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No, no, that's not really the example I meant to give. But seeing as how it is Monday, such a delightful diversion is not to be wasted...Seriously, though. I had an Agatha Christie book sitting on my bookshelf and decided to finally pick it up a few weeks ago. I was instantly hooked. I had never before read a Christie novel and this one just happened to be a Miss Marple mystery, A Murder Is Announced. I eagerly went through the pages, enjoying how the prim and proper spinster figured out the clues and discovered who the murderer was. But even more, I loved Christie's writing. She portrayed a small English village and its inhabitants so well that I became completely enamored of this world. And even better? Since many of the novels are set in the 1930s through the 1950s, I am able to pick up some of the slang, fashion, social mores, etc. of the time which is terrific research for my own novels.
I've since read a few more Miss Marple novels and I'm off to the library today to pick up yet another. I tried reading Murder on the Orient Express with her other famous detective, Hercule Poirot, but I couldn't get into it. It didn't have the same feel as the Miss Marple stories. But I'm willing to give some of the other Poirot novels another shot.Now I'm wondering what other well-known authors I've neglected all these years. It does truly amaze me how I have eschewed some of these classic writers for so long. But there's no time like the present to remedy that error.
Have you "discovered" some of the masters recently or, unlike me, you've been a fan all along?
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I love the Golden Age of Mystery! If you're enjoying Agatha, be sure to try Josephine Tey, Dorothy Parker (I think you'd love Lord Peter Wimsey) and Ngaio Marsh. All set around the same time and masterfully plotted. ;)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the heads up, Robin! I'll be sure to check them out.
ReplyDeleteJack London of late. How could I have overlooked this guy? :-) Good and wild stuff.
ReplyDeleteThere's another one I haven't read, Rebecca!
ReplyDeleteI know it took me way too long to pick up Jane Austen. I don't know what I was was thinking.
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorite Miss Marple stories is Sleeping Murder. Murder on the Orient Express is the only Agatha Christie I figured out before it was revealed at the end - I was pretty proud of myself for that ;)
I actually figured out The Mirror Crack'd because I knew some obscure knowledge about a movie star (Gene Tierney). My useless knowledge came in handy for once!
ReplyDeleteI read Agatha Christie for the first time last year and wondered why it had taken me so long do to so.
ReplyDeleteOh, uh, did you write something? My brain froze at Daniel Craig :)
ReplyDeleteI've discovered many classics as an adult. Every year, I read several different classic authors. Some I like, some I don't, but I always learn something!
Debs - Yay, I'm not alone! Are you enjoying them?
ReplyDeleteJill - I had to throw in that pic of Daniel. It's too good not to.
;-)
I don't read the masters probably because I am trying so hard to keep up with what's new out there! It's hard to do that so you are a better reader than I am:)
ReplyDeleteThere is so much new that I want to read, I have a hard time looking to the past. I can download some of the oldies on my Kindle for free so I'm going to try and read the classics from the 19th century.
ReplyDeleteHey Melissa. I have bestowed upon you The Kreativ Blogger Award. :-)
ReplyDeleteTerri - It's definitely a balancing act between the new and the old for me.
ReplyDeleteGood goal, Rene.
Rebecca - Thanks!