Stevyn Colgan's Blog, page 6
January 25, 2018
Five, Four, Three, Two, One ... It's PUBLICATION DAY!
It's here at last! Publication day for
A Murder To Die For.
And on the birthday of such notables as Virginia Woolf, W Somerset Maughan, Etta James, John Cooper Clarke, Tobe Hooper and, of course, Robert Burns. The 25th January is also the day on which Leo Tolstoy, in 1851, wrote in his diary:
'Bought a horse which I don't need at all.'
I hope no one ever writes that about my book.
And so to my final murder-mystery countdown trivia fact ...
Countdown Fact #1: Agatha Christie was once investigated as a spy.
There are so many fascinating things to say about the Queen of Crime. We could talk about her mysterious disappearance in 1926. Or the fact that she's sold over two billion books and wrote the longest running play of all time - The Mouse Trap. Incidentally, did you know that one actor has appeared in every performance of the play since it began its run in 1952? The late Deryck Guyler can still be heard, via a recording, reading the radio news bulletin to this present day.
But the story I love is one that I discovered when working on the book Saving Bletchley Park with Dr Sue Black OBE. Here's an extract from the book:
'In November 1941, Bletchley Park experienced something of a panic. The cause, as unlikely as it sounds, was a new detective novel called N or M, written by the world’s greatest crime-novelist, Agatha Christie. In the book, her plucky heroes Tommy and Tuppence, are on the trail of Nazi spies working inside Britain. That, in itself, was hardly a problem for the staff of Station X. However, when this paragraph appeared at the end of Chapter 1, all kinds of alarms went off:
“I always introduce my guests," said Mrs Perenna, beaming determinedly at the suspicious glares of five people. "This is our new arrival, Mr Meadowes - Mrs O'Rourke." A terrifying mountain of a woman with beady eyes and a moustache gave him a beaming smile. "Major Bletchley." Major Bletchley eyed Tommy appraisingly and made a stiff inclination of the head.
Mention of the name Bletchley in a book about spies was just too worrying a coincidence. To make matters worse, it was known that Christie was friends with Dilly Knox. MI5 immediately opened an investigation and sent agents to see Knox, suspecting that someone had perhaps been talking a little too openly about the work going on at BP. However, Knox was convinced that this was not the case and agreed to sound her out. He therefore invited Christie to his home in Naphill in Buckinghamshire and, over tea and scones, asked why she had named her character Major Bletchley. She replied, ‘Bletchley? My dear, I was stuck there on my way by train from Oxford to London and took revenge by giving the name to one of my least loveable characters'.’
Interesting, eh? As it happens, it is believed by many that Christie may also have got the name for her amateur lady sleuth from another train station - Marple, near Stockport.
So there you go, my final countdown fact. I hope you've enjoyed them.
A Murder To Die For is in the shops NOW and available to order online from all sites where books are sold.
The sequel, The Diabolical Club , is currently funding and needs your help. Please consider backing it here.
'Bought a horse which I don't need at all.'
I hope no one ever writes that about my book.
And so to my final murder-mystery countdown trivia fact ...
Countdown Fact #1: Agatha Christie was once investigated as a spy.
There are so many fascinating things to say about the Queen of Crime. We could talk about her mysterious disappearance in 1926. Or the fact that she's sold over two billion books and wrote the longest running play of all time - The Mouse Trap. Incidentally, did you know that one actor has appeared in every performance of the play since it began its run in 1952? The late Deryck Guyler can still be heard, via a recording, reading the radio news bulletin to this present day.
But the story I love is one that I discovered when working on the book Saving Bletchley Park with Dr Sue Black OBE. Here's an extract from the book:
'In November 1941, Bletchley Park experienced something of a panic. The cause, as unlikely as it sounds, was a new detective novel called N or M, written by the world’s greatest crime-novelist, Agatha Christie. In the book, her plucky heroes Tommy and Tuppence, are on the trail of Nazi spies working inside Britain. That, in itself, was hardly a problem for the staff of Station X. However, when this paragraph appeared at the end of Chapter 1, all kinds of alarms went off:
“I always introduce my guests," said Mrs Perenna, beaming determinedly at the suspicious glares of five people. "This is our new arrival, Mr Meadowes - Mrs O'Rourke." A terrifying mountain of a woman with beady eyes and a moustache gave him a beaming smile. "Major Bletchley." Major Bletchley eyed Tommy appraisingly and made a stiff inclination of the head.
Mention of the name Bletchley in a book about spies was just too worrying a coincidence. To make matters worse, it was known that Christie was friends with Dilly Knox. MI5 immediately opened an investigation and sent agents to see Knox, suspecting that someone had perhaps been talking a little too openly about the work going on at BP. However, Knox was convinced that this was not the case and agreed to sound her out. He therefore invited Christie to his home in Naphill in Buckinghamshire and, over tea and scones, asked why she had named her character Major Bletchley. She replied, ‘Bletchley? My dear, I was stuck there on my way by train from Oxford to London and took revenge by giving the name to one of my least loveable characters'.’
Interesting, eh? As it happens, it is believed by many that Christie may also have got the name for her amateur lady sleuth from another train station - Marple, near Stockport.
So there you go, my final countdown fact. I hope you've enjoyed them.
A Murder To Die For is in the shops NOW and available to order online from all sites where books are sold.
The sequel, The Diabolical Club , is currently funding and needs your help. Please consider backing it here.
