Kate's Blog

Latest Thoughts on all things Agatha

25 November 2025

Wrapping Up the 2025 Travel Calendar

And that's a wrap, folks! As of this past weekend, we've schlepped books to the last event of the year. But that doesn't mean we aren't plenty busy, with a lot of irons in the fire!

During 2025, my faithful publisher/husband and I participated in book fairs at five libraries, four breweries, and even the Printers Row Lit Fest in downtown Chicago. We also experimented with exhibiting at two different craft fairs. Four separate community groups hosted me for presentations, some on Agatha Christie and some on DuPage County history. The most involved activity this summer was planning and executing (no pun intended!) a murder mystery dinner to raise funds for a local senior residence. I even acted in that, very briefly, as the murder victim.

While there are no dates yet listed on my Events page, there are two already being scheduled for 2026. I'll be speaking on Agatha Christie as an inspiration for today's mystery writers for Sisters in Crime Chicagoland in February, and I'm scheduled as part of Lisle's Chicago Author Series in April. We're also working with the Monroe County Library System to do a few talks in the Florida Keys this winter.

On this day before Thanksgiving, I am so thankful for all these opportunities to share my enthusiasm for history with so many people. I also can't thank my publisher/husband enough for supporting me every step of the way. It's been a fabulous year and I can't wait to see what I will be grateful for in the coming months!

Thank you for coming along for the ride! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

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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

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