Famous Writers with Dogs: Agatha Christie

Writers need inspiration somewhere in life, and for many that inspiration comes from their pet dogs.

This is a running series where we post pictures of famous writers with their canine companions--the cute, the cuddly, the creepy. And that's just the writers.

Today:  Agatha Christie

You know when older people get one of those claws to grab stuff off high shelves? Yeah--this is sort of like that.

Your guess is as good as mine as to what Agatha is trying to do, though. She always loves creating a good mystery, amiright??

The sheer look of panic by the dog suggests this is an average Saturday afternoon in the Christie household, though.

Agatha Christie was kind of a grouch.

Shocking news that a woman who largely only wrote about murder and death was not a lighthearted soul, but letters on display reveal Agatha Christie was generally irked by life.

The letters, which will be on exhibition at the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival held in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England, show Christie was annoyed by most anything, like over the covers of her books.

According to The Guardian, for her 1947 book The Labours of Hercules, a Pekingese was featured on the cover. Harmless, you might say. Her family found laughs in it, but Christie was furious and wrote her publisher:

"The wrapper design for Hercules has occasioned the most ribald and obscene remarks and suggestions from my family – All I can say is – Try again!!" (sic).

Another time, she complained the cover of another book made the main character look like he was "going to a funeral and dressed accordingly."

In 1967, she apparently found out her latest book was already released without her receiving an advanced copy. She was in a "fury" when she found out the book was already on sale in Helsinki, of all places.

"It’s usually [available] in November and then it comes in very handy for sending to friends at Xmas time – but one can hardly send it as that now? I do think it’s treating your authors disgracefully."

More than anything, Christie was annoyed by aging. As a 59-year old, she wrote to a friend, Bertie Meyer, who was staging a play based on one of her books. "I've had letters now from different fans expressing surprise that I am 'such an old lady'," she wrote, adding about pictures of herself:

"Nobody likes [the photos], possibly, perhaps, because they don’t seem to have been touched up at all? All lines and wrinkles – and dash it all, I'm not 70 – not yet 60."

If you want to read more of Christie's moaning and complaining (so, you know, you feel like a cheery lad by comparison), the festival will be held July 20-23.

Agatha Christie had a large chest filled with family jewels and gold, and no one cared to look inside.

Long story short, in 2006 Jennifer Grant, an Agatha Christie fan, went to an estate auction of the late mystery writer's property, spent £100 on what the British fancy calling a 'strongbox'--which was considered such a minor piece of property from the house it wasn't even listed in the auction catalogue--and went home finding the chest locked.

Apparently not the inquisitive sort, it took four years for Grant to finally unlock the box and look inside. What Grant found was some gold coins, a small selection of the Christie family jewels, including a 19th century diamond brooch, and what is believed to be Christie's mother's diamond engagement ring. The contents go up for auction on October 8th, with an estimated selling price of £9,000-£14,000.

Grant says she doesn't wear the jewelry enough to warrant keeping them, and as a Christie fan herself she says "I thought, 'Why not let someone else enjoy them?'"

Or, you know, maybe "Hey, roughly £10,000-£15,000 in my pocket ain't half bad." But, hey, whatever excuse works for you.



Is everyone involved in this whole situation among the least curious human beings on the planet? How does a company hold an estate sale of a famous writer and decide a large, locked chest doesn't warrant more than a cursory look? And how does someone who buys a locked strongbox from a celebrity writer's estate not bother opening it for four years?

Geraldo Rivera would not stand for this.

Famous Writers Shirtless: Agatha Christie

Writers are never known as the studliest or sexiest of people, but that doesn't stop them from showing some skin for the camera once in awhile.

So, occasionally we'll post some literary beefcake for your perusal.

Today:  Agatha Christie

When going surfing, make sure to pack only your most stylish skull cap. Floral accents can really liven up the forehead region.

Don't be fooled. That's the stock-still, rigid stance of someone ready to tear it up.

"Frederick" just wouldn't fly as a surf board's name.

"When it's time to thrown down, Jane is ready to destroy you."

So says some video game developer about a Jane Austen video game. Yeah, that Jane Austen, who is always the first person I imagine with Ivan Drago tendencies.

The game will be like the illegitimate lovechild of Scrabble and Street Fighter, with you living vicariously through a variety of literary individuals--like Agatha Christie and Edgar Allan Poe--as they spell and fight their way to supremacy.

According to the developer, "Simply put, Jane is a princess who doesn't need saving. She's beautiful, and she can also kick your ass."

Pssh, obviously. And don't even ask what Agatha Christie might be capable of. It probably involves brass knuckles and the ability to kill a man just by throwing a verb at him.