strange and random happenstance

In 2014 the BBC successfully moved to acquire the rights to Agatha Christie's estate. Since then they have made nine adaptations. I actually couldn't bring myself to watch John Malkovich as Poirot so I can't pass judgement on it, but of the rest, two are fabulous, one is acceptable, and the rest are too painful to watch. In fact I couldn't even finish Partners in Crime it was so bad. AND they're redoing it with Conchita's husband from The Buccaneers who I've seen no evidence of acting ability from. Just hell no. There's only one Tommy and Tuppence and that's James Warwick and Francesca Annis. And while I'm at it, no one asked for that sex scene in The Witness for the Prosecution. NO ONE! I'm not saying that ITV wasn't guilty of crimes against Christie, they just weren't so consistently criminal. Plus, David Suchet! He IS Poirot and forever will be no matter what Kenneth Branagh thinks in his fever dreamed mind. Though one perfect show is almost worth the trade-off of all this dreck. And Then There Were None I have to say, from my point of view, is sheer perfection, but Towards Zero comes damn close. Though fans of ITV's Marple might find it a tad familiar. As Angelica Huston, in her first onscreen role in five years, looked out at a dead body being pulled out of the water while bemoaning the stupidity of man and rip tides I realized that I had indeed seen an adaptation of this mystery before. Back when Marple was gleefully pillaging all of Christie's back catalog this was adapted with added Marple and Greg Wise. And yes, it's because he wears a swimsuit that I connected the dots. But that's beside the point. The point is, I got see murder and mayhem with simply gorgeous dresses all at Tony Baddingham's house. Yes, Tony Baddingham from Rivals. Neston Park in Wiltshire has been in A LOT of shows lately. Or at least all the shows I've been watching. What makes this so good is the perfection of the casting, Oliver Jackson-Cohen is so so good and being bad. It's nice to see Jack Farthing being pitiable again. Anjana Vasan is the only answer I will accept for their being a season four of Killing Eve. I will watch Matthew Rhys as a hapless detective in anything! But most of all, there's Ella Lily Hyland. She's playing the first wife of Nevile Strange who is plotting to frame her for his crimes as revenge for leaving him. Ella Lily Hyland came to my attention in the highly lauded, but in actuality completely absurd, Black Doves. If while watching that show you wondered if everyone was a spy the answer is yes. Yes they are. But Ella Lily Hyland played Williams someone who changes alliances easily and loves a girl with a rocket launcher. In other words, she and Gabrielle Creevy as Eleanor should have been the stars of the show, not those nobodies, what's their names again? Oh yeah, Keira Knightley and Ben Whishaw. I'm sorry, I just had to make the joke. Anyway, Ella Lily Hyland, an amazing actress, is totally going to be a star, she's the one to watch. As is this adaptation. Damn. Murder and elegance, what's not to love?

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Agatha Christie, And the Emmy Goes To, And Then There Were None, Angelica Huston, Anjana Vasan, Black Doves, David Suchet, Ella Lily Hyland, Greg Wise, Kenneth Branagh, Matthew Rhys, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Poirot, Towards Zero

Baring A Christmas Carol, Great Expectations is probably Charles Dickens most adapted story. Pip growing up and becoming disillusioned with the world has played out time and time again. And I have never really liked a single one of them. Pip, whether played by actors I love like Ioan Gruffudd or those I respect like Michael York, has always struck me as a prissy prig. He's holier than thou and thinks he has some divine right to the life he's been given. In my opinion the world would have been a lot better off without Pip in it. So how did Steven Knight trick me into watching another adaptation other than being Steven Knight? Matt Berry. That's right folks, I watched this entire adaptation just to see Matt Berry's backside. I didn't know I'd get to see his backside, it was just an amusing bonus. Though even if I hadn't tuned in for Matt Berry I would have been sad to have missed this adaptation because it is the best "adaptation" of Great Expectations ever. The quotes are there because while much was made in the press about Matt Berry's backside being supported by the text, the truth of the matter is Steven Knight kind of threw the text out the window. Of the three "stages" of Pip's life the first one is the only one to actually remain true in this telling, after that it's a free for all. And I for one am here for it! Miss Havisham obviously holding a quartet captive in her house since her wedding day so she can have mood music wherever she wants? While I'm only positing that that is how they're there, I am so here for this that I can't tell you how much I loved it. The fact that Miss Havisham gets to live AND give Pip a parting shot worthy of any eighties action star? Oh yes, more of this, this is the Miss Havisham of Jasper Fforde! Lord Larys leaving the Red Keep to disgustingly sniff snuff? I didn't know Matthew Needham was so comically gifted! But above all what makes this entire adaptation work is that Steven Knight was obviously sick of waiting around on Tom Hardy to make season two of Taboo, AKA the best television series that has ever been created, and decided to make his version of Great Expectations into Taboo 2.0. This is literally Taboo minus Tim Hardy with a veneer of Dickens and Matt Berry. In fact, can someone check to see if Jaggers is wearing Tom Hardy's coat from Taboo? Because I have my suspicions. And specking of Jaggers, he really is the star of this adaptation, and that's saying something because David Suchet has also played this role. Jaggers brings to the fore all the issues that Steven Knight finds the 19th century plagued with that he obsessively explores; slavery, inequality, maritime law, and revenge. This might ostensibly be Pip's story, but Jaggers is the star. But the biggest question at the end of the day is how does Steven Knight make maritime law interesting? Because I assure you he does.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Adaptation, And the Emmy Goes To, Charles Dickens, David Suchet, Great Expectations, Ioan Gruffudd, Jaggers, Jasper Fforde, Maritime Law, Matt Berry, Matthew Needham, Michael York, Steven Knight, Taboo, Tom Hardy

Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz
Published by: Harper
Publication Date: October 6th, 2016
Format: Paperback, 498 Pages
Rating: ★★
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Editor Susan Ryeland has a bit of a problem. Alan Conway is a very successful author for her publishing house. Without him they'd be in serious trouble. As it is they've had a very rough year and his next book needs to be a success to stabilize everything. She's never much liked Alan, but there's no doubt that the reading public adores his Atticus Pünd series. It's classic golden age detection written today, with a deeply affecting and dark backstory for it's lead. The problem is his newest book, Magpie Murders, is missing the final chapters and Alan has committed suicide. Her boss Charles even receives Alan's suicide note in the mail. Susan knows how important this book is, not just to Alan's readers, but to her continued employment. Therefore she sets out to find the missing pages. But that's when things get weird. Alan's home turns out to be the fictional Pye Hall where both deaths happened in his newest manuscript. What's more, everyone in Alan's life has a counterpart on the page. Alan's sister, his lover, his neighbor, even the vicar, everyone is somehow represented within the pages of his story. Which makes Susan wonder, what is really happening on these pages? Could they be hiding a secret? Did Alan even kill himself? Perhaps it was murder! Alan seemed to really rub everyone the wrong way. When events start to happen just like they did in the book, Susan wonders what is really going on. There are some deep and disturbing secrets held within the pages of Alan's work. He was a vindictive man who wanted not just fame but prestige. He was wasted on golden age procedurals, at least in his mind, and he amused himself in very spiteful ways. If she can solve the crimes in the manuscript perhaps it will lead to solving the mystery of Alan. That or she's out of a job. At least her boyfriend would be happy. He wants to whisk her off to a Greek isle to help his cousin run a hotel. But Susan, the woman who could never guess whodunit, wants to solve the case, even if it costs her her life.

If there's one thing that Anthony Horowitz knows it's murder. Which might actually be my issue with this book. It's not that it's not deftly plotted and keeps you on your toes, it's that with Susan, an editor who can never guess whodunit, we have a character who has to give us "teaching moments" about writers and television shows, most of which Horowitz has written for, and I just felt like it was condescending while at the same time insulting Susan's, and the readers, intelligence. But Susan is a whole other problem I don't know if I feel like getting into. If you picked up this book because of Horowitz, you know what he's written, you know that Atticus Pünd is going to be a pitch perfect Germanic cousin to Poirot because Horowitz adapted eleven episodes for David Suchet. And so he is. There is no doubt of the bona fides here. And yes, you could say that it's done tongue firmly in cheek, like with his Hawthorne and Horowitz series where he has gone so far as to make himself an actual character in his books, but it just didn't feel that way to me. Perhaps it was just that Alan Conway is so full of himself and such a pompous ass that that superiority of being seeps into the whole book and it just gives off a smugness that I just don't care for. I don't know if it's that Horowitz is actually that smug about his career, or that I'm misreading it. I just felt like this book was in may face. It was at me trying to get it's point across. What was that point? Well, it's interesting in that it seems that Horowitz thinks authors have a duty of care towards their readers and that they shouldn't betray their trust. I totally agree with him here, it just could have been presented in a different manner. In fact, the number one thing I kept thinking about, as he'd name dropped her a few times, is what does he think about J.K. Rowling's decent into TERFdom? Because she has totally betrayed her readers. And looking online I saw him tweet in defense of her and then try to reframe the narrative. So. Yeah.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Alan Conway, Anthony Horowitz, Atticus Pund, David Suchet, Editor, Hawthorne and Horowitz, J.K. Rowling, Magpie Murders, Manuscript, Murder, Murder Most Foul, Poirot, Roman A Clef, Suicide, Susan Ryeland, TERF

Every once in awhile you stumble on a miniseries that gives you a new perspective on an actor you love, like Hugh Bonneville's villainous turn in Daniel Deronda which I talked about last week. And every once in awhile you stumble on a miniseries where you fall in love with an actor previously unknown to you. But the rarest of the rare is when both these events happen within the same miniseries, and that's what happened when I first watched The Way We Live Now. Let's tackle a returning favorite first, David Suchet. David Suchet plays the indomitable Augustus Melmotte, a wealthy foreigner taking in interest in British Rail. Everybody knows Suchet as Poirot. I mean it's not just a role, he IS Poirot and I will fight anyone who disagrees. If you've watched any of the interviews or documentaries with him that often air on PBS it's amazing how unlike Poirot he is. He becomes the character created by Agatha Christie. Which is why his completely submerging himself into the roll of Melmotte shouldn't be a surprise, but it is. I mean I even saw him in The Importance of Being Earnest as Lady Bracknell and he was her! But I'd never searched out films or shows with him starring other than Poirot so The Way We Live Now opened my eyes to his range, his professionalism, and how I definitely need more of him in my life, hence my going to see The Importance of Being Earnest. And speaking of someone welcome in my life at ANY time, let's talk Matthew Macfadyen. Matthew Macfadyen plays Sir Felix Carbury, who is wooing Augustus Melmotte's daughter in a vain attempt to right his family's financial problems. Nowadays everyone knows Matthew as Mr. Darcy opposite Keira Knightly. Keep in mind that film was four years away from happening when I first watched The Way We Live Now. So I hunted up everything I could that Matthew starred in, which wasn't much at the time! Even Spooks was a year away! But thankfully there was Enigma, Murder Rooms, Wuthering Heights, the one with him having no lines, and maybe it's best to skip Maybe Baby. I was enamored of this English John Cusack as my friend Jess dubbed him. To this day I will watch him in anything! Though there are a few that I wish I could forget. Looking at you Any Human Heart!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Daniel Deronda, David Suchet, Fifty Years a Masterpiece, Hugh Bonneville, Matthew MacFadyen, Murder Rooms, Poirot, Pride and Prejudice, The Importance of Being Earnest, The Way We Live Now, Wuthering Heights

Wild Sign by Patricia Briggs
Published by: Ace
Publication Date: March 16th, 2021
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
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The official patter:
"Mated werewolves Charles Cornick and Anna Latham must discover what could make an entire community disappear - before it's too late - in this thrilling entry in the #1 New York Times bestselling Alpha and Omega series.

In the wilds of the Northern California mountains, all the inhabitants of a small town have gone missing. It's as if the people picked up and left their possessions behind. With a mystery on their hands and no jurisdiction on private property, the FBI dumps the whole problem in the lap of the land owner, Aspen Creek, Inc. - aka the business organization of the Marrok's pack.

Somehow, the pack of the Wolf Who Rules is connected to a group of vanished people. Werewolves Charles Cornick and Anna Latham are tasked with investigating, and soon find that a deserted town is the least of the challenges they face.

Death sings in the forest, and when it calls, Charles and Anna must answer. Something has awakened in the heart of the California mountains, something old and dangerous - and it has met werewolves before."

This must read installment in Briggs's Mercyverse should be subtitled "So many longstanding questions answered!" Seriously. So. Many.

What Abigail Did That Summer by Ben Aaronovitch
Published by: Subterranean Press
Publication Date: March 16th, 2021
Format: Hardcover, 232 Pages
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The official patter:
"Ghost hunter, fox whisperer, troublemaker. It is the summer of 2013 and Abigail Kamara has been left to her own devices. This might, by those who know her, be considered a mistake. While her cousin, police constable and apprentice wizard Peter Grant, is off in the sticks chasing unicorns Abigail is chasing her own mystery. Teenagers around Hampstead Heath have been going missing but before the police can get fully engaged the teens return home - unharmed but vague about where they've been. Aided only by her new friend Simon, her knowledge that magic is real and a posse of talking foxes that think they're spies, Abigail must venture into the wilds of Hampstead to discover who is luring the teenagers and more importantly - why?"

I love it when Subterranean Press comes out with side volumes to series I love. Also look at the badge! It's so Moonrise Kingdom!

Mike Mignola: The Quarantine Sketchbook by Mike Mignola
Published by: Dark Horse Books
Publication Date: March 16th, 2021
Format: Hardcover, 232 Pages
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The official patter:
"During the coronavirus quarantine, legendary Hellboy creator Mike Mignola posted original pencil sketches online and auctioned off the art to raise money for José Andres' World Central Kitchen. The sketches went viral and were the talk of the comics internet.

Now those sketches are published in print for the first time, with all profits going to the World Central Kitchen.

This new, oversized hardcover collection is a must have for Mignola readers and art fans alike. The book features an introduction by Mignola, alongside sketches of Hellboy, beloved and unexpected pop culture characters, macabre chess pieces, gothic vegetable creatures, strange vampires, and more."

It's like win win here, I love Mike Mignola and I love chef José Andres!

Carmen and the House That Gaudi Built by Susan Hughes and Marianne Ferrer
Published by: Owlkids
Publication Date: March 16th, 2021
Format: Hardcover, 32 Pages
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The official patter:
"A joyful celebration of the nature-inspired work of architect Antoni Gaud.

Carmen Batll and Dragon, her imaginary salamander friend, love exploring the woods behind their home. But when Carmen's family announces a move to the city, Carmen is miserable. Not only will she lose her connection to nature, she will also lose Dragon. After all, the city is no place for salamanders.

As she watches her family's new house take shape under famous architect Antoni Gaud, Carmen discovers Gaud also has a passion for the natural world. Walls curve and rise like a cave, mosaic flooring sparkles like lilies on a pond, and a fireplace shaped like a mushroom keeps the house warm. Best of all, there's even a place for Dragon

Inspired by the real Batll family and the house Gaud designed for them, this picture book encourages readers to find inspiration in their surroundings and keep their hearts open to change. Stunning watercolor illustrations bring Gaud 's inventive designs to life. An author's note provides more information about the real story behind the house and Gaud 's lifelong passion for nature."

I love it when artists are celebrated by other artists in other mediums, it's just so much artistic love!

A Tapestry of Light by Kimberly Duffy
Published by: Bethany House Publishers
Publication Date: March 16th, 2021
Format: Hardcover, 432 Pages
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The official patter:
"Calcutta, 1886.

Ottilie Russell is adrift between two cultures, British and Indian, belonging to both and neither. In order to support her little brother, Thaddeus, and her grandmother, she relies upon her skills in beetle-wing embroidery that have been passed down to her through generations of Indian women.

When a stranger appears with the news that Thaddeus is now Baron Sunderson and must travel to England to take his place as a nobleman, Ottilie is shattered by the secrets that come to light. Despite her growing friendship with Everett Scott, friend to Ottilie's English grandmother and aunt, she refuses to give up her brother. Then tragedy strikes, and she is forced to make a decision that will take Thaddeus far from death and herself far from home.

But betrayal and loss lurk in England, too, and soon Ottilie must fight to ensure Thaddeus doesn't forget who he is, as well as find a way to stitch a place for herself in this foreign land."

Yes, this has so many of the things I love in a book, but the uniqueness of the beetle-wing embroidery is what made it stand out. 

The Whispering House by Elizabeth Brooks
Published by: Tin House Books
Publication Date: March 16th, 2021
Format: Paperback, 388 Pages
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The official patter:
"From the acclaimed author of The Orphan of Salt Winds.

It was like holding a couple of jigsaw pieces in my palm, knowing there was a whole picture to be made, if I could only find the rest.

Freya Lyell is struggling to move on from her sister Stella’s death five years ago. Visiting the bewitching Byrne Hall, only a few miles from the scene of the tragedy, she discovers a portrait of Stella - a portrait she had no idea existed, in a house Stella never set foot in. Or so she thought.

Driven to find out more about her sister’s secrets, Freya is drawn into the world of Byrne Hall and its owners: charismatic artist Cory and his sinister, watchful mother. But as Freya lingers in this mysterious, centuries-old house, her relationship with Cory crosses the line into obsession and the darkness behind the locked doors of the estate threatens to spill out.

In prose as lush and atmospheric as Byrne Hall itself, Elizabeth Brooks weaves a simmering, propulsive tale of art, sisterhood, and all-consuming love: the ways it can lead us toward tenderness, nostalgia, and longing, as well as shocking acts of violence."

Unknown portrait in mysterious manor house? Tell me more!

Not Yet Dark by Peter Robinson
Published by: William Morrow
Publication Date: March 16th, 2021
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
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The official patter:
"One of the world's greatest suspense writers returns with the 27th novel featuring the legendary detective Alan Banks in the mystery series Stephen King calls “the best now on the market.”

When property developer Connor Clive Blaydon is found dead, Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks and his Yorkshire team dive into the investigation. As luck would have it, someone had installed a cache of spy-cams all around his luxurious home. The team hope that they’ll find answers - and the culprit - among the video recordings.

Instead of discovering Connor’s murderer, however, the grainy and blurred footage reveals another crime: a brutal rape. If they can discover the woman’s identity, it could lead to more than justice for the victim; it could change everything the police think they know about Connor and why anyone would want him dead.

Meanwhile, tensions are rising between Banks and his friend, Zelda. A super recognizer - able to recognize faces significantly better than most people - Zelda is determined to bring the men who abused her to justice. But stirring up the murky waters of the past will put her in far greater danger than ever before, and Banks worries that he won’t be able to stop her from plunging too deep before it’s too late."

One my mom would have wanted to read. 

The Cook of the Halcyon by Andrea Camilleri
Published by: Penguin Books
Publication Date: March 16th, 2021
Format: Paperback, 256 Pages
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The official patter:
"The new novel in the transporting New York Times bestselling Inspector Montalbano mystery series.

Two deaths, the suicide a newly laid-off worker and an unscrupulous businessman found murdered, leads Inspector Montalbano to inspect the Halcyon, a nearly abandoned mysterious ship with no passengers."

Another one my mom would have been excited for. 

Behind the Lens: My Life by David Suchet
Published by: Constable
Publication Date: March 16th, 2021
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
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The official patter:
"In the early days of my career, I didn't think I stood a hope in hell. Look at me: I'm short, stocky, slightly overweight, deep of voice, passionate, dark haired, olive skinned, hardly your typical Englishman. What chance did I have, going into the world of British theatre?

David Suchet has been a stalwart of British stage and screen for fifty years. From Shakespeare to Oscar Wilde, Freud to Poirot, Edward Teller to Doctor Who, Harold Pinter to Terence Rattigan, Questions of Faith to Decline and Fall, right up to 2019's The Price, David has done it all. Throughout this spectacular career, David has never been without a camera, enabling him to vividly document his life in photographs. Seamlessly combining photo and memoir, Behind the Lens is the story of David's remarkable life, showcasing his wonderfully evocative photographs and accompanied by his insightful and engaging commentary.

In Behind the Lens, David discusses his London upbringing and love of the city, his Jewish roots and how they have influenced his career, the importance of his faith, how he really feels about fame, his love of photography and music, and his processes as an actor. He looks back on his fifty-year career, including reflections on how the industry has changed, his personal highs and lows, and how he wants to be remembered. And, of course, life after Poirot and why he's still grieving for the eccentric Belgian detective.

An autobiography with a difference, this is David Suchet as you've never seen him before - from behind the lens."

This is a magnificant book, I should know, I ordered my copy from Waterstones when it went on sale in England so I could get a signed copy. WORTH IT!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Alpha and Omega, Andrea Camilleri, Ben Aaronovitch, David Suchet, Elizabeth Brooks, Gaudi, José Andres, Kimberly Duffy, Marianne Ferrer, Mike Mignola, Patricia Briggs, Peter Robinson, Poirot, Susan Hughes

Agatha Christie's Poirot: The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
Based on the book by Agatha Christie
Starring: David Suchet, Roger Frost, Oliver Ford Davies, Malcolm Terris, Nigel Cooke, Jamie Bamber, Rosalind Bailey, Gregor Truter, Clive Brunt, Selina Cadell, Daisy Beaumont, Flora Montgomery, Vivien Heilbron, and Philip Jackson
Release Date: January 2nd, 2000
Rating: ★★★
To Buy

Poirot arrives at a bank. He carefully removes a waterlogged journal from a safety deposit box. He sits himself down and reviews the journal of a depraved mind. A mind for murder. The events of which happened when Poirot retired to King's Abbot to grow mallows. On the day that Mrs. Ferrars was to kill herself Dr. Sheppard accompanied Roger Ackroyd's butler over to his neighbor Poirot's house. Poirot was attempting to successfully cultivate mallows with the loving care only an obsessive compulsive could lavish on the vegetables and yet he does not succeed. Thankfully Parker has come at the request of his employer to ask if Poirot's tour of the factory could be moved forward an hour, to which Poirot is glad to accede, the mallows will only frustrate him more. Years earlier Poirot lent his friend Roger Ackroyd startup capital and he has turned it into an empire. An empire with many pieces and many players, some of whom aren't happy. Before the tour concludes, Poirot will see Roger's unhappy secretary, Geoffrey Raymond, and Roger's distraught stepson, Ralph Paton, who is begging his father to not announce his engagement to Flora Ackroyd, Roger's niece, in this coming Sunday's paper, as well as a frantic phone call from Mrs. Ferrars. That night Mrs. Ferrars takes her own life and the next morning Roger asks Poirot to stop by his house. Poirot is disturbed to learn that Mrs. Ferrars was being blackmailed, though she refused to say who the culprit was. Poirot leaves as a dinner party arrives at Roger's house and he goes home to ruminate. Something isn't sitting right with him and he's worried for his friend. He has every reason to be worried because by the time Poirot returns to Roger's house later that evening Roger is dead, in a locked room. The sequence of events seems to be simple enough and Ralph Paton seems to be the culprit, but Poirot isn't so sure. He is reluctant to return to detection but to avenge his friend he must! And when another old friend arrives to help solve the crime it's like old times. Too bad it's old times that drove Poirot to the mallows.    

I went into this episode of Poirot expecting many changes from the source material. There are some things unique to literature that can not be replicated in a visual medium. A story narrated by the killer whilst simultaneously concealing their guilt from the reader, a trope that Christie used several times, would be virtually impossible to pull off for television, so in swoops the dramatist, Clive Exton, who restructures the story to a more traditional Poirot story. He takes Poirot, who was more a spectator, an outsider in the original story and puts him in the thick of it while bringing Chief Inspector Japp along for the ride, as we have seen in countless previous adventures. And that's what I missed most about The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, I missed how unique and original it was within Poirot's cannon. I missed this different kind of story that could have been told, instead we are given a framing device of the journal of the killer, which when you read the book is actually the book you are reading. What's more Exton upped the vitriol of our killer who is woefully miscast resulting in the denouement being totally unsatisfactory. Yet, despite all this it isn't a "bad" episode, it just could have been so much more, but it is thankfully saved because of the charm of Suchet and Jackson. The nuanced humor these two actors have developed over the years of working together brings joy to the screen because you can see how much fun they are having. What's more, Suchet is so effortlessly Poirot that he brings humor and pathos to the role in even the quietest of moments. My favorite scene is at the very beginning when Dr. Sheppard and Parker come over to Poirot's house. In the book I always thought it was odd that Poirot would retire to the country in order to raise mallows. Well, here we see a far more honest depiction of how that might have gone. His exasperation with his garden given with a sigh, a grunt, a flung vegetable, and a raised eyebrow are sheer perfection. In fact I couldn't help but think his babying of his garden combined with his frustration is something all of those who have taken to our gardens during quarantine are feeling. There's a little bit of Poirot in us all I think. 

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Adaptation, Agatha Christie, Clive Exton, David Suchet, Gardening, Jamie Bamber, Mallows, OCD, Philip Jackson, Poirot, Quarantine, Roaring Back to Reading, Suicide, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, Unreliable Narrator

The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie
Published by: UK General Books
Publication Date: 1920
Format: Hardcover, 296 Pages
Rating: ★★★
To Buy

Arthur Hastings has been invalided out from the war. Running into his old friend John Cavendish, he's invited to stay at the family estate Styles, in Essex, where Hastings lands in the middle of a family crisis. Styles is packed with people. John and his wife are in residence, as is John's younger brother, Lawrence. Yet the real trouble lies with John and Lawrence's step-mother. She was a wonderful mother to them but has recently re-married an odd younger man who was her secretary, a Mr. Alfred Inglethorp. Evelyn Howard, Mrs. Emily Inglethorp's friend, who has long lived at Styles, as well as Emily's ward, Cynthia Murdoch, is so upset, that Evelyn leaves quite volubly on Hastings arrival. Though the situation is about to get much worse. Emily is found dead one night. All the doors to her room were locked and, despite the local doctors insisting that her heart just gave out, it turns out to be murder.

With everyone acting suspicious, and a new husband to point the finger at, things get more complicated as multiple wills arise. Hastings wants to help but is at a bit of a lose. Then felicitously, Hasting runs into Hercule Poirot. Hastings knew Poirot back in Belgium when Poirot was a detective of great renown. Poirot has been displaced by the war and placed in Essex. Hastings doesn't take long to ask his old friend for help. With Poirot on the case, soon all the suspects will be rounded up and he will point the finger at the murderer. Because that is what Poirot is best at.

Now this may come as a surprise, but until now I've never read an Agatha Christie novel with Poirot. When I was younger I'd watched the BBC adaptations on Mystery and my friend Sarah used to devour the books at a prodigious rate, I remember her actually picking up an omnibus edition when we were on vacation in LA and I think she had finished it before we arrived home. But for some reason I never felt compelled to pick one up myself. In fact, I haven't actually read that many books by Agatha Christie, I know, for shame. I finally picked up The Body in the Library years ago when there was an outcry that the new Marple adaptation had changed the ending, and I was therefore intrigued to see how they had changed it. I was immediately struck by the ease and apparent simplicity of her writing. Her straight forward prose was able to hide wonderful twists and turns. I have since read a few more of her non-series books, Sparkling Cyanide and Endless Night, but still I hesitated on picking up Poirot.

Thanks to the re-release of the early seasons of Poirot on Blu-Ray, finally in the correct order I might add, I have been re-watching all the old episodes and loving every minute of David Suchet. The episode that I loved far and away more then any other was "The Mysterious Affair at Styles." The "origin story" of Poirot, if you will. What I loved more then anything else was a fussy Poirot trying to get his fellow Belgian exiles in line with his ideas of dress and deportment. Watching Poirot herd mini Poirot wannabes was beyond entertaining to me. Therefore, my desire to finally read Poirot and more Agatha Christie helped inspire this whole "Golden Summer."

The Mysterious Affair at Styles is Agatha Christie's first book, and sadly it shows. The books by Christie I had previously read were written 22 years after this book and her ease of writing and narrative flow are sadly a little choppy here. The fact that I have never been a huge Hastings fan and that he narrates this story doesn't help that much. Of course, my "meh" attitude is nothing to my mother's loathing of Hastings, which resulted in me not seeing a lot of the early episodes on TV because of her refusal to watch any episode with him in. I kid you not when I say I have a list of "approved" Poirot watching just for my mom, with the Hastings episodes excised. Though reading this book, I have to say, the show was a little generous to Hastings... he's a little more annoying and a lot more stupid then I have been led to believe. Which makes me wonder... all the books can't be from Hastings POV, can they? I mean he eventually goes off to the Argentine and enter people I really like, like Mrs. Oliver.

Yet, Hastings being even more of an idiot was nothing to the marvel of Poirot. Poirot was perfect from his first line. I remember watching the Agatha Christie Biopic Agatha Christie: A Life in Pictures staring Olivia Williams and Anna Massey and how Poirot just "came to her" while working in the World War I dispensary. I wonder if this isn't more truth then fiction, because, there he is, on the page, fully formed first time out. It's rare for an author to have the full and perfect embodiment of their most famous character right away, yet she did it. Poirot was a perfect, fussy, enigmatic detective from day one. It's no wonder he became one of her most popular creations going on to be in 33 novels, 50 short stories and one play. Oh Poirot, I love you, I promise to read all your books and I look forward to the final season of your show with joy and sorrow, I never want it to end.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Agatha Christie, David Suchet, Endless Night, Golden Summer, Hastings, Miss Marple, Mrs. Oliver, Murder, Mystery, Poirot, Sparkling Cyanide, The Body in the Library, The Mysterious Affair at Styles

Great Expectations
Based on the book by Charles Dickens
Release Date: December 27th, 2011
Starring: Ray Winstone, Paul Rhys, Gillian Anderson, Vanessa Kirby, Douglas Booth, David Suchet, Jack Roth, Shaun Dooley, Mark Addy, Claire Rushbrook, Harry Lloyd, Perdita Weeks, Susan Lynch
Rating: ★★
To Buy

Even if you haven't read Great Expectations, I'm sure you know about Miss Havisham. The slightly dotty jilted bride still in her wedding gown years and years later. She's part of the collective subconscious, there is not a time I didn't know who she was. Also, a bit embarrassing to say, but I haven't read Great Expectations. I've read all about Miss Havisham's exploits with Thursday Next does that count? No... I didn't really think it did. So my first big foray into the world of Pip and Miss Havisham was actually during a very devote, slightly stalkeresque phase in my life when I had to watch everything Ioan Gruffudd was in. Yes, this even led to me watching quite a few crappy movies, 102 Dalmatians... Shooters... Very Annie Mary... I could go on, but I won't. Just watch some Forsyte Saga and Hornblower and you'll get your Ioan fix. Anyway, in the days before I had a DVD player, I was able to get an old VHS copy of Great Expectations with Ioan from the library. It felt very flat to me. All the characters, especially Pip, where very unlikable. I found Russell Baker's intros far more interesting, where he discussed the populist uprising of fellow authors which changed the ending, even if the original was more true to the story. So when the BBC announced the new production with Gillian Anderson I was excited. Firstly I was hoping for something that would capture me more and make me interested in the story. Also I was keen to see which ending they chose, even though rumors where that an entirely new ending had been written.

This production kind of let me down on almost every account. Mainly, the ending was the actual ending! Well, the actual Dickens re-written ending that is commonly held as the "true" ending. What the... oh well, at least it's Dickens and not some weird tangental ending that can't be possible with what came before, I'm looking at you Andrew Davies, you and your Wives and Daughters! Pip has humble beginnings and gets ideas above his station when he starts to visit Miss Havisham and her adopted daughter, Estella. Eventually he gets a great bequest of money and he thinks it's Miss Havisham's master plan to bring him and Estella together, only to find out he was totally wrong. Not surprising that this is a short three-parter when looking at the simplicity of plot compared to say Little Dorrit or Bleak House.

Pip is played by an Ambercrombie and Fitch Robert Pattison wannabe whose acting is so bland the only way his ascension from blacksmith to gentleman is able to be measured is by how tall his hat gets. His accent is never modulated from rich to poor and instead relies on brooding looks and high cheekbones. When you have other characters making fun of a non-existent accent it brings the production down, show not say people. Coupled with Estella, they make the blandest of couples who you couldn't really care if they get their happily ever after or not. I was kind of rooting for the bleaker ending from early on, just so that maybe these two could show something other than their remarkable ability to act like statues. As you can see, the main problem was that the two youth leads are dull as ditch water and when surround by a superb cast made up of some of the best British actors today, they don't just look dull, they kind of become a black hole of suckiness.

The wealth of well acted supporting roles is the only thing that makes this dull version worth watching. The cast is peopled with everyone from David Suchet to Ray Winstone, all nailing it. Claire Rushbrook, whom is most known for a guest appearance on Doctor Who and being in Spice World, just brings it as Pip's evil older sister. I never knew she had that much bile in her, seeing as I've seen her in two rather benign and nice roles. Mark Addy as the uncle, Mr Pumblechook, was hilarious, and proves that he should only be allowed to play slightly drunk men who yearn for greatness, ie, his recent turn as Robert Baratheon on Games of Thrones. Notable is one of Addy's Thrones co-stars, Harry Lloyd, as Pocket, who happens to be Dickens' own great-great-great-grandson. He not only embodies an actual Dickensian presence, but he was born to play this role being both funny, lovable and romantic. I just hope he gets more and more great roles in the future. Also, a menacing award has to go out to Jack Roth, who turns out to be the son of Tim Roth, proving the creepy baddie is an inheritable trait.

Let me finally get to the one actor this whole shebang revolves around. Gillian Anderson. Many thought that she was too young and too pretty to play the role, but after watching it, I don't think you're likely to go, "oh, she did look lovely as she burned to death." Gillian Anderson is very odd as Miss Havesham, with a little girl voice and an almost china doll appearance. As other reviewers have said, she gives the appearance that she has never grown up. She is bat-shit-crazy incarnate. If there was an award for best wacko, she'd win. Also, her little touches, like the worrying of the hand with the wound was spot on. Yet, in the end, she was too small a presence. She was like a nervous mouse skittering around. Her and everyone else could just not rise above being hampered with two dull leads. Such a shame...

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Andrew Davies, Charles Dickens, David Suchet, Game of Thrones, Gillian Anderson, Great Expectations, Harry Lloyd, Ioan Gruffudd, Miss Havisham, Russell Baker, Thursday Next

Sparkling Cyanide by Agatha Christie
Published by: HarperCollins
Publication Date: 1945
Format: Hardcover, 160 Pages
Rating: ★★★★
To Buy
There are six people thinking of Rosemary. Her husband and his secretary, her sister and the man she loves, Rosemary's ex-lover and his wife. A year before they all saw her die in front of their eyes of cyanide poisoning. Ruled a suicide, they where all dining with her around the restaurant table when she took her life. No one had any inkling that her death was anything other than that.  Till her husband George gets an anonymous letter saying that Rosemary was murdered. George becomes obsessed with finding his wife's killer. He concocts a plan to bring everyone back together on the anniversary of his wife's death. He will recreate the circumstances and the killer will be revealed. Only George didn't think that maybe the killer would strike again in the same fashion. The good Colonel Race steps in with Scotland Yard to sort out who among the dinners was the killer. Because if the second death proved anything, it was that Rosemary was murdered.

The greatest advantage Sparkling Cyanide has is that I've never seen an adaptation of it. I will fully admit at the outset I am an Agatha Christie whore. Give me some Poirot with David Suchet, give me some Marple with Geraldine McEwan, who in my mind was the truest Marple, sorry Julia McKenzie, I really liked you in Cranford, but you ain't Marple. It's also surprising that this hasn't been bastardized into an episode of Marple, which is the BBC's newest obsession. What do you do when you run out of Marple stories to tell? Start fiddling with the non-Marple stories but of course, Pale Horse anyone? I heard what you're up to with Endless Night, and there's no way that that will work, it's not a good Christie book, so try something else. Therefore, unlike previous delvings into Christie, I didn't have an inkling who-dun-it. And that's the key to Christie isn't it? At least the first time you read the book. The second time is watching how the puzzle was seamlessly put together and then realizing you had to be an idiot to swallow all those red herrings.

Yet, the murder, while interesting, wasn't what made this book so wonderful for me. The elegance of the time period and the characters are what drew me in. The glamor of Rosemary. Her life of partying and gambling. Her clothes and her carriage. The ritzy restaurant that had a cabaret show and dancing. All the dancing. The details of the couture, the severe lines and emeralds of one dress, the young naivety of another. Ah, to go back then just for the ambiance. I can see it all so clearly. Yet, that is, in essence, window dressing. The people inside the clothes are what matter most. Starting the book with a chapter from each of the different characters POV connects us to them in a way that a normal narrative wouldn't. If one of these characters is the killer, than we have missed the flaw in their thought patterns. One of these people had to have done it. Yet there's nothing that is obvious until the end. This works in a way that the narration of Christie's other novel, Endless Night didn't. By showing us all the suspects, we know that all but one are telling the truth and aren't forced to rely on a single narrator. The police and Race fall rather flat compared to the other characters, mainly because we weren't allowed a peak behind the curtain. This book will leave you hanging till the very end when everything falls into place and is put back on the table.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Agatha Christie, David Suchet, Endless Night, Geraldine McEwan, Julia McKenzie, Marple, Pale Horse, Poirot, Poison, Sparkling Cyanide