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Mrs Mallowan Takes a Walk

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Originally published: 20th September 2022

Photo by gR

Agatha Christie was known locally by her married name of Mrs Mallowan when she and her family spent time at her beloved holiday home of 'Greenway' in Devon, England.

In this fictional account, (inspired by a visit to 'Greenway' in 2018) I've reimagined Agatha Christie towards the end of her life reflecting on how she came up with some ideas for her stories.

when autumn’s last but long exhale left mists of winter in its trail her thoughts turned to the past to look at greenway and the paths she took where reading signs inside her skies she'd dream up deaths and alibis along the short cuts through the wood with thoughts of stabbings and of blood while fungi often made her think of slipping coniine inside drink then with the breathless views behind a choking often came to mind though with the river dart in view her thoughts would turn to drowning too and passing by the greenway bell * she'd sound out bludgeoning as well then muse once at the greenway gates of ordeals, follies, pigs and fêtes ** before she'd vanish through her door to ‘kill’ some time and write some more. * The Greenway Bell: A bell on the quay of The River Dart in Devon, England that can be rung to let the ferry (a local passenger launch) know that you are there waiting to cross. ** References to the three stories written by Mrs Mallowan (Agatha Christie) that were inspired by her holiday home of Greenway: Dead Man's Folly (a fête is featured) Five Little Pigs Ordeal by Innocence

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Linda Alice Fowler

Date: 6/18/2023 8:34:00 AM

This is great Gary. If one had never heard of Mrs. Mallowan, or Agatha Christie, one would think her a very morbid soul. LOL Great rhythm and rhyming! :)

Linda Alice Fowler
Date: 6/19/2023 9:11:00 AM

Very clever analogies ;)

Gary Radice
Date: 6/19/2023 2:25:00 AM

Hi Linda. Thank you for your comments. Yes, totally agree. Very morbid :) ..and talking of morbid.. I tried linking what she saw on the walk with a method of death so "short CUTS" became stabbings, "BREATHLESS views" became choking etc. Cheers - Gary

Bryan Norton

Date: 10/20/2022 6:55:00 PM

A lovely poem, as usual.

Gary Radice
Date: 10/21/2022 1:33:00 AM

And a lovely comment from yourself as usual. Thanks Bryan. Cheers - Gary

Sara Kendrick

Date: 10/13/2022 2:41:00 AM

It was sad to learn of her death, but she lived a very long productive life. I enjoyed watching some of her murder mysteries. She was a very talented lady. Thanks for sharing your thoughts about her and for dropping by my page. Sara

Gary Radice
Date: 10/13/2022 10:21:00 AM

Thanks Sara. My wife and daughter are the true Agatha Christie fans in my family but I'll hold my hands up and say having gone to Greenway and see where she spent her summer holidays I became more of a fan. Thanks for dropping by. Cheers - Gary

Ann Peck

Date: 10/4/2022 9:57:00 AM

One of the many things I love about England is its rich history. And the polite attitudes. A bell to let the ferry driver know a passenger is waiting is just so quaint and charming--and English! :) I especially love the first two lines of your wonderful poem. That's the best description of autumn I've read!

Gary Radice
Date: 10/5/2022 6:06:00 AM

Thanks Ann! When you live here and scratch some of the veneer, I guess England is like most places. :) The Greenway Bell made us smile when my family and I stayed in Devon a few years back. We stayed in a cottage bordering the Greenway estate and..on the subject of bells.. took a train (a heritage steam train) to Dartmouth one day. While waiting on the deserted station for the train a guy on a pushbike shouted down from the bridge that we should ring the bell on the station (a push button bell). That would tell the train driver to stop at the station to pick us up and not to steam past us! You had to be there. It was like a scene from 'The Railway Children'. :) Cheers - Gary

Brian Sambourne

Date: 10/2/2022 8:46:00 PM

Hello Gary, Quite enjoyed your well rhymed, intriguing poem to Mrs. Mallowan. Had she known a verbose coronar (tongue loosened by drink) she would had an unending stream of murderous ideas. Long live Agatha Christie - I hope the lady never vanishes. Cheers, Brian

Gary Radice
Date: 10/3/2022 3:37:00 PM

Thanks Brian. Love your comments. :) I thought I'd try something a little different and darker this time. I'm glad you like it! Read you soon. Cheers - Gary

Suzanne Delaney

Date: 9/25/2022 3:34:00 AM

Goodness, Gary: It’s been a while since I checked in with you. Who could ever know what thoughts go through someone’s mind while they are walking. Haha. Well they certainly bought her lots of fame. Enjoyed this one. SuZ

Gary Radice
Date: 9/25/2022 4:12:00 AM

Hi Suz! I often wonder how she came up with her ideas. :) I'm not sure I would have liked to have walked alongside her when she did to be honest. Thanks for your visit. Much appreciated. Cheers - Gary

Michael Tor

Date: 9/22/2022 7:53:00 PM

Love this Gary. Love the story line and the theme. Excellent Poetry you have shared... Congratulations in doing so...

Gary Radice
Date: 9/22/2022 11:41:00 PM

Thanks Michael. I wasn't too sure how it would go down with Soupers to be honest but I've been very pleased with the comments. Cheers - Gary

Andrea Dietrich

Date: 9/22/2022 12:57:00 PM

this is really cool writing. GREAT meter and use of interesting words, Gary!!

Gary Radice
Date: 9/22/2022 1:11:00 PM

Thanks Andrea. I've always been fascinated by Agatha Christie and her background, moreso than her stories themselves. I'm really glad you like it. Cheers - Gary

Speaks Volumes

Date: 9/20/2022 2:45:00 PM

OK so what did she decide ? You mean you have left it up to my feeble imagination ? Well I love it anyway ! I found my self reading it in my mind with a pommie accent so wood rhymed with blood. (We Aussies pronounce it blud). You did it again with this one Gary, I hope its entered in a competition.

Gary Radice
Date: 9/20/2022 8:50:00 PM

Hi Wendy. Thank you. To answer your question as to what she decided: in short: all of the methods mentioned! She was dreaming up ways to have her characters killed off in her 3 books she set around her holiday home of Greenway. Mrs Mallowan was the married name (2nd marriage) of Agatha Christie. She married Sir Max Edgar Lucien Mallowan CBE who was a prominent British archaeologist, In this fictional piece I attempted to add my own layer of mystery to the proceedings by using her married name, having her go for a walk and giving the impression she was plotting a murder of her own. That was the idea anyway. :) Glad you enjoyed it and thanks again. I've entered it into a contest but not sure its the type of poem that would win many - if any - of them :) Cheers - Gary

Jeff Kyser

Date: 9/20/2022 1:23:00 PM

i find this perfectly brilliant - i like the run-on, devoid of punctuation, stream-of-consciousness approach, and a delightful mix of nature's beauty and our dark thoughts

Gary Radice
Date: 9/20/2022 1:38:00 PM

Hi Jeff. Thanks so much. I'm glad you mentioned nature in your comments. I wasn't sure if I had mentioned it enough in the poem and had concentrated too much on the dark thoughts. I wish I had added a cup of tea in there somewhere too..just to add more of that English feel. Thanks again. Cheers - Gary

Susan Woodrow

Date: 9/20/2022 10:52:00 AM

Great rhythm to your rhyme though it had me thinking about ways people die and i guess getting skull-fractured in a bar brawl is a bludgeoning of sorts? :)

Gary Radice
Date: 9/20/2022 11:12:00 AM

Hi Susan. Thanks for reading and for your comments. I may not have been too accurate with tying the means of death up to the stories but I'll put it down to poetic license. :) Besides, just the word 'bludgeoning' gives a sense of 'impact' to the poem. :) EDIT: re Ordeal by Innocence: In the book Kirsten walloped Rachel over the head so I'll settle for that ..not sure what happened in the tv adaption.. by all accounts even the killer was different. Thanks again. Cheers - Gary

L Milton Hankins

Date: 9/20/2022 9:18:00 AM

Ms. Christie would be so proud of you, Gary. Splendid writing. Just a hint of the macabre, which was perfect. I often get ideas for poems while walking, but never do I get ideas for "bludgeoning" and poisoning. (chuckling)

Gary Radice
Date: 9/20/2022 9:30:00 AM

Lol! Hi Milt :) Yes, just a touch macabre. I tried to incorporate the means of death from the three books mentioned below into the poem. To be honest, I'm not an avid Christie fan so I had to do a bit of googling. I think the bludgeoning came from 'Ordeal By Innocence' and poisoning from 'Five Little Pigs'. Cheers - Gary

Tom Cunningham

Date: 9/20/2022 8:15:00 AM

There's no better place to get inspiration than out and about walking and being at one with nature. I often go cycling in the countryside and it isn't long before ideas surface of what I'll write next. Enjoyed your verse Gary, the Queen's funeral was spectacular, we'll never again see anything like it. Tom

Gary Radice
Date: 9/20/2022 8:44:00 AM

Thanks Tom. I think the BBC did the Queen proud. I agree with you - we certainly wont see the likes again. Mallowan was the married surname of Agatha Christie from her second marriage. In my poem, I envisaged her looking back to one summer when she walked around getting ideas for her 3 books (Dead Man's Folly, Ordeal By Innocence and Five Little Pigs) that she set around her holiday home of Greenway near Galmpton in Devon. Greenway now belongs to The National Trust. We visited the beautiful grounds in 2018 and were blown away by the place. You can take a steam train to it, or if you approach from across the River Dart you may have to ring the Greenway Bell outside the 'Ferry Boat Inn' or on 'Greenway Quay' to summon a 'ferry' (passenger launch). It's only a few minutes of a ride :) Cheers - Gary