Kate's Blog

Latest Thoughts on all things Agatha

19 May 2026 👁 40
Like Writing, Critiquing Is Also a Skill to Be Learned

Like Writing, Critiquing Is Also a Skill to Be Learned

I have been hanging out at universities over the last few days, and even though I’m not a student, I learned something new that I’d like to share with you.

05 May 2026 👁 72
Today’s Mahjong Revival Mirrors Hundred-Year-Old "Roger Ackroyd"

Today’s Mahjong Revival Mirrors Hundred-Year-Old "Roger Ackroyd"

I was thinking about The Murder of Roger Ackroyd celebrating its one hundredth anniversary in June, and then I read an article about how Mahjong is seeing a resurgence in popularity. Naturally, my mind went straight to the Mahjong party at Dr. Sheppard’s house!

Invite Kate to Speak

Check out her presentations.

Read More

Upcoming Events

Search the Blog

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.

Become a Subscriber Now

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.

Gnu Ventures logo

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