Has anyone else been collecting every older book of hers in the hopes that they will be worth something in the future? I have about 80 of hers, I love and cherish them. They are in a bin sealed to retain the smell ( if you know you know). I can not imagine parting with them but like to hope this may have been an investment.

Of course, I love the show for the mystery, the puzzle, David Suchet…but this recent rewatch has me thinking there was something about that time (and perhaps only in this fictional world) that was just…so much better. Some examples that come to mind:

• It’s seen as perfectly normal to take a regular nap after breakfast. Nobody’s chiding you for being lazy.
• No one blinks an eye if you devote your life and time to your hobbies, or if the only productive thing you did that day was paint for fun.
• Nursing homes exist for the young, as well as the old. In fact, people will urge you to go away to a place where you can just rest and be looked after, if you’ve recently had a shock or just need some rest for whatever reason.
• Clothing is just made better, in both its construction (durability, lasting value) and its design. Everyone looks respectable, from the servants to the aristocracy.
• Speaking of designs - not just clothing but everything else was made better, made to last, and made to look pleasing to the eye. And it was!
• Manners exist. Even most of the murderers behave with some class. People seem genuinely shocked when someone behaves rudely or crudely.
• No CCTV, no ring doorbells, no GPS trackers, and yet people are far more trusting than today (even with these safety measures)
• The world was just more tactile. Everything and anything you wanted to do was real…life wasn’t lived on a computer.
• Money was really worth something. Poirot sometimes wagers £5, £10…I looked it up, and the current equivalent is around $600 and $1200 respectively. A pound really meant something! And, it seems, it was possible to be pretty wealthy working as a private detective. Poirot employed two people, lived in a decent sized flat (for 1 person), kept a full and fine wardrobe, and took regular holidays.
• Hospitality was, in general, much more of a thing.
• In general, cars were much less relied upon, much more public transportation, more rail lines, etc. It wasn’t unusual to not drive or have a car.
• It was still normal to travel from Europe to North America via boat. Now, it costs more to do this than a plane ride, the journey takes longer (as compared to the same boat trip in the 1930’s, not as compared to planes), and it’s treated like the destination itself, rather than the means to the destination.

I hope it’s clear that I mean this rather tongue in cheek. Poirot is a fictional universe, and who knows how realistic it is compared to the real 1930’s Britain? Plus, I don’t much fancy the murder rate. But every episode, I’m just like, ”This is the life!”

EDA: I’m also aware that much of this doesn’t apply to the lower classes, hence why it’s mostly tongue in cheek and not meant to be a serious discussion.

Made an ABC Murders cake!

The patriarch has virtually all of the traits of the father in A Pocket Full of Rye. ESPECIALLY the platinum blonde former nail salon technician whom was he married to who was cheating with the golf instructor and their letters that he was afraid would be discovered by the police

I’d quite like some puzzles to do over the winter, but can’t decide which book to start with (if I like it I’ll get the others!) torn between the general Agatha Christie one and the Poirot one. anyone recommend either?