“Revelations from Cheesecake Manor,” a thesis essay involving Agatha Christie, was written by Alumnus Carron Stewart Fillingim and was read for students and staff in the Student Union Theater on Thursday, March 24 as part of Women’s History Month.

Fillingim wrote this thesis in order to earn a Masters of Art in the Department of History at LSU. Agatha Christie, who is the focus of Fillingim’s extensive study, was born in England and was the youngest of three children. Christie was a British crime novelist who was only outsold in numbers by the Bible and the works of William Shakespeare.

Most of her books are centered on the middle and upper classes, including the bourgeoisie of England. Christie’s main characters are usually amateur detectives who solve crimes while symbolizing old English virtues and maintaining moral conceptions of Christian theology involving good versus evil.

To start off the lecture, professor of history Dr. William Robison welcomed all guests who came and further stated he noticed Fillingim’s talent as a young writer when a graduate assistant informed him that she, a student at the time, had filled up two blue books during one of his exams.

Fillingim soon took the podium and made attendees aware of the title she had chosen, but would not explain its importance until after the lecture.

“I called it Revelations from Cheesecake Manor because there had been a lot of literary snobs in her day that liked to poke fun at the genre—it’s not in their eyes particularly psychological or thought provoking, and they just don’t understand why people keep reading them, year after year.”

According to Fillingim, Raymond Chandler, also a crime novelist, was one of these critics. He referred to all of her novels taking place in “Cheesecake Manor.” The title “Revelations from Cheesecake Manor,” simply throws the joke back towards Chandler.

After Fillingim discussed how well Christie has been published, she further spoke about the culture of England during the early 1900s.

“This is a generation where death is not looked at as a natural thing,” said Fillingim.

According to Fillingim, during the First World War, art and literature became a commodity in England, something to be mass produced and further bought and sold.

“A culture of materialism developed,” said Fillingim.

Suburbs started to pave the way for middle class life. More English began to commute, possibly taking trains and having more time to read.

“There have been a lot of studies of detective novels,” said Fillingim. She further said the only answer offered by statistics was that it tickled the intellect, or that readers found pleasure in obscenity. Most readers have to pay attention to minute details while reading Christie’s fiction.

“Details matter, you have to see everything in order to play along,” said Fillingim. “She used poisons, so often times a meal is discussed.”

The irony between Christie and locations for buying books during this time is that most readers would buy books at their local chemist shop or a drugstore.

“Like our CVS and Walgreens, they had chemists shops,” said Fillingim.

Christie also worked at a hospital during WWI as a nurse and later worked in a pharmacy where she learned the deadly traits of thallium.

Although crime and murder are the essential themes to most of Christie’s fiction, Fillingim wants readers to be aware that Christie’s characters represent good triumphing over evil, orderly approaches to life, common sense and bravery.

 “What Christie’s fiction reinforces is one’s right to live,” said Fillingim.