J.C. Bernthal: Agatha Christie

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In this episode, Mark Perzel speaks with J.C. Bernthal, the author of "Agatha Christie: A Companion to the Mystery Fiction," a comprehensive guide to the life and work of the world's most famous mystery writer. In this interview, Bernthal discusses Agatha Christie's life, work, and her enduring popularity. He shares his experiences as a Christie fan, how he came to write the book as well as the challenges of creating a definitive guide for such an incredibly prolific writer.

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FEATURED TITLE & DESCRIPTION

Agatha Christie: A Companion to the Mystery Fiction. McFarland, softcover (2022) ISBN: 9781476676203 mcfarlandbooks.com/product/agatha-christie/

DESCRIPTION OF THE BOOK

The undisputed “Queen of Crime,” Dame Agatha Christie (1890–1976) is the bestselling novelist of all time. As the creator of immortal detectives Hercule Poirot and Jane Marple, she continues to enthrall readers around the world and is drawing increasing attention from scholars, historians, and critics. But Christie wrote far beyond Poirot and Marple. A varied life including war work, archaeology, and two very different marriages provided the backdrop to a diverse body of work.

This encyclopedic companion summarizes and explores Christie’s entire literary output, including the detective fiction, plays, radio dramas, adaptations, and her little-studied non-crime writing. It details all published works and key themes and characters, as well as the people and places that inspired them, and identifies a trove of uncollected interviews, articles, and unpublished material, including details that have never appeared in print. For the casual reader looking for background information on their favorite mystery to the dedicated scholar tracking down elusive new angles, this companion will provide the most comprehensive and up-to-date information.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

J.C. Bernthal, a Visiting Fellow at the University of Suffolk, is a leading expert on Agatha Christie and crime fiction, with special interests in gender and sexuality. He has authored and edited, or co-edited, several books, including, with Mary Anna Evans, the Edgar, Agatha, Keating, and Macavity Award-nominated "Bloomsbury Handbook to Agatha Christie." He also works in renewable energy and, as Jamie Bernthal, publishes short comic crime fiction. In 2020, the Popular Culture Association awarded him the George N. Dove Award for outstanding contributions to the serious study of crime fiction.

OTHER BOOKS BY J.C. BERNTHAL

Academic

with Mary Anna Evans , "The Bloomsbury Handbook to Agatha Christie" (Bloomsbury, 2022) https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/bloomsbury-handbook-to-agatha-christie-9781350212497/
with Rebecca Mills, "Agatha Christie Goes to War "(Routledge, 2019) https://www.routledge.com/Agatha-Christie-Goes-to-War/Mills-Bernthal/p/book/9781032239941
"Queering Agatha Christie: Revisiting Golden Age Detective Fiction" (Palgrave, 2016) https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-319-33533-9
"The Ageless Agatha Christie: Essays on the Mysteries and Legacy"(McFarland, 2016) https://mcfarlandbooks.com/product/the-ageless-agatha-christie/

Fiction

"Jessica Brick Investigates" (2019) https://www.amazon.com/Jessica-Brick-Investigates-Jamie-Bernthal/dp/B085RVPRMH
Spotlight on Jessica Brick (2020)

ABOUT MCFARLAND

McFarland, a leading independent publisher of academic and general-interest nonfiction books, is perhaps best known for the serious treatment of popular culture. Founded in 1979, McFarland is recognized among authors and readers as adventurous in range and a reliable source of worthy books that other publishers overlook. They have about 8000 unique works for sale and each year publish about 350 new titles. Meeting high library standards has been a major focus since the company began, and many McFarland books have received awards from the academic-oriented (Choice Outstanding Academic Title, ALA Outstanding Reference Work) to the mainstream (Hugo, Edgar, Stoker, and Eisner, among others). www.McFarlandBooks.com

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