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Scroll.in
11-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Scroll.in
How Agatha Christie's mid-century ‘manosphere' reveals a different kind of dysfunctional male
Agatha Christie, a middle-class English crime writer who preferred to be known as a housewife, is the world's bestselling novelist. Since her death in 1976, her work has been translated into over 100 languages and adapted for cinema, TV and even video games. Her writing is characterised by its cheerful readability and ruthless dissection of hypocrisy, greed and respectability. Christie is fascinated by power and its abuse, and explores this through the skilful deployment of recognisable character types. The suspects in her books are not just there for the puzzle – they also exemplify the attitudes, ideals and assumptions that shaped 20th-century British society. Christie's men If we want to know about the mid-century 'manosphere', then, there is no better place to look than in the fiction of Agatha Christie. What did masculinity mean to this writer, and would we recognise it in the gender types and ideals of today? Some answers might be found through the recent BBC adaptation of Towards Zero, which confronts viewers with a range of dysfunctional male types. Chief among these is Thomas Royde, a neurotic twitching figure driven to breakdown by the shame of having his word doubted. Gaslit by his pathologically perfect cousin Nevile, Thomas has been dispatched to the colonies, where he has compounded his injuries through financial failure. Broke and broken, the adaptation imagines him returning to the family home with trauma quite literally written on his body. This is not the Thomas Royde of Christie's original 1944 novel. That figure was stoic, silent and perfectly capable of managing his failure to live up to the spectacular masculinity of cousin Nevile. Christie's Thomas may have regretted his romantic losses and physical limitations, but the idea of exposing his pain in public would have horrified him. This is not a case of repression; rather, it speaks to a world in which pain is respected, but simply not discussed. Thomas's friends, we are told, 'had learned to gauge his reactions correctly from the quality of his silences'. The stoical man of few words is a recurrent type within Christie's fiction. It's a mode of masculinity of which she approves – even while poking fun at it – and one recognised by her mid-20th century audience. These are men who embody ideal British middle-class values: steady, reliable, resilient, modest, good-humoured and infinitely sensible. They find their fictional reward in happy unions, sometimes with sensible women, sometimes with bright young things who benefit from their calm assurance. Christie also depicted more dangerous male types – attractive adventurers who might be courageous, or reckless and deadly. These charismatic figures present a troubling mode of masculinity in her fiction, from the effortlessly charming Ralph in The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (1926) to Michael Rogers, the all too persuasive narrator of Endless Night (1967). Superficially, these two types of men might be mapped onto Christie's own experiences. Her autobiography suggests that she was irresistibly drawn to something strange and inscrutable in her first husband, Archie. By contrast, her second husband, the archaeologist Max Mallowan, brought friendship and shared interests. Yet while it's possible to see biographical resonances in these types, it is equally important to recognise them as part of a middle-class world view that sets limits on acceptable masculinities. In my book, Agatha Christie: A Very Short Introduction, I explore these limits, examining a cultural climate riven with contradictions. A different time Mid-20th century culture insisted that men be articulate when discussing public matters – science, politics, sport – but those who extended this to the emotions were not to be trusted. They were seen to be glib, foolish or possibly dangerous. British masculinity acts rather than talks and does a decent job of work. As a result, work itself is a vital dimension of man-making in Christie's novels, and in the fiction of contemporaries like Nigel Balchin, Hammond Innes and Nevil Shute. These writers witnessed the conflicting pressures on men, expected to be both soldiers and citizens, capable of combat and domestic breadwinning. They saw the damage caused by war, unemployment and the loss of father figures. But the answer wasn't talking. Rather, the best medicine for wounded masculinity was the self-respect that comes with doing a good day's work. This ideology still resonates within understandings of 'healthy' masculinity, but there are limits to the problems that can be solved through a companionable post-work pint. Which brings us back to the BBC's Towards Zero. Contemporary adaptations often speak to the preoccupations of their moment, and the plot is driven by one man's all-consuming hatred of his ex-wife. With apologies for plot spoilers, perfect Nevile turns out to be a perfect misogynist, scheming against the woman who has – to his mind – humiliated him. But the world of his hatred is a long way from the online 'manosphere' of our contemporary age. Quite aside from the technological gulf separating the eras, Christie does not imagine misogyny as an abusive mass phenomenon, a set of echo chambers which figure men as the victims of feminism. Rather, Nevile, like all Christie's murderers, kills for reasons that can clearly be defined, detected and articulated: he is an isolated madman, not a cultural phenomenon. Towards Zero 's topicality – its preoccupation with celebrity, resentment of women and a manipulative gaslighting villain – does much to explain its adaptation, but it does not account for the radical revision of Thomas Royde. Is it an indication that stoicism is out of fashion? Or simply a desire to convert Christie's cool-tempered fictions into melodramas appropriate for a social-media age? Whatever the thinking, there is a familiar consolation for Thomas's pain. He might not get the girl of his dreams, but he does get something better: a steady, reliable woman whose modest virtues illustrate that, in Christie's world, 'ideal masculinity' is unexpectedly non-binary. Women can be just as stoic, reserved and resilient as men. Christie's 'manosphere', then, has its share of haters, but they are isolated figures forced to disguise their resentments. They also frequently meet untimely ends – another reason why Christie remains a bestseller to this day.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
BBC & BritBox Unveil Latest Agatha Christie Adaptation
The BBC and BritBox International have landed on Endless Night as their latest Agatha Christie adaptation from Sarah Phelps. Set in 1967, the book is neither a Poirot or a Marple but follows man-of-many-trades Michael Rogers, who finds himself working as chauffeur for the enigmatic designer du jour Rudolf Santonix. Transfixed by Santonix's latest project, a beautiful house in the English countryside, Mike dreams of meeting the love of his life and taking up residence. But unbeknownst to Mike, the house that he has set his heart on has a dark past that goes back for centuries. More from Deadline 'Virdee' Creator A A Dhand Reveals The Unlikely Hero That Inspired Him To "Fail Forwards" During A Decade Of Rejection Legacy Media? UK Pubcasters Balk At Outdated Term & Say "We've Got To Be Phoenixes Rising From The Ashes" No Pope Yet: Vatican Conclave Blows Black Smoke On 1st Day Of Vote For New Pontiff The show is the latest in a long succession of Christie adaptations on the BBC and BritBox from Phelps and ITV Studios-owned Mammoth Screen, with the latest being Towards Zero starring Anjelica Huston. Fifth Season is selling worldwide. Phelps said: 'One of Agatha Christie's last novels, this is a chilling story of love, sex, deceit and death, of how far we'll go to get our hearts desire and what we'll do when night falls and the wolves start circling.' The news comes in the week the BBC unveiled an AI Agatha Christie, forged to teach a paid writing course on its BBC Maestro platform. The AI Christie was created with the blessing of the author's great grandson James Prichard, who runs Agatha Christie Limited. Endless Night (3×60') is produced by Mammoth Screen (part of ITV Studios) and Agatha Christie Limited, and is a co-commission between the BBC and BritBox International. Executive producers are Prichard for Agatha Christie Limited, Rebecca Durbin and Damien Timmer for Mammoth Screen, Phelps, Danielle Scott-Haughton for the BBC, and Robert Schildhouse, Jon Farrar and Stephen Nye for BritBox. Filming on Endless Night will take place later this year and casting will be announced in due course. The series will air on BBC iPlayer and BBC One, and on BritBox in the U.S. and Canada. Best of Deadline Book-To-Movie Adaptations Coming Out In 2025 TV Show Book Adaptations Arriving In 2025 So Far Everything We Know About 'Emily In Paris' Season 5 So Far
BBC News
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
BBC announces Agatha Christie's Endless Night, adapted by Sarah Phelps
The BBC has announced Agatha Christie's Endless Night, a new three-part series produced by Mammoth Screen and Agatha Christie Limited for BBC iPlayer and BBC One, in a co-commission with BritBox International. Sarah Phelps (The Sixth Commandment, A Very British Scandal) returns to adapt the classic mystery novel by the best-selling author of all time. Fifth Season will handle global distribution. It's 1967 and man-of-many-trades Michael Rogers finds himself working as chauffeur for the enigmatic designer du jour Rudolf Santonix, snatching a glimpse into a glamorous world of outrageous wealth that's far from his own upbringing. Transfixed by Santonix's latest project, a beautiful house in the English countryside, Mike dreams of meeting the love of his life and taking up residence. But unbeknownst to Mike, the house that he has set his heart on has a dark past that goes back for centuries. Local legend says that it is haunted by a curse that no one escapes. When Mike meets the sweet-natured Ellie and, by a curious set of circumstances, finds himself moving into the house, the young couple start to realise they should have listened to the warnings. As increasingly strange and chilling events occur, they start to wonder if the curse is real and means to destroy them. Or, that someone is intent on terrifying them to death. A ghost story and a love story, Endless Night is about obsession and the darkness that lurks in us all when we want too much. Endless Night is Sarah Phelps's sixth Agatha Christie adaptation made by Mammoth Screen and Agatha Christie Limited for the BBC, following the acclaimed productions of And Then There Were None, BAFTA-nominated The Witness For The Prosecution, Ordeal By Innocence, The ABC Murders and The Pale Horse. Sarah Phelps, says: 'I'm so excited to be teaming up again with ACL, Mammoth Screen and the BBC for Endless Night. One of Agatha Christie's last novels, this is a chilling story of love, sex, deceit and death, of how far we'll go to get our hearts desire and what we'll do when night falls and the wolves start circling." James Prichard, executive producer for Agatha Christie Limited says: "We are so happy to be continuing our partnership with Mammoth, BBC and Britbox and renewing acquaintance with Sarah Phelps. Endless Night is one of my great grandmother's best stories. It is also one of my father's personal favourites. It is an extraordinary feat of writing, made even more impressive by the age at which she wrote it. I cannot wait to see what Sarah and the team produce." Rebecca Durbin and Damien Timmer, executive producers for Mammoth Screen say: 'In 2015 Sarah Phelps won great acclaim for her adaption of And Then There Were None, which launched a new series of standalone Agatha Christie titles for the BBC, and we're beyond delighted that she's returning to take on Endless Night, Christie's late masterpiece from 1967. Episode 1 of Towards Zero has been watched by 6 million people in the UK since March, and is one of BritBox's biggest launches to date in the US, so we have high hopes this new title will delight Christie fans everywhere!' Lindsay Salt, Director of BBC Drama says: 'We are delighted to team up again with Agatha Christie Limited and Mammoth Screen to announce our next tale from the undisputed Queen of Crime: Endless Night. The phenomenal Sarah Phelps' previous adaptations have thrilled millions and we could not be happier to have her bring this unique and chilling mystery to BBC iPlayer and BBC One.' Robert Schildhouse, President BritBox North America & General Manager, BritBox International, says: 'Our partnership with the BBC, Agatha Christie Limited and Mammoth Screen has delivered three outstanding Agatha Christie adaptations, all of which have been BritBox hits. Towards Zero debuted at #1, with the largest first week absolute viewership and engagement of any premiere on BritBox ever. We're so pleased to continue this collaboration with a fourth addition, Endless Night. As BritBox is the home to the largest collection of Agatha Christie titles in North America, we know our audiences—devotees to crime and mystery—will massively enjoy this series. And Sarah Phelps is the ideal match for adapting the compelling classic. In the hands of such a fearless writer, Endless Night will be unforgettable.' Endless Night (3x60') is produced by Mammoth Screen (part of ITV Studios) and Agatha Christie Limited, and is a co-commission between the BBC and BritBox International. It is adapted by Sarah Phelps. Executive producers are James Prichard for Agatha Christie Limited, Rebecca Durbin and Damien Timmer for Mammoth Screen, Sarah Phelps, Danielle Scott-Haughton for the BBC, and Robert Schildhouse, Jon Farrar and Stephen Nye for BritBox. Filming on Endless Night will take place later this year and casting will be announced in due course. The series will air on BBC iPlayer and BBC One, and on BritBox in the US and Canada. Previous Agatha Christie adaptations are available to stream on BBC iPlayer and on BritBox. Watch Agatha Christie adaptations on BBC iPlayer MF3
