logo
episode-header-image
Jul 2023
27m 11s

In the Studio: Sophie Hannah

Bbc World Service
About this episode

The crime writer Agatha Christie remains the best-selling novelist of all time even though her death was almost 50 years ago. Her fictional detective Hercule Poirot has attained legendary status, so for a modern novelist to breathe new life into the character is a considerable challenge. However, the English psychological crime author Sophie Hannah has been doing just that. In 2014 she wrote her first novel using Poirot as the central character and we follow her in 2018 as she prepares her third Poirot novel for publication, entitled The Mystery of Three Quarters. Felicity Finch next catches up with Sophie as her fifth Poirot novel, Hercule Poirot’s Silent Night, is due to be published.

Up next
Today
Italy’s child obesity time-bomb
Children who are so obese they’re banned from their local gyms. Two and three year olds who are so used to juice and fizzy drinks they find it difficult to drink water. This is the child obesity epidemic hitting Italy. The country is often considered the spiritual home of the fab ... Show More
27m 10s
May 2
Mapping Epstein's global connections
The personal correspondence, photographs and papers of the late convicted sex offender and financier Jeffrey Epstein have been released to the public in stages, beginning in December 2025, after an almost unanimous vote in the US Senate. The released files run to three and a half ... Show More
26m 29s
Apr 25
Inside the Mugabe dynasty
Late Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe died in 2019, but in the years before and since his death, his three children with his former wife, Grace, consistenly made headlines for all the wrong reasons. In April 2026 Bellarmine Mugabe pled guilty to a firearms offence in South Afri ... Show More
26m 29s
Recommended Episodes
Jan 2018
Agatha Christie
This month World Book Club comes from the Belgium capital Brussels for an Agatha Christie special.The programme visits the Bibliotheca Wittockiana to discuss one of the bestselling crime novels of all time: Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie in which that shrewdest o ... Show More
49m 29s
Apr 2020
Agatha Christie: Queen of the Murder Mystery
<p>Agatha Christie was a great writer of murder mystery novels and is probably the best selling author of all time. Listen in today to learn her story.</p><p> </p> Learn more about your ad-choices at <a href="https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com">https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork. ... Show More
53m 13s
Apr 2025
Selects: Agatha Christie: Queen of the Murder Mystery
Agatha Christie was a great writer of murder mystery novels and is probably the best selling author of all time. Listen in this classic episode to learn her story.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 
53m 43s
Jan 2023
Agatha Christie
Retaining the title of the “Queen of Crime” to this day, Agatha Christie is the best-selling novelist of all time. Across 66 novels, 14 short-story collections, and 20 stage plays, she depicted the evil lurking in the hearts of ordinary people. But how did this homeschooled daugh ... Show More
59m 48s
Nov 2022
Miss Marple Returns
Agatha Christie is the world's most translated author, with her work being available in over 100 languages. And one of her most beloved characters, Miss Marple, is about to be resurrected with the help of 12 contemporary authors. In The Studio talks to two of those writers: Dreda ... Show More
30m 1s
Nov 2020
Agatha Christie
Reine du crime en huis clos, ses deux détectives, Hercule Poirot et Miss Marple, sont devenus des héros presque aussi célèbres que leur auteure. Portrait radiophonique d'Agatha Christie. 
7m 48s
Dec 2023
Agatha Christie (Repeat)
Retaining the title of the “Queen of Crime” to this day, Agatha Christie is the best-selling novelist of all time. Across 66 novels, 14 short-story collections, and 20 stage plays, she depicted the evil lurking in the hearts of ordinary people. But how did this homeschooled daugh ... Show More
58m 59s
Oct 2024
BEST OF (#31 OF 513) THE ADVENTURE OF THE EGYPTIAN TOMB by AGATHA CHRISTIE
Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, was an English writer. She is known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around her fictional detectives Hercule Pourot and Miss Marple. The Guiness Book of World Records lists ... Show More
38m 18s
Jan 2022
Writer Agatha Christie: Murder and mystery
Agatha Christie put her decision to become a writer down to a lack of education and a capacity for day-dreaming. Her murder mysteries, full of ingenious plot twists, are still regarded by many as the finest examples of crime fiction and have sold in their billions in the English ... Show More
39m 24s
May 2023
Agatha Christie
Sue Perkins and Dr Lucy Worsley join Greg Jenner to discuss the life of world-famous novelist, Agatha Christie. Agatha Christie is arguably the greatest ever crime novelist but her work has also permeated film, theatre and television over the past century. Christie also lived dur ... Show More
55m 38s