Kate's Blog

Latest Thoughts on all things Agatha

04 March 2025 👁 16
From Chicago to London - Exploring the Surprising Selfridges Connection

From Chicago to London - Exploring the Surprising Selfridges Connection

Recently researching the London department store Selfridges, I was surprised to find there was a strong connection to Chicago, the city in whose suburbs I have spent most of my life. Maybe you already knew? Well, here’s the story for the rest of us:

25 February 2025 👁 42
"Murder on the Orient Express" Film and Discussion

"Murder on the Orient Express" Film and Discussion

Are you a fan of the 1974 movie based on Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express? It will be shown by the Lake Park Film Appreciation Society on Wednesday, March 12. The Society's organizer, Don Fulmer, will lead a discussion on the film and he has asked me to speak a little, too. 

Export event3/12/2025 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM  
18 February 2025 👁 38
Is It Better to Be Late Than Never to Podcasting?

Is It Better to Be Late Than Never to Podcasting?

We have talked about it forever, but hosting an Agatha Annotated podcast was way down on the To-Do List. Now that we’ve checked off a few tasks, however, it may be time.

09 February 2025 👁 80
Schaumburg Local Author Fair

Schaumburg Local Author Fair

I'll be participating in the Schaumburg Library Local Author Fair on Saturday, March 8. There wasn't a fair last year due to some renovation work, but it's back this spring! 

Export event3/8/2025 12:00 PM - 3:00 PM  
04 February 2025 👁 61
The Jolly Old Jargon of Bright Young Things in The Seven Dials Mystery

The Jolly Old Jargon of Bright Young Things in The Seven Dials Mystery

During a recent reread of The Seven Dials Mystery, I became very aware of the word “old,” as it is used in the slang of the young people staying at Chimneys, and I started wondering about it. Naturally, I had to do some research.

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What is Agatha Annotated?

This website is the home of the Agatha Christie database as annotated by Kate Gingold, hence the name Agatha Annotated.

It's a rich glossary of

  • nearly 1900 terms
  • over 200 illustrations
  • 347 French phrases

Kate found them while reading Agatha Christie novels, and wrote them, along with definitions curated from years of research, into this database.

Currently the first 11 Christie books, those she wrote in the 1920s, are annotated here. 

Anybody can be a member and gain access to this rich glossary. Visit the Community page to learn the details.

We took the 1920s terms and published a book, Agatha Annotated: Investigating the Books of the 1920s, now available on Amazon in Paperback or Kindle format.

Kate will be adding to the database and members get the new terms and definitions first before the second volume is printed, plus members can comment and ask questions about the terms and Kate and other members can reply.

We hope you enjoy. Click around the pages to learn more.

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Agatha Annotated: Glossary of Terms

Agatha Annotated glossary, books, data base, essays and all content on this website are property of Gnu Ventures Company; all rights reserved; no copying without express permission.

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Annotator Kate Gingold

Kate Gingold

... has been a huge fan of the works of Agatha Christie her entire adult life. Christie's vivid descriptions of picturesque English life in the early-to-mid twentieth century fascinated Kate, but many of the people and places were unfamiliar to her. A writer herself, as well as a researcher and historian with several local history books to her credit, Kate began a list of these strange words and set out to define them. Now, Christie fans like you and all those who come after will be able to fully enjoy the richness of Agatha Christie novels with their own copy of Agatha Annotated.

Learn more about Kate