Michelle Kazmer serves as the dean of Florida State University’s College of Communication and Information. Additionally, she holds a professorship in the School of Information and is a prominent authority on crime fiction writer Agatha Christie, particularly from the Golden Age.
Kazmer is a foremost specialist in how Christie incorporates information theories into her narratives; however, she also investigates other facets of Christie’s work and the enduring influence of crime fiction on society.
Recently, Kazmer had a conversation with Sir David Suchet for his new original series on BritBox titled “Travels with Agatha Christie & Sir David Suchet,” particularly focused on the episode covering Christie’s trip to Hawaii.
Kazmer has penned the chapter “Christie’s Clues as Information” for “The Bloomsbury Handbook to Agatha Christie,” was interviewed by the BBC on the subject twice, and co-hosted two installments of the All About Agatha Christie Podcast. Furthermore, she is the first American to deliver the keynote address at the international conference for Agatha Christie and the Golden Age of Crime.
What inspired you to delve into Agatha Christie’s works and her life?
Like many enthusiasts, I’ve been an admirer of Agatha Christie since my early adolescence. Just over ten years ago, I seized the opportunity to focus my research on her body of work. Crime fiction is immensely significant as an area of study; it holds substantial economic power and serves essential human interests. For thousands of years, humans have reflected on what it means to be human and how we deal with individuals who breach our collective responsibilities through the consumption of crime fiction. It fundamentally shapes our thought processes and the frameworks of justice in society.
How does your background in information science enhance your specialized knowledge on Christie and her era of crime fiction?
Numerous brilliant scholars examine crime fiction from various angles: literary, legal, media, linguistic, forensic, etc. However, I noticed a gap; there weren’t individuals analyzing fictional detection through the lens of “information behavior.” This is a concept extensively studied and theorized within information science, which sparked my curiosity: can we uncover insights about the success of crime fiction by evaluating it through information science theories? The response is affirmative.
In what ways did Christie’s vacation in Hawaii and her travels during the 1920s, prior to gaining fame, shape her writing?
Young Agatha Christie was, as evident from her diaries and autobiographical accounts, a highly energetic individual. She was sociable and quite physically active! She cherished travel and took advantage of the opportunity to explore parts of the world in 1922 during a trip related to the British Empire Exhibition in London. There’s a publication named “The Grand Tour,” overseen by her grandson, Mathew Prichard. The new series available on BritBox, “Travels with Agatha Christie and Sir David Suchet,” features Sir David Suchet visiting all those same locations.
Travel is a prominent theme throughout nearly all of Agatha Christie’s writings. Whether it’s domestic journeys by train or car, or international voyages by train, airplane, ship, boat, bus, or camel — she wove travel into her narratives over her extensive career of more than 50 years. Travel is, in many respects, a crime writer’s ideal scenario: it allows for the assembly of diverse groups of people often in a secluded setting, propelling them to act in ways they may not in their daily lives. Because she herself traveled extensively, her depictions of travel are strikingly authentic, capturing both the joyful moments and the challenges!
What contributes to the enduring popularity of Christie’s works in both popular culture and academic study?
Crime fiction enjoys global popularity, with Agatha Christie being particularly prominent. She stands as the best-selling novelist in history, her works have been translated into over 100 languages from the original English, and adapted into every conceivable medium including radio plays, manga, stage adaptations, and video games. But why is Agatha Christie so particularly revered? First and foremost, her writing is approachable not because it is simplistic, but due to her exceptional talent and clarity in plot and style. You can read it swiftly in an airport and relish the experience, or engage with it deeply for scholarly analysis — and still derive enjoyment and knowledge. Her works invite re-reading; they hold enough intrigue that even when you know “whodunnit,” you’re eager to revisit them. Lastly, she was a visionary innovator. For every trope now common in crime fiction, Agatha either pioneered it — meaning she created it; or she executed it better than anyone else — innovating a concept and mastering it; or both — she both innovated and perfected a device in crime storytelling.
What titles would you suggest to new readers interested in exploring Christie’s works?
As one can imagine, suggesting a “first” Agatha Christie to newcomers is a topic of much discussion among fans! I will provide some categorized recommendations:
- Starting Kit: “The Murder at the Vicarage” (Miss Marple); “Death on the Nile” (Hercule Poirot); “Evil Under the Sun” (Hercule Poirot); “Why Didn’t They Ask Evans?” (Standalone).
- The Treasures: “The Murder of Roger Ackroyd,” “Murder on the Orient Express,” and “And Then There Were None.”
- Other delightful reads to consider early on: “The Secret Adversary,” “Five Little Pigs,” “A Murder is Announced,” “Ordeal by Innocence,” “Hercule Poirot’s Christmas,” “The Mysterious Affair at Styles,” “A Pocket Full of Rye,” and “Crooked House.”
With 66 novels, 14 collections of short stories, numerous plays, and virtually limitless adaptations, there is ample material to keep one engaged for quite a while.
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