Welcome Author Kate Gingold with Agatha Annotated and a #Giveaway

Recently, I attended a presentation author Kate Gingold did at the Key West Library and was immediately smitten with her project, Agatha Annotated. Kate has investigaged everything in Agatha Christie books that modern American readers might not understand, including

British period slangPoirot’s French phrasesExplanations of etiquette and customs of the timeReferences to places that maybe don’t even exist anymore (or don’t have the same names).Historical references, including the details of WWI that Christie’s original audience would have recognized by reference but require more context 100+ years later.

Kate has compiled all of this for Christie’s books written during the 1920s in Agatha Annotated: Investigating the Books of the 1920s. Kate’s work is available in print, fully linked on Kindle, and online via subscription. Kate is offering an exciting giveaway to three lucky commenters below.

In her post below, Kate gives us some insight into her process and investigations. Take it away, Kate!

Reading Christie Like a Flapper

As a mystery lover, nothing’s better than a vintage Agatha Christie novel, but as a history lover, niggling details kept interrupting my reading. After all, her first novels were written over one hundred years ago. Few people today keep a tantalus in the house, play Bolster Bar, or know how to make medlar jelly.  

After looking up some of these details for myself, it occurred to me that other Christie fans might appreciate knowing them, too, so I started seriously working on the glossary I call Agatha Annotated. I re-read all of the 1920s books and wrote down quotations, references, French words – anything that I thought might be unfamiliar to someone in the new millennium.  

Many of the words and phrases I noted were easy to define, but some took me down deep rabbit holes. The internet, of course, has revolutionized research, allowing me to read books or newspapers shelved in libraries half a world away, and putting me in touch with experts in an astonishing number of fields.

As an example, in The Secret Adversary, Julius Hersheimmer gives a supper at the Savoy Hotel for Tommy, Tuppence, and his cousin, Jane. I wondered: Why supper and not dinner? Where was this private room? What kind of meal did “carte blanche” provide?

A little research told me that “dinner” was served earlier in the day because it took a lot of work to prepare and clean up. Still, late-night meals were popular among the upper class after attending an evening’s entertainment such as the theater. One didn’t hold these less formal meals at home, however, because it was an imposition on one’s servants. Instead, one hosted friends at a hotel restaurant.

The Savoy Hotel, adjacent to the Savoy Theatre, the home of Gilbert and Sullivan, offered three private supper rooms in the 1920s, all named for operettas. While changes have been made in the last hundred years, the Savoy still has those three rooms. The Savoy also has their own archivist on staff.

Rawpixel photo: In a Restaurant (1924) by Bernard, Poiret, Armand, Rijksmuseum; Free CC0 Image

Susan Scott, the archivist, was one of the experts I talked with over email. I shared with her a menu I found in the collection of the New York Public Library. It was for a 1927 banquet in honor of Charles Lindbergh. Susan enjoyed perusing it and pointed out that Lindbergh’s dinner was on “a bit of a budget” because “there is only one soup.” Julius’ supper would have been even grander!

Even so, the Lindbergh menu served thirteen courses, all with French names that I needed to translate. One of my favorites is “Gerbes de Lauris, Sauce Divine” which translates as “Sheaves from Lauris with Divine Sauce.” I learned Lauris is a town in Provence known for growing asparagus, the “sheaves,” and Divine Sauce is made with lemon and sherry. Doesn’t that sound delicious?

All my research was collected in an online database and also published as Agatha Annotated: Investigating the Books of the 1920s. These tidbits of history help me and, hopefully, fellow Agatha Christie fans, appreciate Christie’s books just like flappers did a hundred years ago. 

Next, I’m working on publishing the public domain novels with annotations from my glossary and trying to decide whether it’s better to have footnotes or endnotes.

Readers: Do you prefer looking for notes on the bottom of the page or finding them all together at the back of the book? Share your opinion and three lucky commenters will be chosen at random to receive their own copy of The Mysterious Affair at Styles (Agatha Annotated), an ePub of Dame Agatha’s first work with terms linked to pop-up definitions from Kate’s glossary. (If you’re not feeling lucky, it’s also available for Kindle on Amazon!) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CT8G15X3

About Kate Gingold

Kate Gingold loves sharing odd snippets of history. Her first book, a “Little House” version of Chicago-area settlers, was honored by the Illinois State Historical Society. Newly released is the glossary, Agatha Annotated: Investigating the Books of the 1920s. When not researching and writing about history, Kate runs a web development company with her husband and blogs about digital marketing.
Website URL: https://agathaannotated.com
Social Media Handles:
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/KateGingoldAuthor
LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/kategingold/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kategingoldauthor/
Twitter:  @KateGingold

About Agatha Annotated: Investigating the Books of the 1920s

Agatha Annotated: Investigating the Books of the 1920s is a comprehensive glossary covering the first decade of Agatha Christie’s mysteries with over 1800 terms, nearly 200 illustrations, and eleven “closer looks” on topics drawn from the novels to add new layers of enjoyment to these beloved stories.  

Buy Link: https://www.amazon.com/Agatha-Annotated-Investigating-Historical-References/dp/0979241960/