Kathryn Harkup is the author of the new book A is for Arsenic: The Poisons of Agatha Christie. A chemist, science communicator, and Agatha Christie fan, she lives in Surrey, U.K.
Q: How did you come up with the idea for this
book, and have you always been a fan of Agatha Christie's work?
A: I’ve been a fan of Agatha Christie since I
started reading her books when I was a teenager. I loved the gentle humour,
Poirot’s idiosyncrasies and the fiendish puzzles that Christie set.
After doing a Ph.D. in chemistry I became
interested in poisons and how some compounds could cause such devastating
damage to the human body in minute quantities. At the time I was working in
science outreach and school students loved being told the grisly details of
poisoning.
When I was asked to write a popular science book
the topic of poisons seemed a good choice and, if you are talking about
poisons, then Agatha Christie is the obvious person to link these tales of
murder and stories of science. No other author used so many poisons, so often
and with such accuracy as the "Queen of Crime," Dame Agatha Christie.
Q: You write that Christie had an
"exceptional" knowledge of poisons. How did her work in the First
World War help her gain this information, and why did she decide to write about
poisoning in so many of her mysteries?
A: Christie volunteered as a nurse in the First
World War but when working in the hospital it was suggested she might like to
work in the dispensary. She had to study chemistry and pass examinations to
qualify as an Apothecaries’ Assistant.
At the time almost all medicines, pills, creams
and tonics, were made up by hand which required considerable knowledge and
skill. Pharmacists had to prepare prescriptions in the appropriate dose and not
to mix dangerous combinations of drugs.
On top of this specialist knowledge, the drugs
available in the first half of the 20th century are very different to what you
would see on a chemist’s shelves today. Compounds like strychnine and arsenic
were still in use as medicine at the time.
A staggering variety of drugs, that were known
to be toxic in relatively low doses, would have surrounded Christie as she
thought up a plot for her first detective story.
With her background knowledge, and a life-long
interest in poisons and toxicology, Christie was able to use a variety of
compounds in a range of unusual set-ups to give variety to her poison plots.
The different symptoms could be used as clues and
her knowledge of drug combinations meant she could manipulate timelines – all
useful tricks when devising alibis and red herrings.
Q: How did you research the book, and what
surprised you most in the course of your research?
A: I read all of the Agatha Christie books and
made detailed notes of any mention of poisons I could find. If any character
was looking a little off-colour, or complained of a funny taste in their tea, a
bookmark went straight onto the page.
I also read books about Christie as well as textbooks
and popular science books on forensics, toxicology, real-life murder cases and
poisons.
What surprised me most was the huge number of
compounds Christie made use of. She killed around 100 characters with over 30
different poisons during her career.
The accuracy is also very impressive. Christie
did make mistakes but they are very minor and completely understandable given
scientific knowledge at the time she was writing.
Q: Do you have a favorite Agatha Christie
mystery?
A: Tough question. I could probably narrow it
down to five. And Then There Were None for an ingenious idea brilliantly
executed. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd for the twist at the end. Five Little
Pigs for perfect plotting and integration of poison symptoms. The Pale Horse
for its notoriety in possibly inspiring a real-life poisoner but also saving
the lives of two poison victims. And finally, Why Didn't They Ask Evans? for
pure enjoyment.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: I'm still enjoying talking about Christie and
poisons at various events. But, I have signed for another book so I will have
to move on from killing people to resurrecting them.
This time I'm writing about Mary Shelley and the
science that inspired her first novel, Frankenstein. There is going to be a lot
of reading up on body snatchers, electrical experiments and frogs. I'm really
looking forward to it.
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: Don't try this at home.
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