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Episode details

Sounds,17 Sep 2026,37 mins

Who Invented the “Whodunit�?

Here for the History

Available for over a year

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 “whodunitâ€�. 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 “whodunitsâ€� 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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