V is for Venom: Agatha Christie’s Chemicals of Death (2025) by Kathryn Harkup
Today’s review is a bonus post for my ten-year blog anniversary celebrations, as when reading this book, I realised that Harkup’s first book on poisons in Agatha Christie’s work (A is for Arsenic: The Poisons of Agatha Christie) was published in 2015, the year I started my blog. Moreover, V is for Venom: Agatha Christie’s Chemicals of Death will be available for purchase this month on the 19th, my anniversary month, so I decided such serendipity should not be overlooked!
I have enjoyed Harkup’s previous books which explore the science behind various works of literature. Death by Shakespeare: Snakebites, Stabbings and Broken Hearts (2020) is another I have reviewed and would recommend. Perhaps my favourite book by Harkup is Making the Monster: The Science Behind Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (2018).
Synopsis
‘Fourteen stories. Fourteen more poisons. Just because it’s fiction doesn’t mean it’s all made-up … Agatha Christie is renowned for her captivating plots and creative ways of killing off ill-fated victims. And what better way to add intrigue to a story than poison? The surreptitious ways they can be administered and the characteristic symptoms they produce make these killer chemicals the ideal method of murder in a ‘whodunit’. Christie perfected the use of poisons in her plots; her deft and varied use of toxic substances is one of her great strengths as a writer. But how is it that some compounds prove so fatal, and in such tiny amounts? The follow up to Kathryn Harkup’s best-selling A is for Arsenic, V is for Venom is a compelling exploration of Christie’s use of poisons and her extensive chemical knowledge. Featuring fourteen more poisons from the works of Agatha Christie, this book investigates the science behind the deadly substances, the history of their use in real-life murder cases, and how feasible was it to obtain, administer and detect these poisons in Christie’s time and today. Combining Christie’s murder mysteries, chemical science and true crime, V is for Venom is a celebration of the use of science by the undisputed Queen of Crime.’
Overall Thoughts
Similar to A is for Arsenic, the structure of V is for Venom follows the pattern of allocating one poison per chapter, with one key Christie story being looked at, although others are often mentioned as well. However, before diving into the poisons, Harkup commences with an introductory chapter. For me, this was the weakest part of the book. The usual facts about Christie’s life, popularity and success are trotted out, followed by comments on the mystery genre that are stale from overuse. There is the habitual conflation of cozy crime with older traditional crime fiction:
‘The corpses written by Christie were more likely to be found in the manicured grounds or on the expensive rugs of English country houses […] The world Christie created is perhaps a little more detached from horrible reality than others. but, again, many other writers have done the same, blotting their charming chocolate-box sceneries with large numbers of corpses. The bodies in these settings are usually relatively free of the blood and gore that would be expected in real life.’
Such a reductive attitude is not one I agree with, but I was more interested in the way the author shifts from supporting these ideas, to then contradicting them later in her book. In her chapter, H is for Hydrochloric Acid, Harkup begins by saying:
‘There are few stereotypes associated with Agatha Christie’s literary output. First, that they are all set in large country houses, or tiny village, with only dead bodies spoiling the picturesque view. But Christie’s fictional corpses have been found on Caribbean islands, in train carriages travelling through sunny France and stuck in the snow in Yugoslavia, on boats sailing down the Nile and in aeroplanes flying over the English Channel. They have also turned up in hotels, golf courses, cinemas and restaurants.’
Harkup further adds that:
‘It is also assumed that, whatever method she used, there will be very little blood and gore. Murder in Mesopotamia is one of the many novels that does not fit the Christie stereotype.’
There appears to be no in-text awareness that the very stereotypes the author wishes to upend and prove false, are ones she set up in her own introduction.
Consequently, I wish non-fiction relating to Agatha Christie was not required to include such introductory first chapters. They do not add to existing knowledge and as the above example shows, they perpetuate viewpoints on older crime fiction which do not stand up to scrutiny upon closer examination. Such opening chapters can become literary criticism cliches bingo. This is not what I come for in such a book and in the case of Harkup’s work, I pick up the book to learn more about the science involved in Christie’s stories. Moreover, this is what Harkup does best, so I feel she should be allowed to start with the topic straight away, beginning her work on a strong note, rather than on the wrong foot. Pondering this topic further, I did wonder what else the author could have written about, if an introductory was mandatory. Perhaps she could have used the opening chapter to explore the day in a life of a dispenser during WW1? Or perhaps more information could have been given on the examinations required to become one? I feel like there was room for something more creative to have been done.
The chemicals looked at are organised alphabetically and I liked the icons used at the start of each chapter.
‘A is for Arrow Poison’ is the first murder weapon discussed, and the anchor Christie story is ‘The Case of the Caretaker.’ It might be an odd thing to say, but the footnotes of this book are a particular highlight. I loved the quirky, yet related facts Harkup includes in her footnotes. For example, one of the poisons used on arrows in the past, is also utilised by the African crested rat. It ‘chews the roots and bark of the Acokanthera tree and smears its salvia over its fur. The long hairs that make the rodent look like a fluffy porcupine absorb the poison and it spreads over the pelt by capillary action. Any animal that tries to bite the crested rat will get a dangerous, possibly lethal, dose of poison.’ So, it sounds like it is not a good idea that have such a creature for your tea!
Within the body of the chapter, Harkup mentions that:
‘Agatha Christie used the key component of this arrow poison, strophanthin, purified and prepared as heart medicine, to kill three wives in three different stories between 1937 and 1958.’
The author goes on to suggest that one of these examples subverts several expectations, but in subsequent paragraphs this idea is not reengaged with. The reader has to guess what expectations have arguably been subverted.
Nevertheless, I enjoyed Harkup’s exploration of the history of strophanthin (a section focus, which is replicated in each chapter). Dr Kirk, when part of one of Dr Livingstone’s expeditions, had the job of looking for interesting plants which could be utilised commercially. Strophanthin was a substance he encountered. He collected it, along with some poison arrowheads and kept them in the same bag as his toothbrush. I think we all know what happened next, but thankfully he did survive. In each chapter the writer informs the reader in an accessible way how each chemical works within the human body, for good or ill, as well as then evaluating how accurately Christie uses it in her stories. Furthermore, Harkup also discusses treatments available for such a poisoning (at the time Christie was writing and now), and weaves in examples from real life. Regarding the latter I feel the author brings out interesting and at times sinister details. Not all the true cases she mentions were solved. One thing I was curious about was that whilst ‘The Case of the Caretaker’ is the “headline” example, it is not overly gone into. It feels like it is discussed almost in passing, compared to the other Christie examples the author includes.
Thankfully, in ‘B is for Bacteria’, the Christie mysteries explored are more evenly examined as regards to detail. Anthrax, tuberculosis and typhoid are the three illnesses (caused by bacteria) under examination in this chapter. Government testing of anthrax on Gruinard Island during WW2 gets a mention, as well as the typhoid outbreak in Aberdeen in 1968. Another footnote of interest, quite poignant in its way, concerns ‘Typhoid Mary’:
‘[…] Mary Mallon, a cook and carrier of typhoid who infected between 51 and 122 people with typhoid fever. She was forcible incarcerated to prevent her infecting anyone else and spent 30 years of her life isolated.’
Grim…
Due to the way Harkup intertwines Christie’s fictional murder plans, with interesting real-life examples, I think the author does a good job of demonstrating her point that: ‘Christie’s use of bacteria in her murder mysteries may, on the face of it, appear far-fetched and unrealistic. But the truth is often stranger than fiction […]’.
Following on from B is for Bacteria, we have C is for Calmo, and this chapter allows for the author’s sense of humour. Benvo, a drug Christie mentions in Passenger to Frankfurt, aims to ‘afflicts its victims with a permanent feeling of benevolence.’ Harkup further adds:
‘Apparently this is a bad thing. Perhaps people will be so caught up holding doors open and doing other good deeds that society will grind to a halt?’
This did produce quite an amusing mental image. In ‘C is for Calmo’, Harkup has to turn detective, as Calmo is the only poison Christie invented to bump off one of her characters. In other stories the “brand” of the poison might be fictitious but the chemical compounds underneath were real. However, with Calmo Harkup has to use clues from the book, as well as socio-historical context to narrow down what sort of chemical compound it might be. I think the author does this very well and I really enjoyed her exploration of the rise in popularity (aided by celebrity endorsement) of tranquilisers and sedatives in the 1950s and 1960s.
‘The Lemesurier Inheritance’ is the focus of the writer’s ‘F is for Formic Acid’ chapter, and it is all about bees, wasps and ants. Again, footnotes contain lots of golden nuggets, such as ants, in the past, being ‘used in place of stitches to close wounds by clamping the edges together between the mandibles.’ It is rather a shame that the ants had to be decapitated in the process. It was also interesting to learn more about how the creatures who create the chemical (which humans use to poison others) have their own purposes for making and deploying it. For example, when it comes to formic acid and ants:
‘[the] Lasius neglectus spread the acid over their young to inhibit fungal growth and keep their brood healthy. Myrmelachista schumanni use formic acid as a herbicide to kill off plants that would encroach on Duroia hirsute, a tree growing in the Amazon that is home to these ants. Nylanderia fulva smear the acid over their bodies to detoxify the venom used against them by their enemy the fire any […] And many species of formicine ant spray the acid around the entrance to their nests and towards creatures that threaten them as a deterrent.’
Gas is the topic of the next chapter and Harkup has many examples at her disposal from Christie’s work, including A Caribbean Mystery and Sparkling Cyanide. This chapter is another instance where socio-historical context is important. For example, Harkup writes that:
‘All of these plans for murder by poison gas were plausible at the time Christie was writing, but not today. This is because the gas pouring out of the fireplaces and ovens in Christie’s stories was different to the gas that now supplies our boilers and stoves.’
Harkup goes on to explain how the ingredients/components used in ‘town gas’ was deliberately changed over a period of years nationally (in the UK) to reduce accidental deaths in homes from gas poisoning. However, Harkup points out how it also helped to lower suicides caused by carbon monoxide poisoning:
‘There were 2499 deaths attributed to suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning in 1960. In 1975, with the huge conversion programme nearing its end, carbon monoxide was responsible for just 23 suicides. Even more gratifying was the 35 per cent drop in all suicides between 1963 and 1975.’
Harkup sees the changing of domestic gas supplies as an important factor in this reduction. This chapter also sees the mention of Ghostbusters – I will leave you to find out how they become relevant!
After chapters looking at Hydrochloric Acid and Jasmine (this latter item being used to kill in The Big Four), we get a chapter on Mickey Finns. There appears to be more than one origin story as to how they were developed and used, and I was impressed at the number of examples Harkup found in Christie’s oeuvre, as it is not a drug you readily associate with her output. Interestingly, the first documented case of murder by Mickey Finn was in 1889 and the solving of the crime involved Detective Jerome Caminada. I have previously reviewed a collection of his sleuthing memories, which you can find by clicking here.
After M, there is ‘N for Nitro-glycerine’, which makes its appearance in ‘The Chocolate Box’. It is used in explosives, but under the name of trinitrine, it has been used medicinally. It is not a poison in and of itself but can cause death if taken in excess. The medicinal tablets used to be made out of chocolate, a practice which I wish would be revived and used for some of my medication. Perhaps a British pharmaceutical company could partner with Lindor?
Other chemicals looked at in this book are oxalic acid, procaine and scopolamine (the US name for hyoscine) and taxine. Hyoscine was deployed by Dr Crippen in 1910, when he murdered his wife. On the note of Dr Crippen, I have Hallie Rubenhold’s new book, Story of a Murder, which I am keen to dive into soon, as she seeks to give back the voices of the women who pushed to have their friend’s disappearance investigated and to the victim herself, Belle. I have previously reviewed her book, The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper.
The final chapter takes us back to the title of the book, V is for Venom, and it is focused upon Death in the Clouds. I particularly enjoyed the author’s comparison of Christie’s novel with Arthur Conan Doyle’s earlier story ‘The Adventure of the Speckled Band’. Interestingly both Christie and Doyle inaccurately described the appearance of blow pipes (Doyle including one in The Sign of Four), portraying them as similar to peashooters.
Harkup states at the start of her book that her goal was to ‘showcase the accurate and inventive use of the more unusual means of chemical killing that makes Agatha Christie a true ‘Queen of Crime’. Having now read the book, despite my misgivings about the opening chapter, I think V is for Venom certainly meets this goal comfortably. The variety in Christie’s books when it comes to murder methods is indisputable and I liked how the author wove real life cases into the discussion. If you love Christie and want to know about how she bumped off some of her characters, then I recommend both V is for Venom and A is for Arsenic (as they both cover different material).
Rating: 4.25/5
Source: Review Copy (Bloomsbury Sigma)
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