Show Notes
At age 17, Ragnar Jonasson began translating Agatha Christie books into his native Icelandic. Years later, Ragnar is a crime writer himself, specialising in the region's beloved "Nordic Noir" genre, but he still loves Christie's work. Jonasson and host Rebecca Thandi Norman talk about Ragnar's work as a translator, why he loves the Poirot & Hastings combination, and what book took the longest to translate. They discuss Murder on the Links, a book that Ragnar has a special connection to, and why it's a charming example of Christie's early Poirots.
There is a partial spoiler for Lord Edgware Dies; one clue is partially revealed in a discussion of translation.
Find out more about Ragnar Jonasson: http://www.ragnarjonasson.com/ // https://www.instagram.com/ragnarjo/?hl=en
Our next book (and the final episode of season 2!) is At Bertram's Hotel: https://bookshop.org/a/87919/9780062073693
Have feedback for us? We'd love to hear from you! Email [email protected]. You can also follow us on Instagram at @teaandmurder. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
More from Tea & Murder: An Agatha Christie Podcast
Steven Garner, a legal translator also known for his Instagram account, @christie_in_translation, joins host Rebecca Thandi Norman to discuss the beloved Marple mystery 4:50 from Paddington. The two talk about why this is a great example of Jane Marple's personality, the character of Lucy Eyelesbarrow, and whether this would be an easy book to translate.
It's our third play on the podcast, and you know what? We should really do this more often. Host Rebecca Thandi Norman speaks with mystery writer Jamie West about Spider's Web, which is Christie's second-longest running play of all time. It quickly becomes clear why: it's funny, engaging, and exactly what you'd expect from a Christie: a twisty murder in the manor house on the English countryside. Jamie discusses how his work in the theatre led him to write his own mystery series, why Christie plays endure today, and what it is about this one that has always stuck out in his mind.
Writer, historian, and curator Subhadra Das has been exploring the connection between Golden Age detective fiction and eugenics. In this interview, she discusses the late Christie work, Elephants Can Remember. She and host Rebecca Thandi Norman address eugenics concepts across Christie's career, why Poirot would take this case, if "twin plots" ever really work, and which book Rebecca thought she was agreeing to before getting started (spoilers: it wasn't the right one!).
Ram Murali's debut novel, Death in the Air, is not only a fun and glamorous mystery set in an Indian hotel, it's also a love letter to Agatha Christie. Host Rebecca and Ram discuss homages to Christie's work, how characters are created, and the messy-but-sometimes-fun Death in the Clouds.
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