I spent Saturday in the pleasant Derbyshire market town of Bakewell, at a book fair organised by my friend Louise Harrison, who kindly arranged for me to have a stall where I could sell books and also talk to book lovers and booksellers as part of my research for my next novel. Another friend, Christine Poulson, dropped in and I also met some readers from Liverpool whom I'd last encountered when giving a talk more than a decade ago, as well as a Golden Age fan who told me he'd named his son Ellery. A very enjoyable day.
It was made even more enjoyable when I got home, since an advance copy of Agatha Christie: A World of Mystery had arrived. This is the book to accompany the forthcoming British Library exhibition about Agatha, edited by lead curator Lucy Rowland and myself. The foreword is by Sir Kenneth Branagh and the eclectic list of contributors from around the world includes David Suchet, Zoe Wanamaker, Lucy Foley, Kate Mosse, Dong Han, Ragnar Jonasson, Simon Calder, John Curran, and many more.
It's fair to say that putting the book together was a challenge. But the effort feels justified, because it's a sumptuous production, and we feel it is the definitive illustrated guide to Agatha's life, writing, and world. I'm very much looking forward to the launch and private view, which will take place the evening before the exhibition opens on 30 October.
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