Show Notes
Welcome back to Westmapod, and welcome to Tenerife! Join Mark and Gray, sunning themselves, and discussing Unfinished Portrait, the second novel Agatha Christie wrote under her secret alter ego, Mary Westmacott! Will Unfinished Portrait give us a new insight into who Agatha really was? Is it worth a read? Was it just an excuse for a holiday? Listen on to hear. Read along with us! Each episode drops after a fortnight, on Tuesdays. You have until Tuesday 12 May 2026 to read book 3, Absent in the Spring! WE'VE WRITTEN A BOOK! You can pre-order The Swinging Christies: How Agatha Christie Conquered the 1960s NOW! You can find us on Instagram @Christie_Time. Our website is ChristieTime.com. We are also on Bluesky at ChristieTime.com. Our YouTube account is @Westmapod. Please subscribe to the podcast so you’re notified every time an episode drops. And do also stay subscribed to The Swinging Christies for monthly episodes over there! Please also consider giving us a star rating and/or reviewing us on your podcatcher of choice. Westmapod is a Christie Time project by Mark Aldridge and Gray Robert Brown. Artwork designed by Tom Double. 00:00:00 - Opening titles 00:01:03 - Introductory chat 00:06:41 - Unfinished Portrait 00:12:54 - The context of Unfinished Portrait 00:20:31 - The structure of Unfinished Portrait 00:30:41 - The autobiographical elements of Unfinished Portrait 01:04:18 - Art & Artistry 01:15:39 - A portrait of Dermot 01:28:45 - If you liked this, try that 01:16:02 - Who is Mary Westmacott? 01:33:29 - Next episode, how to get in touch, closing titles 01:36:36 - Coda
Spoilers, besides Unfinished Portrait - The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, Endless Night TW: discussions of coercive control and abusive relationships, suicide
More from Westmapod: Agatha Christie's Secret Identity
Join Mark and Gray as they reflect back on a wonderful season celebrating the Mary Westmacott books - the pseudonymous novels of Agatha Christie. Can they finally answer the question: who is Mary Westmacott? WE'VE WRITTEN A BOOK! You can pre-order The Swinging Christies: How Agatha Christie Conquered the 1960s NOW! Stay subscribed to the Westrmapod feed for potential bonus episodes… you never know…! You can find us on Instagram @Christie_Time. Our website is ChristieTime.com. We are also on Bluesky at ChristieTime.com. Our YouTube account is @Westmapod. Please subscribe to the podcast so you’re notified every time an episode drops. And do also stay subscribed to our other podcast, The Swinging Christies, for monthly episodes over there! Please also consider giving us a star rating and/or reviewing us on your podcatcher of choice. Westmapod is a Christie Time project by Mark Aldridge and Gray Robert Brown. Our artwork is designed by Tom Double. 00:00:00 - Opening titles 00:01:15 - Introductory chat 00:03:56 - Our reflections 00:20:15 - The return of the MAILBAG! 00:54:20 - Who is Mary Westmacott? 01:01:00 - Pre-order our book, how to get in touch, closing titles 01:03:51 - Coda Spoilers - all the Mary Westmacotts!
It’s the sixth and final Mary Westmacott novel: The Burden. (But not the final Westmapod episode, so stay subscribed!) Join Gray and Mark as they unburden themselves of their thoughts about the experience of reading this startling hidden gem of a novel! What a way to close out a run of exceptional writing from Mary Westmacott, aka Agatha Christie. We’re not done yet! We’ll be reconvening for a special Reflections episode where we’ll be taking stock of all six books and reading and responding to our listener messages. So do get in touch ahead of our Reflections episode, which will drop in due course... WE'VE WRITTEN A BOOK! You can pre-order The Swinging Christies: How Agatha Christie Conquered the 1960s NOW! You can find us on Instagram @Christie_Time. Our website is ChristieTime.com. We are also on Bluesky at ChristieTime.com. Our YouTube account is @Westmapod. Please subscribe to the podcast so you’re notified every time an episode drops. And do also stay subscribed to our other podcast, The Swinging Christies, for monthly episodes over there! Please also consider giving us a star rating and/or reviewing us on your podcatcher of choice. Westmapod is a Christie Time project by Mark Aldridge and Gray Robert Brown. Our artwork is designed by Tom Double. 00:00:00 - Opening titles 00:01:11 - Introductory chat 00:03:34 - The Burden 00:04:02 - The context of The Burden 00:21:45 - The structure of The Burden 00:33:55 - Autobiographical elements 00:52:16 - Laura’s story 01:04:57 - Llewwelyn’s story 01:13:33 - If you liked this, try that 01:18:11 - Next episode, how to get in touch, closing titles 01:21:10 - Coda
It's a special bonus episode! A Daughter’s A Daughter - good novel, even better play? In a Westmapod first we’re discussing the original play version of A Daughter’s A Daughter, written by Agatha Christie, and how that became a Mary Westmacott novel. Join Mark and Gray as they investigate what changes were made, and what this play teaches us about who ‘Mary Westmacott’ truly is… Read along with us! Each episode drops fortnightly, on Tuesdays. You have until Tuesday 23 June 2026 to read the play script of A Daughter’s A Daughter, and until Tuesday 7 July 2026 to read the final Mary Westmacott novel: The Burden! WE'VE WRITTEN A BOOK! You can pre-order The Swinging Christies: How Agatha Christie Conquered the 1960s NOW! You can find us on Instagram @Christie_Time. Our website is ChristieTime.com. We are also on Bluesky at ChristieTime.com. Our YouTube account is @Westmapod. Please subscribe to the podcast so you’re notified every time an episode drops. And do also stay subscribed to our other podcast, The Swinging Christies, for monthly episodes over there! Please also consider giving us a star rating and/or reviewing us on your podcatcher of choice. Westmapod is a Christie Time project by Mark Aldridge and Gray Robert Brown. Our artwork is designed by Tom Double. 00:00:00 - Opening titles 00:01:20 - Introductory chat 00:04:35 - A Daughter’s A Daughter play 00:05:23 - The context of A Daughter’s A Daughter play 00:24:05 - The differences between A Daughter’s A Daughter play and novel 00:41:40 - A Westmacott stage trilogy? 00:46:34 - If you liked this, try that 00:48:00 - Next episode, how to get in touch, closing titles 00:50:35 - Coda
Mark and Gray are back! And this time they’re discussing the fifth and penultimate Mary Westmacott novel, A Daughter’s A Daughter. Is this the most Agatha Christie-ish of the Mary Westmacotts? Was Agatha inspired by her real family life for this novel? At the end of the day, a daughter’s a daughter, Mark’s Mark, and Gray’s Gray! Read along with us! Each episode drops fortnightly, on Tuesdays. You have until Tuesday 23 June 2026 to read the play script of A Daughter’s A Daughter, and until Tuesday 7 July 2026 to read the final Mary Westmacott novel: The Burden! WE'VE WRITTEN A BOOK! You can pre-order The Swinging Christies: How Agatha Christie Conquered the 1960s NOW! You can find us on Instagram @Christie_Time. Our website is ChristieTime.com. We are also on Bluesky at ChristieTime.com. Our YouTube account is @Westmapod. Please subscribe to the podcast so you’re notified every time an episode drops. And do also stay subscribed to our other podcast, The Swinging Christies, for monthly episodes over there! Please also consider giving us a star rating and/or reviewing us on your podcatcher of choice. Westmapod is a Christie Time project by Mark Aldridge and Gray Robert Brown. Our artwork is designed by Tom Double. 00:00:00 - Opening titles 00:01:03 - Introductory chat and discussion of Mark’s book covers 00:03:40 - A Daughter’s A Daughter 00:04:04 - The context of A Daughter’s A Daughter 00:24:48 - The structure of A Daughter’s A Daughter 00:39:01 - Autobiographical elements of A Daughter's A Daughter 00:50:39 - Familial love 01:09:11 - Romantic love 01:21:18 - If you liked this, try that 01:23:30 - Who is Mary Westmacott? 01:28:32 - Next episode, how to get in touch, closing titles 01:31:50 - Coda Spoilers, besides A Daughter’s A Daughter - A Pocket Full of Rye
Mark and Gray head to St Loo (or its possible real-life counterpart, Torquay in Devon!) to discuss The Rose and the Yew Tree. This is the fourth Mary Westmacott novel - and the secret is out! The world finally finds out who Mary Westmacott really is. So where does Agatha Christie go from here? Is this the end of the road for Mary Westmacott…? Read along with us! Each episode drops fortnightly, on Tuesdays. You have until Tuesday 9 June 2026 to read book 5, A Daughter’s A Daughter! WE'VE WRITTEN A BOOK! You can pre-order The Swinging Christies: How Agatha Christie Conquered the 1960s NOW! You can find us on Instagram @Christie_Time. Our website is ChristieTime.com. We are also on Bluesky at ChristieTime.com. Our YouTube account is @Westmapod. Please subscribe to the podcast so you’re notified every time an episode drops. And do also stay subscribed to our other podcast, The Swinging Christies, for monthly episodes over there! Please also consider giving us a star rating and/or reviewing us on your podcatcher of choice. Westmapod is a Christie Time project by Mark Aldridge and Gray Robert Brown. 00:00:00 - Opening titles 00:01:06 - Introductory chat 00:03:16 - The Rose and the Yew Tree 00:03:38 - The context of The Rose and the Yew Tree 00:25:32 - The structure of The Rose and the Yew Tree 00:43:37 - The autobiographical elements of The Rose and the Yew Tree 00:54:19 - Politics and Politicking 01:07:08 - Finally, a romance? 01:25:21 - If you liked this, try that 01:28:55 - Who is Mary Westmacott? 01:32:38 - Next episode, how to get in touch, closing titles 01:35:12 - Coda