A Special Christmas Episode: Promotion in the Highest by Agatha Christie Mallowan (with Rev. Dr. Sarah Hinlicky Wilson). . . and Some Holiday Poems, Too!
All About Agatha ChristieShow Notes
It's always a joy to have the Reverend Doctor Sarah Hinlicky Wilson on the show to explain to us what the heck Agatha Christie Mallowan is getting at in the extremely personal and extremely Christian short stories she wrote within her Star Over Bethlehem and Other Stories collection. Happy holidays to all who celebrate; we certainly know that Agatha Christie did! Please note there are a few minor spoilers for Passenger to Frankfurt littered throughout our discussion, which I did not note at the top of the episode. But there is an argument to be made that this novel is un-spoilable, since it barely makes any sense.... (I get to be cheeky around the holidays.) You can pre-order Loose Lips, the second book in my Ghostwriter Mysteries series, here in the United States. Come see me on tour for Loose Lips, starting in a few short weeks! Visit my website for more details. To visit and subscribe to the podcast's Patreon page (a subscription is the perfect holiday gift!), click here. Check out all that Sarah Hinlicky Wilson is up to (it's a lot!). Her website is here, and you can visit her podcast, Queen of the Sciences, here. You can also check out her substack here. I also mentioned two previous articles Sarah has written, which I believe every Christie fanatic should read for the insights they provide: "Miss Marple's Low Anthropology" and "Agatha Christie, A Very Elusive Christian." Visit the podcast on Twitter and Instagram. Visit me personally on Facebook at Kemper Donovan Books, or at my author website. And you can of course still buy my debut mystery novel, The Busy Body, at your bookseller of choice (make it an indie if you possibly can) in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia and New Zealand.
More from All About Agatha Christie
How did it take this long for me to clip from Fawlty Towers on one of my episodes recorded in Torquay?! Thank goodness for Dr. Mark Aldridge and Gray Robert Brown, who were kind enough to come on for another crossover episode, this time with their latest podcast project, Westmapod, focused on the works of Mary Westmacott. It was such a joy to rank all six of the Mary Westmacotts with them for this episode, and I can't wait to have them on again--no matter the topic.
It's the most wonderful time of the year: when I get to catch up with Christie fans, scholars, and friends, and debate questions such as which among all of Agatha Christie's narrators is the best. I had so much fun! Thank you again to my co-panelists Tina Hodgkinson, Brad Friedman, Dr. Jamie Bernthal-Hooker, and Victoria Dowd.
It is time to revisit a crown jewel! I hope you enjoy this trip down memory lane, as Catherine Brobeck and I dissect The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. I look forward to discussing this title--and others--at this year's upcoming Agatha Christie Festival.
In my other job dedicated to the pursuit of fictional mysteries, I've been making the rounds at bookstores around the country to discuss my third mystery novel, Sweet Spot, which came out earlier this summer. I hope you enjoy this live recording of my event at East End Books in Provincetown. Special thanks to Jeff Peters for hosting me!
I have wanted to air my thoughts on Christie's denouements for quite some time now. I'm so happy finally to be sharing them with you all.