Agatha Christie Goes to War PDF
Preview Agatha Christie Goes to War
Agatha Christie Goes to War Agatha Christie has never been substantially considered as a war writer, even though war is a constant presence in her writing. This interdis- ciplinary collection of essays considers the effects of conflict, particu- larly the Second World War, on the social and psychological textures of Christie’s detective fiction and other writings, demonstrating not only Christie’s textual navigation of her contemporary surroundings and pol- itics, but also the value of her voice as a popular fiction writer reflecting popular concerns. Agatha Christie Goes to War introduces the “Queen of Crime” as an essential voice in the discussion of war, warfare, and twentieth century literature. Dr. Rebecca Mills is a lecturer at Bournemouth University. Dr. J.C. Bernthal is a guest lecturer at the University of Cambridge. Routledge Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Literature 100 Make it Work 20th Century American Fiction and Fashion Jan Ellyn Goggans 101 Haunted Europe Continental Connections in English-Language Gothic Writing, Film and New Media Edited by Evert Jan Van Leeuwen and Michael Newton 102 Challenging Memories and Rebuilding Identities Literary and Artistic Voices that undo the Lusophone Atlantic Edited by Margarida Rendeiro and Federica Lupati 103 Literature with a White Helmet The Textual-Corporeality of Being, Becoming, and Representing Refugees Lava Asaad 104 The Birth of Intertextuality The Riddle of Creativity Scarlett Baron 105 Doubles and Hybrids in Latin American Gothic Edited by Antonio Alcalá and Ilse Bussing 106 The Feminist Architecture of Postmodern Anti-Tales Space, Time and Bodies Kendra Reynolds 107 Agatha Christie Goes to War Edited by Rebecca Mills and J.C. Bernthal For more information about this series, please visit: https://www.routledge.com Agatha Christie Goes to War Edited by Rebecca Mills and J.C. Bernthal First published 2020 by Routledge 52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017 and by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2020 Taylor & Francis The right of Rebecca Mills and J.C. Bernthal to be identified as the authors of the editorial material, and of the authors for their individual chapters, has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Library of Congress Control Number: 2019951961 ISBN: 978-0-367-20852-3 (hbk) ISBN: 978-0-367-85518-5 (ebk) Typeset in Sabon by codeMantra The editors would like to dedicate Agatha Christie Goes to War to the Agatha Christie Conference once and future regulars. Contents Acknowledgments ix Introduction 1 J.C. BERNTHAL AND REBECCA MILLS 1 Mapping War, Planning Peace: Miss Marple and the Evolving Village Space, 1930–1962 11 SARAH MARTIN AND SALLY WEST 2 Christie’s Wartime Hero: Peacetime Killer 28 PAULA BOWLES 3 Writing through War: Narrative Structure and Authority in Christie’s Second World War Novels 46 BRITTAIN BRIGHT 4 Taking on Hitler: Agatha Christie’s Wartime Thrillers 63 MERJA MAKINEN 5 “When She Eats She Will Die”: Informal Meals and Social Change in Sad Cypress and “And Then There Were None” 81 J.C. BERNTHAL 6 “A Worrying, Nerve-Wracked World”: Agatha Christie’s Emergence as a Playwright during and after the Second World War 95 JULIUS GREEN 7 “There Are Things One Doesn’t Forget”: The Second World War in “Three Blind Mice” and The Mousetrap 109 FEDERICA CRESCENTINI viii Contents 8 Displaced Persons: A Murder Is Announced and the Condition of Postwar England 124 CHRISTOPHER YIANNITSAROS 9 Detecting the Blitz: Memory and Trauma in Christie’s Postwar Writings 137 REBECCA MILLS 10 “The Thrill When It Suddenly Went Pitch Black!”: Blackout Cultures in A Murder Is Announced and The Mousetrap 155 ROGER DALRYMPLE Notes on Contributors 167 Index 171 Acknowledgments The editors would like to thank the following Christie fans and schol- ars in particular for their support, enthusiasm, and inspiration during the process of devising and collecting this volume: Gill Plain, Merja Makinen, Mia Dormer, Mark Aldridge, Sarah Martin, and Tina Hodgkinson. We would like to thank all of our contributors for their patience and support, as well as their thoughtful and insightful essays. We also owe many thanks to Jennifer Abbott, Mitchell Manners, and the team at Routledge. Jamie would like to thank Alan Bernthal-Hooker, and Rebecca would like to thank her family, as always, and Max Gee, Bronwen Thomas, Sam Goodman, and the rest of the W322 crew at Bournemouth University. Jamie wishes to thank Rebecca, the perfect partner in crime, and Rebecca wishes to thank Jamie for his kindness, friendship, and collab- oration since they first met while she was nervously waiting for her viva in 2014.
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