Episode 5: Dartmoor

In this bonus seasonal episode, Matt and Sophie visit Agatha’s former holiday home at Greenway, to see what the National Trust have put on for Christmas. As well as exploring the house, they chat to volunteer pianist Simon Arnold, who plays some Christmas music on Agatha’s Steinway piano. Special guests on the episode are Agatha Christie expert and co-presenter of the Swinging Christies podcast, Dr Mark Aldridge. They also chat to Sophie Hannah who has been writing continuations of Poirot Novels, including Hercule Poirot’s Silent Night, and David Brawn from HarperCollins UK. He is in charge of legacies, including Agatha Christie and chat’s about how they have been preparing for Christmas.   

In the final episode of the season, Sophie and Matt look at the remarkable legacy that Christie left for the people of Torquay and the surrounding area. Through visiting real places in her life, or by being inspired by them in her stories, she has left dozens of places that fans can visit to discover more about the Queen of Crime. In Episode #10 Legacy, they visit Kents Cavern, Torquay Museum, The Imperial Hotel, Elberry Cove and St. Mary’s Church in Churston Ferrers where Agatha left an amazing legacy in the form of a stained-glass window. Guests include Philip King, Abbie Potter, Nigel Jones and Philip Mantell. If the series has left you wanting more, Matt Newbury has written a guidebook called Agatha Christie’s Devon. You can buy this locally at a number of places including East Gate Bookshop, The English Riviera Visitor Information Centre or Greenway. You can buy it online while also supporting Torquay Museum here.

We visit the Agatha Christie Festival that took place in Torquay and the surrounding area in September 2024 and try and give a feel of the atmosphere for both those who were there, or those who would one day like to attend. We also explore the history of the Festival and chat to some of the speakers and guests from right across the world. Special guests include Ragnar Jónasson, Lynda La Plante, Benjamin Stevenson, Gray Robert Brown, Brad Friedman and many of the attendees at the 2024 Agatha Christie Festival.  

In this episode we visit the enigmatic and evocative Burgh Island, where Agatha Christie was inspired to write two of her most famous novels, And Then There Were None and Evil Under the Sun. Sophie and Matt take the quirky sea tractor over to the island and visit the exclusive hotel, which has been known for its decadent soirees for almost 100 years.  They also meet the owner of the island, the guest relations manager and chat to one of the regular visitors, who is a huge Christie fan.   Guests include Robin Chambers, Giles Fuchs, Vlad Kupra , Anthony Gulliver and Tony Medawar. Tony is the former director of the Agatha Christie Festival, and authority on crime fiction. He has edited around 30 books including The Quotable Miss Marple and his latest anthology, Wicked Spirits – available from HarperCollins – is a collection of largely unknown or unpublished stories by writers including Patricia Highsmith, Reginald Hill and John Dickson Carr. Tony is currently working on what he hopes will be the definitive Companion to the Works and World of Agatha Christie, and he’ll be speaking at next year’s Festival.

In this episode we travel to Agatha Christie’s former holiday home at Greenway and explore the beautiful house and gardens, which tumble down to the the River Dart. We chat to Agatha’s grandson Mathew Prichard about memories of his idyllic school holidays at this beautiful property and how he spent his days with his famous grandmother and the rest of the family. We also chat about the decision to donate the house to the National Trust in the year 2000. We are also joined by ‘Agathologist’ and author Dr Mark Aldridge, who also presents the Swinging Christies podcast. His latest book is Agatha Christie's Marple: Expert on Wickedness, which was launched at this year’s Agatha Christie Festival.  

This episode celebrates Agatha Christie’s love of trains and was recorded on location aboard the Dartmouth Steam Railway. This was a route taken by Poirot in two of Christie’s novels and by the author herself when visiting her holiday home at Greenway. Matt and Sophie also explore some of the more exotic routes featured in both her books and her own adventures, including the Orient Express. Special guests include Maria Kerr from English Riviera Custom Tours, Meenakshi Reddy Madhavan, Mathew Prichard and author Andrew Eames.

This episode takes listeners on journey into the rugged heart of Dartmoor, an untamed national park that has inspired both Arthur Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie. Matt and Sophie visit the hotel where Christie wrote her first novel, before venturing deeper into the wilderness and uncovering many legends along the way. Guests include Jamie Bernthal- Hooker, Alex Graham, Stephanie Austin and David Morris from Collecting Christie.  

In our latest episode we look at Agatha’s life in Torquay during World War 1. We visit where she worked in the Voluntary Aid Detachment as a nurse and find out how her early knowledge of poisons was formed. Special guests include Dr Rebecca Mills, Carla Valentine, Karen Robinson and Ali Marshall.

Episode #3 of the Agatha Christie in Devon podcast has just dropped and it’s all about young love. We find out how Agatha came out as a young debutant and after several proposals of marriage went on to meet her first husband, Archie Christie at Ugbrooke House.  Special guests include Laura Thompson, the Honourable Alexander Clifford and Dr Jamie Bernthal-Hooker.  

We discover what life was like for young Agatha living in England’s most fashionable seaside resort and the activities she loved growing up. Special guests include Val McDermid, Graham Kerr, Victoria Dowd and Robin Emdon.