Agatha Christie is often mistakenly referred to as a 'cosy' crime writer, but nothing could be further from the truth. Throughout her entire cannon of detective novels, short stories and plays, she reveals herself to be inspired by some of the 20th century's most infamous crimes such as The Brides in the Bath killings and the Acid Bath Murderer. She also illustrates a comprehensive knowledge of what we now call 'Forensic Science'; something she would have described as Medicolegal Science and Criminalistics.

This talk focuses on the golden age of both Agatha's detective fiction and the burgeoning real-life sciences of crime investigation and forensics which happily collide in many of Agatha's works - often inspired by one well-known criminalist. From his investigation of the Dr Crippen case in 1910 (a murder which Christie mentions in around 15 of her books) forensic pathologist Bernard Spilsbury became one of the most famous men in England until his death in 1947, and the gruesome murders he testified about in court were frequently on the front page of every newspaper. Christie, then, was inspired by him and his work, and on many occasions crime fact became crime fiction.

Join Carla for a deep dive into autopsies, fingerprints, firearms, blood spatter analysis, toxicology, and more in Christie's beloved works and you'll never read her in the same way again!