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Who Invented the “Whodunit�?

Uncover the perpetrators behind our love for a murder mystery.

It was the vicar that did it! In the billiards room! With a candlestick!

To many fans of a murder mystery, this is perhaps a familiar sounding phrase from a classic “whodunit�. But just how did this endlessly popular genre come to be?

Alice and Ben leaf back through the pages of history to uncover just where “whodunits� came from, who invented them, and how they’ve endured centuries of changing tastes.

They will discuss multiple lines of inquiry; from our historical appetite for the gruesome and thrilling; to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle; Agatha Christie; and even the impact of the World Wars.

Key Sources:
Agatha Christie: A Very Short Introduction - Professor Gill Plain
The TV Crime Drama - Professor Sue Turnbull
Forever England: Femininity, Literature, and Conservatism Between the Wars - Alison Light
Agatha Christie: Lucy Worsley on the Mystery Queen - Âé¶¹Éç / Lucy Worsley
Caught in the Web of Words: Whodunit - Ken Liss

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37 minutes

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Watch the visualised podcast on Âé¶¹Éç iPlayer

Watch the visualised podcast on Âé¶¹Éç iPlayer

Alice Loxton and Ben Henderson reveal the historical roots of everyday life.

Podcast