Mark Aldridge

But yeah, she's a big advocate of it.

I disagree.

But they're very different books.

championing the Westmacots I mean that's exactly what we want to do and what we are doing what I would say is that also where Max says it's the most powerful and dramatic of all I don't think it's the most powerful but it's definitely the most dramatic like loads happens in this book do you think?

yeah there's a shipwreck in Giant's Bread oh wow and there's yeah but there's bullets flying around the place sudden random murders there's Vernon gets hit by a car and forgets who he is in Giant's Bread

Oh, yes.

Now, Agatha herself did say that this book was one that I can always read with great pleasure, though it was not an imperative like Absent in the Spring.

And I think you can feel that, that you didn't feel the immediate drive because this is a bit more, like I say, traditional in its structure.

But there again, the idea behind the book had been with me for a long time.

In fact, since about 1929.

Just a sketchy picture that I knew would come to life one day.

So 1929 is interesting because she must be working on Giant's Bread around that time.

It's a big Wall Street crash in America.

So lots of upsets in terms of the world feeling like it's wobbling a bit.

And yet, as her publisher felt, and I think we would feel, it feels very much like it's stuck in 1945-ish.

and I guess the other thing is Saint Lou which we may or may not be in but is clearly coded to be something like Torquay I would say so so it's really interesting isn't it because so Saint Lou has appeared in Agatha Christie yes because

Come and get your tickets if you haven't already.

But it's not like the centre point of... Yes, but... That you literally look up to.

No, it's like, otherwise it's just like truth.

Copying.