A is for Arsenic: The Poisons of Agatha Christie (Bloomsbury Sigma), by Kathryn Harkup
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A is for Arsenic: The Poisons of Agatha Christie (Bloomsbury Sigma), by Kathryn Harkup
Ebook PDF A is for Arsenic: The Poisons of Agatha Christie (Bloomsbury Sigma), by Kathryn Harkup
Agatha Christie's detailed plotting is what makes her books so compelling. Christie used poison to kill her characters more often than any other murder method, with the poison itself being a central part of the novel, and her choice of deadly substances was far from random; the chemical and physiological characteristics of each poison provide vital clues to discovery of the murderer. With gunshots or stabbings the cause of death is obvious, but not so with poisons. How is it that some compounds prove so deadly, and in such tiny amounts?Christie demonstrated her extensive chemical knowledge (much of it gleaned from her working in a chemists during both world wars) in many of her novels, but this is rarely appreciated by the reader. A is for Arsenic celebrates the use of science in Christie's work. Written by Christie fan and research chemist Kathryn Harkup, each chapter takes a different novel and investigates the poison (or poisons) the murderer used. A is for Arsenic looks at why certain chemicals kill, how they interact with the body, and the feasibility of obtaining, administering and detecting these poisons, both at the time the novel was written and today. This book is published as part of the 125th anniversary celebration of Christie's birth.Fourteen novels. Fourteen poisons. Just because its fiction doesn't mean its all made-up ...
A is for Arsenic: The Poisons of Agatha Christie (Bloomsbury Sigma), by Kathryn Harkup- Amazon Sales Rank: #406004 in eBooks
- Published on: 2015-09-10
- Released on: 2015-09-10
- Format: Kindle eBook
Review ...a cracking compendium of Christie's poisonings...A Is For Arsenic will appeal to any fan of Christie's work, but as a potted history of poisons, antidotes and medicines it has much wider reach than that. -- Mark Lorch BBC Focus (Science and Technology) ...this book is fascinating and anyone who is interested in the myriad painful and unpleasant ways in which people can be killed will relish it. The Times
About the Author Kathryn Harkup is a chemist, author and Agatha Christie fanatic. Having completed a doctorate on her favourite chemicals, phosphines, Kathryn went on to further postdoctoral research before realising that demonstrating, talking about and writing about science appealed a bit more than hours slaving over a hot fume-hood. She is now a freelance science communicator, specialising on the quirkier side of science.
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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful. Amazing information if you are a Christie fan. By J. Lesley I was amazed at all the information in this book. Concentrating on the types of poisons used by Agatha Christie in her novels had to be pretty much a labor of love for British chemist Kathryn Harkup because you can tell immediately that she is also a fan of this great icon of crime fiction. The book is written from the British point of view with changes in book titles noted for the American market. I really had my doubts that this subject matter could be presented in such a way that it held my attention for the time it took to read the book, but by the end I found myself wishing there was just one more chapter. But then I would have wanted another and another.The book is very stylishly presented with artwork which is wonderfully evocative of the 1930s art deco style that I somehow assign to the Christie novels even though they were not all written during, or for, that time period. Maybe the really good television series has something to do with that. Each chapter deals with one specific poison beginning with arsenic, then belladonna, cyanide, digitalis, eserine, hemlock, monkshood, nicotine, opium, phosphorus, ricin, strychnine, thallium, and veronal. Each chapter leads off with a brief synopsis of the major novel, or in one instance a short story, the author will be using as an example of the use of that specific poison, then moves on to the story (history) of the poison, how the poison works in the body to kill, whether there is an antidote, some real-life cases, and then how Christie used the poison. I had been afraid the chemistry associated with where the poison comes from and how it works within the body would have been either too technical or too boring for me to enjoy. Wow, was I ever wrong. I discovered all kinds of wonderful facts. This book is wonderfully readable by those of us who aren't trained in the science of chemicals. Plus Kathryn Harkup has a very wry sense of humor which caused me to get some strange looks when I was sitting in a doctor's waiting room laughing out loud while reading a book about poisons. Let's just say the chairs on each side of me became vacant when someone asked what book I was reading. This is the type of book Agatha Christie fans will keep right on the shelf with all their copies of the novels for reference during future re-readings of the novels. Because let's face it, if you love Agatha Christie novels you don't read them just once.Another fascinating section of the book is Appendix 1: Christie's Causes of Death. This is a chart listing each novel and short story written by Agatha Christie and the method of the murder in that story. Sometimes, with multiple victims there are multiple murder methods. I found this absolutely fascinating and used the list to make sure I do own each story Christie wrote. Actually I own them multiple times over, but there is no need to go into my personal addiction here.In discussing how Christie used the poisons the author has revealed some spoilers, but she always warns the reader to skip ahead to another section if they aren't familiar with the story and don't want to know who and how. I really appreciated how Harkup complimented Christie on her thoroughness and knowledge when it was warranted, but she didn't hesitate on several occasions to point out that Christie had gotten some things wrong. Interesting for me was how seldom Christie made mistakes in her information.This book is most definitely aimed at the devoted Agatha Christie fan. I found it fascinating and if you didn't, well........I challenge you to a duel with the infamous Calabar bean!Added Sept. 10, 2015: I received this book as an ARC through the Amazon Vine Voices program. Often ARC copies don't hold up very well over time and they will have portions omitted because it is not the shelf-ready book. I enjoyed this one so much I purchased the finished copy in hard cover to keep on my shelf for reference material when I'm reading mysteries.
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful. For Christie buffs and murder afficionados - but not as involving as hoped for such a golden idea By Jessica Weissman Agatha Christie wrote a lot of mysteries where the method was poison. Poison wasn't all that easy to get, and the effects of poison aren't usually the instant death we see on TV. Kathryn Harkup has put together a compendium of poisons known to Christie, with a description of the use, effects, place in the pharmacopia, ease of obtaining, and so on. With notes relating each poison to the Christie book(s) where it was used.Some interesting points: there are more chemists and scientists and druggists than you might expect in Christie's books, reflecting the ways poison could be obtained then and throwing more people under suspicion. Christie made some large and small mistakes about poisons, some of which seem deliberate.You won't learn how to poison people from this book (whew) - the Internet is your best source there. Just don't search from your home computer, or hide your IP address when you do and clear your search history. There isn't as much Christie as one might hope. The writing is serviceable. The alphabetic organization prevents more general discussion, I think.This seemed like a golden idea to me - Christie is popular and important, and people love the idea of poison. If you're a Christie buff you'll want to read this. If you are interested in forensics generally or even in poisons specifically, there are better sources. But the book just didn't sparkle or surprise as much as I hoped.
8 of 10 people found the following review helpful. A is for Arsenic By DRob I was really hoping to like this book because I am a huge Agatha Christie fan and consider her to be one of the greatest mystery writers ever, and absolutely the best at plotting her "crimes." When I saw this book about the poisons used by Christie in her books, I grabbed it because I am interested in medicine as well, so I thought this would be a good combo of two of my interests. It seemed fitting that this book is being released in time for the 125th anniversary of Agatha Christie's birth.Unfortunately, I found the book to be tedious and boring, weighed down by more information than I needed or wanted about the chemistry of the various poisons and their reactions within the body.I did like the summations of the relevant Christie books, but it has been a long time since I have read any of them. I didn't remember enough of the details on my own to put most of the references into context, and since the identify of the poisoner and the method of administration is key to understanding the books, the fact that Harkup left this information out, no doubt for fear of being accused of releasing spoilers, detracted from my enjoyment of the book. Given that most people who read this book are probably going to be diehard Christie fans who have read most, if not all, of her books, I think spoilers would have been acceptable and would have made the book seem more complete.I also enjoyed the stories about real life uses of the various poisons in actual murder or attempted murder cases. However, as I reached the halfway point, I realized I just wasn't enjoying the book that much and was skipping over huge swaths of chemical information. I decided that rather than reading a book about the poisons used by Agatha Christie, I'd be better off grabbing some Christie books off the shelf and enjoying reading about the poisons first hand.
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