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    A is for Arsenic: The Poisons of Agatha Christie
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    A is for Arsenic: The Poisons of Agatha Christie
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    A is for Arsenic: The Poisons of Agatha Christie
    Ebook405 pages6 hours

    A is for Arsenic: The Poisons of Agatha Christie

    By Kathryn Harkup

    4/5

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    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    Shortlisted for the BMA Book Awards and Macavity Awards 2016

    Fourteen novels. Fourteen poisons. Just because it's fiction doesn't mean it's all made-up ...

    Agatha Christie revelled in the use of poison to kill off unfortunate victims in her books; indeed, she employed it more than any other murder method, with the poison itself often being a central part of the novel. Her choice of deadly substances was far from random – the characteristics of each often provide vital clues to the discovery of the murderer. With gunshots or stabbings the cause of death is obvious, but this is not the case with poisons. How is it that some compounds prove so deadly, and in such tiny amounts?

    Christie's extensive chemical knowledge provides the backdrop for A is for Arsenic, in which Kathryn Harkup investigates the poisons used by the murderer in fourteen classic Agatha Christie mysteries. It looks at why certain chemicals kill, how they interact with the body, the cases that may have inspired Christie, and the feasibility of obtaining, administering and detecting these poisons, both at the time the novel was written and today. A is for Arsenic is a celebration of the use of science by the undisputed Queen of Crime.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBloomsbury Publishing
    Release dateSep 10, 2015
    ISBN9781472911292
    Unavailable
    A is for Arsenic: The Poisons of Agatha Christie
    Author

    Kathryn Harkup

    Kathryn Harkup is a former chemist turned author. She writes and gives regular public talks on the disgusting and dangerous side of science. Her first book was the international best-seller A is for Arsenic: The Poisons of Agatha Christie, which was shortlisted for a Mystery Readers International Macavity Award and a BMA Book Award. She has also written Making the Monster: The Science of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Death by Shakespeare: Snakebites, Stabbings and Broken Hearts, and her latest book is Superspy Science: Science, Death and Tech in the World of James Bond. @RotwangsRobot

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    Reviews for A is for Arsenic

    4/5

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    • 5/5
      This one is for all the Agatha Christie fans out there who also love science. Harkup devotes a chapter to each of the 14 poisons Christie used to eliminate so many of her victims over the course of 56 years writing mysteries. In each chapter she discusses the history of each poison's discovery, its use in real crimes throughout history, its antidotes (if any), how its tested for, and how Christie used each poison in her books (as well as how accurate her knowledge was - hint: very). I found the writing compelling and incredibly interesting, but this is not a book for people bored by, or disinterested in, chemistry and anatomy. Harkup knows her stuff both as a chemist and as a Christie fan. She gets into the nitty gritty details about how each poison wreaks its havoc in the human body; this might cause some eyes to glaze over. In almost every chapter, she manages to discuss Christie's books and plots without revealing the killer, and when she can't avoid it, she clearly warns the reader upfront that there are spoilers ahead, offering "go to page xx" to readers wanting to avoid knowing whodunnit. Some might still find her discussions too revealing, so be warned; if you want to know as little as possible about the books, save this one for later. At the end, she offers a fascinating appendix of every book and short story Christie wrote, with each US/UK title and a list of all the ways people die, a more esoteric appendix illustrating most of the chemical structures discussed in the text (the rest are on her website), a select bibliography and a comprehensive index. I came away from this book having learned a lot, but possibly the two most important things: strychnine is just about the last way I'd want to go, and that Christie would have been the last person I'd ever want to piss off.
    • 5/5
      This is an encyclopaedic work written authoritatively by a scientist who obviously loves her Agatha Christie novels. I have to admit to getting a bit lost in some of the more technical/scientific sections but really enjoyed the analysis in each chapter of whether Agatha Christie got it right.Each chapter is headed with the name of a poison (Arsenic, Thallium, Veronal etc) attached to the plot of a particular novel. We get the historiography of the poison, how it works on the human body, real-life examples of its use, whether there is an antidote, and then an in depth treatment of the way it is used in the novel. Quite often the sleuth is Hercule Poirot.Of interest too will be Appendix 1: Christie's Causes of Death, a table listing all of the Agatha Christie novels and short stories in order of publication, and the cause of death in each of them. My Kindle Paper White didn't handle this graphic all that well, but my iPad reader does better.For the technically minded there is Appendix 2: structures of some of the chemicals in this book.By no means a quick read, but an interesting one from many points of view.
    • 3/5
      Various of the poisons used by Agatha Christie are described in detail. The source, chemical nature, bio logical effect, history as a poison, their use in Christies books, and real life cases are all described. Intriguing but gets repetitious and sometimes more detailed than desired. Perhaps better read in snippets.
    • 4/5
      For Agatha Christie fans this is a must read giving insight into the deep knowledge of pharmacology she brought to her writing. For non fans there is enough science to keep you hooked and inspire you to read her stories. It was a book I enjoyed from start to finish.
    • 4/5
      This is a really unique non-fiction read, with Harkup examining Agatha Christie's novels through the poisons she chose for her murderers to use.Each chapter is centered around a different poison and a different Christie mystery. In each chapter, Harkup gives the scientific background of the poison, as well as examples of real-life cases where the poison was used. The end of every chapter is an analysis of the ways the poison was used in Christie's books.If you are a fan of Agatha Christie, I strongly recommend this read. Even if you think you might be put off by the science aspects, give it a go. I am in no way a science expert, and haven't taken a science class since high school, but I still found this book fascinating.
    • 5/5
      If you have any interest in poisons and/or Agatha Christie, do check out this new book. It's absolutely fascinating. It goes into deep detail about the history of the poisons, how they work, if there are antidotes, and how Christie used the poison and her accuracy (which tends to be quite high). A is for Arsenic is a fast read. The chapters are short, and the way that it mixes Christie's fiction with fact works very well.I would categorize the book along with The Poisoner's Handbook by Deborah Blum for how it tackles history and science together; needless to say, I love Poisoner's Handbook as well. It's a book I have referred to multiple times in my writing. Harkup's book will likewise gain reference use. It actually already made me pause, as I think I need to make corrections to a manuscript I'll be editing soon.This is definitely one of my favorite nonfiction reads for the year. If you write fiction that involves poison, get it. If you love mysteries, get it. If you want to catch odd glances in public, get it (bonus points for how it has a cool vintage-style cover, too)
    • 3/5
      Overall entertaining, educating and just a little enervating. There’s a lot of chemistry and biology in the explanations of how each poison kills that it can be a little overwhelming to read the book in long sessions. Broken up in smaller bits it works better. In addition to explaining how each poison kills, the writer describes how Christie used it in a particular book, how accurate she was about dosing and symptoms (she was!) and whether there were any real-life murders with that poison. Readers will especially like that there are no spoilers in most of the explanations, and where there are they are forewarned. Nice!Although I learned a lot from the book, there were some things that I felt didn’t need explaining. Like how heroin is cut to maximize profits. Haven’t we all seen Dirty Harry, Miami Vice and a million other cop dramas to understand that this is the norm? Jeez. But on to the good stuff -Arsenic is known to retard decomposition. Arsenic eating became a fad … yeah, I know … weird. But this fad may have contributed to the vampire myth. Bodies found long after death or disinterred may have shown little signs of decay. Where’s my stake?Belladonna’s active component is atropine from the latin atropa which comes from Atropos, the aspect of fate responsible for cutting the cords of life. That is just so cool.Hemlock has been mentioned in fiction for thousands of years - in plays, poetry and even used in the name of a Sesame Street character, the detective Sherlock Hemlock. Hemlock decreases in potency as the plant ages. I did not know that and will only use young hemlock. Kidding.The term cold turkey comes from morphine withdrawal symptoms. Getting chilled and having goosebumps is very common when coming off opioids and people looked like cold turkeys. Why not cold geese is anybody’s guess.One thing that I didn’t need to learn from a book because I already know it to be true is this - “The interaction of morphine with opioid receptors in the cerebral cortex, the higher functioning part of the brain, modifies our perception of pain. A person under the influence of morphine may continue to be aware of pain, but is no longer concerned about it.” p 183Right on. I’ve said it in other reviews and places - vicodin (et al) doesn’t do anything for pain, it just makes you not care. Overall an interesting book and one that if you are a person of large fortune with unscrupulous relatives, will make you want to hire a food taster.
    • 4/5
      This is an enjoyable and informative read. It takes 14 of the poisons used by Agatha Christie in her books and looks at them in more detail. This covers the origin of the poison, how is it extracted and made and how it works on the body to cure (if it has therapeutic use) and kill. All of which is told in down to earth language such that the non technical specialist can follow what is being described, although not so much that you could necessarily extract the poison yourself! From there is looks at cases involving the poison that occurred before and after the relevant books' publication. Some of them were inspired by a case, in others the book may have inspired use. The most interesting one from this perspective was where the book helped solve a poisoning case, as the nurse recognised the symptoms of her patient from the description in Christie's book. At times she was following old paths, at times her use of the poison was contemporary and in other quite novel. There are 14 different poisons in here, and that felt like about enough.
    • 4/5
      [A is for Arsenic: The Poisons of Agatha Christie] is fascinating. The author goes through each of the poisons, in alphabetical order, that Christie used in her novels, and the format is excellent. First she gives the history of the drug, and any of its derivatives. Then she explains how the drug interacts with the body. Next she discusses antidotes and detection. Finally she talks about real life cases of using it as a poison and how Christie incorporated some of these into her novels. She does reveal which poisons are used in which novels and who the victims are, but she does not spoil the endings - she never reveals the murderer or how they are caught. The exception to this is the chapter on Opium, but she warns you first and tells you where to turn to if you want to skip the spoilers - hard to argue with that! The chemistry nerd in me is loved it, but you don't have to have a background in chemistry to appreciate and understand the material presented. Definitely highly recommended.
    • 3/5
      A is for Arsenic: The Poisons of Agatha ChristieAuthor: Kathryn HarkupPublisher: Bloomsbury SigmaPublished In: New York CityDate: 2015Pgs: 320REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERSSummary:Christie’s chemical knowledge is the backdrop. The author investigates the poisons used by the murderer in 14 mysteries. Why do these chemicals kill? What physiologic effects are there? Were these based on real world poisonings? What are the procedures for obtaining, administering, and detecting these poisons? A is for Arsenic looks at the science behind Agatha Christie’s poisons.Genre:AcademicsHistoryMysteryNon-fictionScience and natureWhy this book:Agatha Christie and Science!!!______________________________________________________________________________Favorite Character:Agatha’s use and knowledge of actual real world poisons that were used in her stories.The science itself is a character in this document.The Feel:Very informed. Tells how Agatha got her knowledge. Gives a good history of her life without being a biography.Favorite Scene:The fascinating stories of actual crimes and poisoners. The ones that she may or may not have based some of her characters on. And the ones that happened after her novels who may have gotten their ideas from her work.Pacing:Well paced for nonfiction. Hmm Moments:Never knew that Dame Agatha was a pharmacist’s assistant in the World Wars.Surprising that there weren’t more arsenic issues in that late 1800s early 1900s era with it being as omnipresent as it seems to have been. A jurisprudence defense arose in this era centered on the Styrian Defense. The Styrian people birthed a custom wherein people were in the habit of taking increasing amounts of arsenic to combat complexion issues and increase respiration. This spread beyond Styria and became widespread despite the obvious drawbacks. Once lethal doses were met, the results were the same as if a malicious poisoning had taken place. In the short term, the arsenic would kill off bacteria, but in the longer run as levels in the bloodstream rose, the more lethal effects would manifest. Arsenic has massive preservative qualities. In some cases, corpses exhumed 15 years after burial were still recognizable by family members. This preservative effect may have fed the vampire ideal.The real world monkhood incident where Dr Meyer had prescribed a dose for a young boy who became ill. And when his mother came to question him about it, became incensed that she would dare question him and took a dose from the child’s medicine bottle and, five hours later, died. All doctors should have to take medicines that they prescribe.______________________________________________________________________________Last Page Sound:Aaaarrggghhhh! THUMP! Loved it.Author Assessment:Well done bit of infortainment.Knee Jerk Reaction:real genre classicDisposition of Book:Irving Public LibrarySouth CampusIrving, TXDewey Decimal System: 615.9HARWould recommend to:genre fans______________________________________________________________________________
    • 4/5
      This is a nonfiction book that covers some of the poisons that Agatha Christie used over the years in her books. The chapters cover a poison and talk about the book that it was in without giving away the murder and tell you if there was a real life case that might have inspired her to use it. The neat part is the author goes into excellent detail in the science on each poison on how it kills, if there was an antidote to it, and did Agatha Christie give all the correct symptoms and dosages in her books. I didn’t know that Agatha Christie worked in a pharmacy during both World Wars and this is where she got the knowledge to use these poisons so well in her books. I enjoyed the book and it will be a fun read for a big mystery fan.

      Digital review copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley.
    • 4/5
      Kathryn Harkup’s excellent volume, A is for Arsenic. is a presentation of the various poisons that Agatha Christie used in her novels, and how those poisons affect human biological processes to the point of death. The author has a doctorate in chemistry, so you might understand how I’d fear (as a humanities person) that I wouldn’t be up to the challenge of grasping the actual science contained in Harkup’s work. That proved to be true to some extent but my own dim grasp of science was to blame rather than Harkup’s work. As a matter of fact, she did manage to educate me a little bit about toxins and their impact. It might well be a useful one to keep on the shelf, just in case someone you love is hit by either digitalis or ricin. (Did you know Christie used ricin in one of her books? I didn’t. I’d always thought it was one of those new drugs developed in the age of bio-chemical warfare but ricin is rather older than that.)Each chapter deals with a different poison and contains a series of sub-sections. These are:-- The _____ story where she gives you some historical background on the specified poison;-- How the particular poison kills;-- Any available antidotes;-- Some real-life cases of the poison’s use for purposes of murder;-- Agatha Christie’s inclusion of the poison in a particular novel, including where she had errors in understanding.The author’s professional expertise is used in discussing chemical structures and the ways in which the poison might short-circuit the body’s operation. The chapter on digitalis includes an excellent set of pages explaining how the heart works (including diagrams). To relieve the nerves of some, I can assure potential readers that the information specified by Harkup is never so detailed as to actually allow the text to serve as a DIY handbook.