Agatha Christie and the Guilty Pleasure of Poison

by Sylvia A. Pamboukian

Overview

Agatha Christie and the Guilty Pleasure of Poison examines Christie’s female poisoners in the context of Christie’s own experience in pharmacy and of detective fiction. In doing so, it uncovers an overlooked dynamic in which female poisoners deliver well-deserved comeuppance for gendered and classed wrongdoing ordinarily accepted in everyday life. While critics have long recognized male outlaws, like Robin Hood, who use crime to oppose a corrupt system, this book contends that female outlaws – witches and poisoners – offer a similar heritage of empowered femininity. Far from cozy and formulaic, Agatha Christie’s outlaw poisoners offer readers the surprising pleasures of comeuppance, and they set the stage for contemporary detective fiction writers, more recent films depicting poisoning as empowering, and even poison gardens, which are tourist destinations that offer visitors the guilty pleasure of poison.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9783031160004
Publisher:	Palgrave Macmillan
Publication date:	11/12/2022
Series:	Crime Files
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	495 KB

About the Author

Formerly a pharmacist, Dr. Sylvia A. Pamboukian is a professor of English at Robert Morris University near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She is the author of Doctoring the Novel: Medicine and Quackery from Shelley to Doyle, and her research and teaching interests include British literature, detective fiction, the Victorian Gothic, and the health humanities.

Table of Contents

1. Agatha Christie, Poison, and Crime.- 2. Agatha Christie and Pharmacy.- 3. Dying Game: Unrepentant Outlaws in Christie and Doyle.- 4. Cheering Bystanders in Christie and Sayers.- 5. The Revenger’s Comeuppance in Christie and Jackson.- 6. The Poisoner’s Afterlives.- 7. Readers and the Poison Garden.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“Sylvia Pamboukian strays from the well-trodden paths of Agatha Christie studies, and the result is very satisfying. Pamboukian remains gentle in her treatment of her readers, treading a judicious path between the didactic and the well-paced.” (Alistair Rolls, Associate Professor of French Studies at the University of Newcastle, Australia, and author of Agatha Christie and New Directions in Reading Detective Fiction Narratology and Detective Criticism)

“In Agatha Christie and the Guilty Pleasure of Poisoning, Sylvia Pamboukian provides a timely reassessment of the works of Agatha Christie. Pamboukian reveals how, far from being conservative and formulaic, Christie’s fiction contains a subversive potential located in the author’s reimagining of the female outlaw poisoner. Drawing on documentary evidence, this fluently written study shows how Christie’s pharmaceutical training grants verisimilitude to her depiction of poison….” (Steven McLean, Department of English Literature and Culture, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies)

“Agatha Christie and the Guilty Pleasure of Poison by Sylvia Pamboukian is a provocative and carefully researched book about female poisoners in contemporary detective fiction with a focus on the work of Agatha Christie. Pamboukian deftly demonstrates that female poisoners are part of a pattern of female justice-driven retribution in fiction that has been largely overlooked. This important book thus revitalizes conversations surrounding women’s empowerment by repositioning some of the many female poisoners found in detective fiction as justice-seeking rather than as simple or spiteful mediums of revenge. Readers of detective fiction, especially those who study Agatha Christie, and readers interested in feminism and strong women protagonists will value the well-written insights and discerning close readings within [this book].” (AlisonGraham Bertolini, Associate Professor of English and Women’s Studies Director of Graduate Studies in English North Dakota State University)

Editorial Reviews

Nominated by Content Prize Committee for International Crime Fiction Association, Second Runner Up Selection, 2022
“Agatha Christie and the Guilty Pleasure of Poison, Sylvia A. Pamboukian
This book has the lovely premise of Christie’s female poisoners as outlaws; rebels, justified seekers of revenge and retribution. Conducting useful comparisons with other iconic authors this book is full of interest. Following the current trend that sees Christie as a pioneer interested in subversion rather than conservative, reactionary and formulaic this book gives an exciting and unexpected reading of her work.” (Ruth Heholt, Linda Ledford-Miller and Kerstin-Anja Münderlein, ICFA - International Crime Fiction Association Newsletter, October, 2023)

From the Publisher