed. How the poison works and its chemical make up are also covered and I have to confess to skipping some of the more technical passages as I found my O level chemistry was not really up to the task.
But the chemical details make up a very small part of the text and not always being able to understand these small sections did not spoil my enjoyment of the whole book which is a mine of information. There are two appendices to the book - one a detailed list of all Christie's books with causes of death of the victims and the other one showing chemical diagrams for all the poisons discussed. There is a bibliography and an index as well.
This is a fascinating book for anyone who loves Agatha Christie's writing and for anyone who reads crime novels or true crime.