Sophie Hanna update on new Poirot Stories.

Dr.Sheppard

EXCITING ANNOUNCEMENT - I'M GOING TO BE WRITING TWO MORE POIROT NOVELS!

From The Bookseller news:

'HarperCollins has bagged two further Hercule Poirot novels by crime writer Sophie Hannah. The publisher acquired world English-language rights for the continuation novels starring Agatha Christie’s iconic character.

The deal was struck by David Brawn, publisher of estates at HarperFiction, with Agatha Christie Ltd and Peter Straus of RCW. The books are to be co-published by William Morrow in the US.

Hannah’s first two Poirot novels, The Monogram Murders, published in 2014, and Closed Casket (2016), were both Sunday Times bestsellers. The new titles will be released in 2018 and 2020 respectively, and will see the Belgian detective investigating two new cases.

Hannah said: “It has been a joy and an honour to work with the Christie family and with HarperCollins on my first Poirot novels. I can’t wait to get to work on his next two cases.”'

Tommy_A_Jones

So? I won't be reading them

Tommy_A_Jones

Sorry, What I should have said was I have no interest in them as Agatha Christie Killed Poirot so that no-one else would write Poirot Books amd in my Opinion Not even the Family should give permission for This Travesty

Dr.Sheppard

@Tommy_A_Jones I think you have given us your views on the new Poirot stories many times, however, they have been published and have been very well received. So, people can review then and pass on their thoughts. It's a shame that you are unable, or unwilling to do so. The new novels are detective stories and that is all they are, Sophie does not write as Agatha Christie, but she has been given the opportunity to look at a period in Poirot's life which Christie did not cover. Her skills in writing a convincing Poirot story are definitely improving, as was noticeable in the second book. The story line is very different from her normal psychological thrillers and I look forward to discussing them at the fourth Annual Agatha Christie Conference in Cambridge in June this year.

Dr.Sheppard

I would comment of the fact that Christie killed off the character Poirot so that no one else could continue writing about him.

Christie wrote Curtain 30 years before it was published. It was meant to be the final book in the Poirot series (hence the name). She published it when she was in ill health and knew she would not write another book. She died the following year. She had done the same thing for the Miss Marple series, but kept her alive at the end.

By 1970 Poirot must have been about 120 - definitely time he was laid to rest!

An extract from an interview with Mathew Prichard n BBC Radio Devon, 27th October 2010.

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Of all the many characters killed off in Agatha Christie's novels, it seems the one she really wanted to bump off was her detective, Hercule Poirot.

The little Belgian restricted her style, according to her grandson, Mathew Prichard.

In an interview with the Radio Times, Mr Prichard reveals she wanted to "exorcise herself of him".

But Poirot had become so popular with her readers that she came to regard him as her "bread and butter".

"She was never short of ideas for books," Mr Pritchard says of his grandmother, who was born in Torquay and had a home overlooking the River Dart at Greenway, near Galmpton in south Devon.

"But some of these ideas were inappropriate for Poirot, so she was very keen to exorcise herself of him by writing different stories with new characters.

"But her agents and publishers, who were in charge of the pounds and pence, were very keen on Poirot. He was her most popular character."

The result, says Mr Prichard, was that Dame Agatha continued to "churn out" Poirot whodunnits

Tommy_A_Jones

Dr Shephard The Books are set in 1929, The 1st Poirot book came out in 1920 so how you can say that The Books are set in a Time where Agatha Christie didn't write about for Poirot I do not now, The Books may be Brilliant as books but I still don't think they should have been written, That is My Opinion and I reserve the right to say so on any site when anybody's opinion is asked for, If you don't like that Tough.

It may interest you to know after seeing Sophie Hannah on Facebook I sent her a Message with my Thoughts, and Today I had a Reply so if she can put up with my Opinion on the matter That is good enough for me

taliavishay-arbel

Tommy, I hope you can cool off. You already gave us your opinion about Sophie Hannah's Poirot books in the past - reiterating it every time her name comes up is a bit wearisome. You have so much to contribute to the discussions here - why downgrade your input? We are certainly interested in your opinion - just not in repeating it. 

Dr.Sheppard

Tommy, I'll just add that the period when Agatha Christie was not writing about Poirot was between 1928 and 1932, at this time she was creating Miss Marple. It's a very short period and is perhaps not a reasonable statement to say Poirot was not on Christie's mind.

ChristieFanForLife

Tommy, what did Sophie Hannah say in her e-mail to you?

Tommy_A_Jones

Tali I am sorry if I am becoming wearisome but I only Contribute when it is relevant and I have every right to, Dr Shephard It is irrelevant to me the time when Agatha Christie was writing Poirot Boks, what is relevant is that She killed Poirot off because she didn't want anyone else to write Poirot books, ChristieFanForLife Sophie Hannah said she her Books were set in 1929.

taliavishay-arbel

Tommy, of course you may write what you like! I'm just sorry that you make yourself repetitive, when you have so much to contribute. As to AC killing Poirot off - I think, based on what she said, that she was personally weary of him. I feel probably no writer feels really comfortable with someone else monkeying about with his characters, and yet it is done all the time - sometimes with fair success (as with Tritton's sequels to Heidi, Pamela Cox's sequels to Enid Blyton's Malory Towers series, or Jill Patton Walsh's sequels to the the Peter Whimsey stories) and sometimes it is a disaster or a travesty. Have you read any Hannah Sophie Poirot books, and found them bad, or do you just disagree with the concept of her writing them?

Tommy_A_Jones

I am sorry if I am repetitive I do not mean to be but when I see someone new asking people's thoughts I feel I have a right to explain mine as to them it is obviously the 1st time of knowing my views, I Try to promise next time someone asks The opinion of others instead of expressing my Opinion I will either say that this topic has been covered to death or that my opinion is well known among others, I did not know of the Mallory Towers books and have not read yet the Jill Patton Walsh books with Wimsey, I would just add though Sophie Hannah is the only person I know of who has written books featuring a Character who the Original Creator Killed off and I am sorry but that aspect is important to me.

taliavishay-arbel

I believe you are correct about "reincarnation" of a character who has been killed off. And it is annoying, I agree. As for the other examples I gave - the Patton Walsh Wimsey books are a bit heavier than the originals, but the characters are really the original ones, and on the other hand she brings the family story forward in a credible way (e.g. Bunter, the servent and photographer, marries a photographer, and their boy goes to school with Peter and Harriet's Boy, but turns out to be more clever). I really enjoyed them. In the Malory series, the writing is so even that if I hadn't known in advance I would have thought they were written by the same hand. 

Tommy_A_Jones

My Mum has a Paton Walsh Wimsey, I shall borrow it.

taliavishay-arbel

Warning - I didn'l like the first one - it was very good, but very sad. But that's just me. My favourite was the last - "The Late Scholar".

Tommy_A_Jones

I shall bear that in mind Tali.