The clock struck 6; it was time. The guests began gathering to discuss the ghastly incident over a glass of sparkling cyanide.<\/p>\n
Thus begins the Agatha Christie Book, Bingo and Trivia Night<\/a> at Agecroft Hall & Gardens, where local sleuths and bibliophiles are invited to spend an evening immersed in the world of the iconic English mystery writer.\u00a0The next quarterly gathering, scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 28, will focus on Christie\u2019s 1969 novel \u201cHallowe\u2019en Party,\u201d the sinister story of a teenager found drowned in an apple-bobbing tub after bragging about having seen a murder.<\/p>\n \u201cOur book and bingo nights are loosely based on a book club, but there are a couple of things different,\u201d says Katie Reynolds, Agecroft\u2019s tour services manager and co-founder of the event. For one, the evening includes short tours of the museum, with guides relating Agecroft\u2019s history and highlighting items and events related to Christie and the chosen book.<\/p>\n And most book clubs don\u2019t play bingo \u2014 although this month, Reynolds notes, there will also be a trivia game \u201cto kind of switch things up,\u201d she says. Prizes include items from the museum\u2019s gift shop.<\/p>\n Apart from the additions, the evening still closely resembles a book club meeting. The organizers provide a list of book-related questions for discussion, and guests are encouraged to mingle and discuss the tale.\u00a0Light refreshments are provided, including Christie-inspired mocktails. \u201cThey\u2019re fun and different,\u201d Reynolds says. Previous concoctions have included a Corpse Reviver (lemon, orange and apple juices swirled with simple syrup) and the aforementioned Sparkling Cyanide (cranberry and grape juices mixed with lemon-lime soda), the latter named for a Christie novel.<\/p>\n Reynolds and Emily Cunningham, Agecroft\u2019s business manager, created the event last November, inspired by Executive Director Anne Kenny-Urban\u2019s lecture \u201cMurder and the Manor House: Agatha Christie and the Changing Fortunes of the English Country House\u201d and the realization that Christie had become popular again, thanks to recent film adaptations of \u201cMurder on the Orient Express,\u201d \u201cDeath on the Nile\u201d and \u201cA Haunting in Venice,\u201d as well as video games featuring Christie detective Hercule Poirot.<\/p>\n \u201cAs a museum, we do some \u201920s, \u201930s and \u201940s interpretations,\u201d Reynolds explains. \u201cI thought it would be a good idea to create a different Agatha Christie-themed event. \u2026 It made sense to do a pseudo book club.\u201d She notes that Cunningham chooses the novel for each event; previous choices have included \u201cPeril at End House,\u201d \u201cHow Does Your Garden Grow?\u201d and \u201cThree Act Tragedy.\u201d<\/p>\n Christie wrote 66 detective novels and 14 short-story collections in the five decades before her death in 1976, earning her a damehood in her home country and the moniker \u201cQueen of Crime.\u201d Known for startling plot twists and memorable characters, including Poirot and Miss Jane Marple, Christie is widely regarded as the bestselling novelist and No. 2 bestselling individual author of all time, surpassed only by William Shakespeare. Her books have sold over a billion copies in the English language and a billion in translation, also making her the most-translated individual author.<\/p>\n Agecroft Hall is a fitting place to honor such a writer. Originally built in 16th-century England, the Tudor manor house was bought by Richmonder T.C. Williams Jr., fully dismantled and then shipped to the city in 1926 for rebuilding in the Windsor Farms neighborhood. Four decades later, the 23-acre estate was transformed into a museum.<\/p>\n According to Reynolds, the Agecroft team hopes to expand the museum\u2019s association with Christie.\u00a0\u201cWe\u2019ve been working hard behind the scenes to sort of create Agatha Christie-appropriate things to go along with our selected books,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n Among the ideas is a garden tour highlighting some of the poisonous plants mentioned in Christie\u2019s works; foxglove, poppies and monkshood are already growing at Agecroft in what Reynolds calls \u201can Agatha Christie-appropriate\u201d garden. It\u2019s a nod to the writer\u2019s pharmaceutical work during World War I \u2014 knowledge she relied on for her stories.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re just trying to provide fun, easygoing events for people who enjoy Agatha Christie, and we\u2019ve been just thrilled with the response and popularity of the events,\u201d Reynolds says. \u201cAll so far have sold out, and we will keep doing them as long as they\u2019re popular.\u201d<\/p>\n The next Agatha Christie Book, Bingo and Trivia Night takes place from 6 to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 28. Tickets<\/a> are $15, and attendance is capped at 35. Reading the book isn\u2019t required, but it\u2019s a great way to absorb the theme.<\/p>\n Never miss a Sunday Story:\u00a0Sign up for the newsletter<\/a>, and we\u2019ll drop a fresh read into your inbox at the start of each week. To keep up with\u00a0the latest posts<\/a>, search for the hashtag #SundayStory on Facebook and Instagram.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The clock struck 6; it was time. 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