Agatha

[boatman]

How is it that such a bad writer as Agatha Christie is far and away the biggest-selling author of all time anywhere in the world? Even as a young teenager I thought her writing was terrible, so this has been a life-long mystery to me.

[ravenhair]

I have often thought the same thing about Catherine Cookson - most borrowed library books, sold by the bucketload, it's an absolute travesty if you ask me ...

[andy hughes]

It all comes down to personal preference really. For instance - everyone mourns the death of Spike Milligan, and how wonderfully funny he was - I couldn't smile at anything he did if I was paid for it. But to books - I'm not familiar with Ms Christie's works, but an even more villified writer is Jeffrey Archer - I've read and enjoyed all his novels, and aprt from separating the art from the man, I have no problem there. Why do people buy Whitney Houston albums - now there IS a mystery!

[vittoria]

I think she wrote a few good books and masses and masses of appalling ones, and was selling off her reputation from the good ones. I have read quite a few and thought Murder on the Orient Express was good, the rest were terrible. My mother says that reading her books is like drinking a camomile tea - conforting, untaxing, helps you to go to sleep...

[artisan]

I think it has something to do with familarity. At the end of the day everyone knows how did the murder on the Orient Express and everyone wants to solve the case before Poirot. I think Andy Hughes misjudges Spike Milligan linking him to just comedy. I wonder if in 20 years time if Goon scripts and memorabilia won't be more read than Agatha Christie?

[incitatus]

I think A.C. was the first example of holiday reading. Noone wants a challenge on the beach. I would say that The Mirror Crack'd was one of her better ones.....I think though that the characters of her detectives may be the decider. Ciphers though they are, they are believable ciphers. AH, you are wrong. Non PC tho it is I defy you not to smile at the Pakistani Dalek sketch.

[barrywom]

It is twee and badly written, but you just can't get away from the fact that it's enormously popular, so, what can we say? There are better crime writers, but AC was cosy and seemed to evoke a kind of mythical Imperial England (as opposed to Britain) where everyone knew the rules and everything was OK - and she did do a good mystery. More appalling were her awful romances under the name of Mary Westmacott.

[barrywom]

Oh, and yep, Incitatus, it is hard not to crack a non-PC smile at 'put it in the curry'. Though I think the dalek was a Sikh, given the style of turban (I could be wrong here).

[artisan]

Could either Barrywom or Incititus give an example of something this 'Dalek' Pakistani says?

[barrywom]

The beturbanned dalek would sweep around indiscriminately shooting people and things and saying 'put it in the curry'. I can't recall anything else it said. Doesn't look too side splitting when you write it down, I'll admit.

[artisan]

Did he ever go upstairs though?

[findo]

There are authors who are aiming to write a work of art, and others who are, like Christie, craftspeople who know how to make something that works well. Whatever you may think of her style, she found a formula that appealed to a lot of readers, perhaps because it offered a small mental challenge; the "hook" of "who dunnit". Catherine Cookson and Agatha Christie's books exploit the desire of some readers to know what they are getting; if you buy one of their books you know exactly what it will be like in terms of both plot and character - and you know they won't be *too* challenging - or violent, or scary. This makes them a "safe bet" for a holiday read. Christie's books are now popular for being things of their time; the period details which once made them contemporary now lend them an old-fashioned charm. That said, I haven't read them since I was a teenager either!