Agatha Christie and the Guilty Pleasure of Poison (Crime Files)

Agatha Christie and the Guilty Pleasure of Poison examines Christie’s female poisoners in the context of Christie’s own experience in pharmacy and of detective fiction. In doing so, it uncovers an overlooked dynamic in which female poisoners deliver well-deserved comeuppance for gendered and classed wrongdoing ordinarily accepted in everyday life. While critics have long recognized male outlaws, like Robin Hood, who use crime to oppose a corrupt system, this book contends that female outlaws – witches and poisoners – offer a similar heritage of empowered femininity. Far from cozy and formulaic, Agatha Christie’s outlaw poisoners offer readers the surprising pleasures of comeuppance, and they set the stage for contemporary detective fiction writers, more recent films depicting poisoning as empowering, and even poison gardens, which are tourist destinations that offer visitors the guilty pleasure of poison. Preface Acknowledgments Praise for Agatha Christie and the Guilty Pleasure of Poison Contents About the Author Chapter 1: Agatha Christie, Poison, and Crime Poison and the Precarious Identity Agatha Christie, Detection, and Poison Agatha Christie and the Outlaw Outlaw Readers Chapter Guide (and a Warning) References Chapter 2: Agatha Christie and Pharmacy Precarious Pharmacy Women in the Pharmacy From Dispensary Assistant to the Queen of Mystery References Chapter 3: Dying Game: Unrepentant Outlaws in Christie and Doyle Ghostly Revenge in Doyle’s “The Leather Funnel” Comeuppance in Appointment with Death and The Mirror Crack’d from Side to Side The Mirror Crack’d from Side to Side References Chapter 4: Cheering Bystanders in Christie and Sayers Unfair Play in Strong Poison Triple Outlawry in Five Little Pigs References Chapter 5: The Revenger’s Comeuppance in Christie and Jackson Crooked House and the Naïve Poisoner We Have Always Lived in the Castle and the Witchy Poisoner References Chapter 6: The Poisoner’s Afterlives Magic Words: Poisoning Stories in “Philomel Cottage” Class and Power in Gosford Park Return of the Witchy Poisoner: Phantom Thread and Endeavour Phantom Thread Endeavour: “Canticle” References Chapter 7: Readers and the Poison Garden The Potent Plant Garden at Torre Abbey The Alnwick Poison Garden The Chelsea Physic Garden References Index