Aspiring crime writers can now learn directly from the legendary Agatha Christie through a pioneering online video course offered by BBC Maestro. The lessons feature an AI-enhanced digital recreation of the famed author, utilising licensed images and restored audio recordings to bring her insights on writing to life.
The video series covers key aspects of crafting mystery stories, including story structure, plot twists, and building suspense, all drawn from Christie’s own writings and numerous archival interviews. These insights have been carefully curated by leading Christie scholars Dr Mark Aldridge, Michelle Kazmer, Gray Robert Brown, and Jamie Bernthal-Hooker.
Dr Mark Aldridge commented on the project: “We meticulously pieced together Agatha Christie’s own words from her letters, interviews and writings. Witnessing her insights come to life has been a profoundly moving experience.” The videos are accessible via the subscription-based educational streaming platform BBC Maestro and were produced in collaboration with BBC Studios and the Agatha Christie estate, with the full endorsement of the author’s family.
James Prichard, Christie’s great-grandson and CEO of Agatha Christie Limited, highlighted the depth of the course material, saying to the Telegraph, “The team of academics and researchers had extracted from a number of her writings an extraordinary array of her views and opinions on how to write. Through this course, you truly will receive a lesson in crafting a masterful mystery, in Agatha’s very own words.”
Actor Vivien Keene was commissioned to lend her performance to the digital recreation, closely studying existing footage of Christie to capture the author’s mannerisms and expressions. Keene described the experience as unique, stating, “This role was unlike any other in my 44 years of acting. The process required me to study the few existing clips of Agatha very closely, capturing her subtle mannerisms and expressions.” Expert visual effects artists also played a key role in faithfully recreating Christie’s voice and likeness.
The use of AI technology in this context raises some ethical questions. While many authors have voiced concerns about AI's potential impact on creative industries, Prichard emphasised a balanced approach, telling the Telegraph, “I’d be lying if I said there weren’t worries. But I believe and I hope that this is using AI in both a helpful and ethical way. The AI model of Agatha doesn’t work without the performance of Vivien Keene. This was not written by AI. It is a leading academic unearthing everything that she said about writing.” He further added, “And I believe that what we are delivering here in terms of her message is better presented and will reach more people as a result of being presented, if I can use inverted commas, ‘by her’.”
Agatha Christie is widely recognised as the queen of crime fiction, having written 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections during her lifetime. Her works have sold over 2 billion copies globally. Aside from her novels, she authored "The Mousetrap," the world’s longest-running play, and her stories have inspired numerous film and television adaptations.
The Guardian is reporting this notable development, highlighting the innovative fusion of technology and literary heritage aimed at nurturing the next generation of crime writers.
Source: Noah Wire Services