A Is for Arsenic
The Poisons of Agatha Christie
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A Is for Arsenic
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Narrated by:
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Nicky Diss
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By:
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Kathryn Harkup
About this listen
Bloomsbury presents A is for Arsenic by Kathryn Harkup, read by Nicky Diss.
Shortlisted for the BMA Book Awards and Macavity Awards 2016
Fourteen novels. Fourteen poisons. Just because it's fiction doesn’t mean it's all made-up ...
Agatha Christie revelled in the use of poison to kill off unfortunate victims in her books; indeed, she employed it more than any other murder method, with the poison itself often being a central part of the novel. Her choice of deadly substances was far from random – the characteristics of each often provide vital clues to the discovery of the murderer. With gunshots or stabbings the cause of death is obvious, but this is not the case with poisons. How is it that some compounds prove so deadly, and in such tiny amounts?
Christie's extensive chemical knowledge provides the backdrop for A is for Arsenic, in which Kathryn Harkup investigates the poisons used by the murderer in fourteen classic Agatha Christie mysteries. It looks at why certain chemicals kill, how they interact with the body, the cases that may have inspired Christie, and the feasibility of obtaining, administering and detecting these poisons, both at the time the novel was written and today. A is for Arsenic is a celebration of the use of science by the undisputed Queen of Crime.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
©2015 Kathryn Harkup (P)2022 Bloomsbury Publishing PlcListeners also enjoyed...
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- By: Lydia Kang, Nate Pedersen
- Narrated by: Hillary Huber
- Length: 10 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 973
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 843
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 843
What won't we try in our quest for perfect health, beauty, and the fountain of youth? Well, just imagine a time when doctors prescribed morphine for crying infants. When liquefied gold was touted as immortality in a glass. And when strychnine - yes, that strychnine, the one used in rat poison - was dosed like Viagra. Looking back with fascination, horror, and not a little dash of dark, knowing humor, Quackery recounts the lively, at times unbelievable, history of medical misfires and malpractices.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Computer-generated Narrator. Dated Humour.
- By Nemo on 12-28-18
By: Lydia Kang, and others
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That's the Way the Cookie Crumbles
- 65 All New Commentaries on the Fascinating Chemistry of Everyday Life
- By: Dr. Joe Schwarcz
- Narrated by: Walter Dixon
- Length: 7 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 38
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 33
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 32
Interesting anecdotes and engaging tales make science fun, meaningful, and accessible. Separating sense from nonsense and fact from myth, these essays cover everything from the ups of helium to the downs of drain cleaners and provide answers to numerous mysteries, such as why bug juice is used to color ice cream and how spies used secret inks. Mercury in teeth, arsenic in water, lead in the environment, and aspartame in food are discussed.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Very cavalier attitude
- By Paula on 11-14-14
By: Dr. Joe Schwarcz
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The Poisoner's Handbook
- Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York
- By: Deborah Blum
- Narrated by: Coleen Marlo
- Length: 9 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 2,562
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 1,940
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,929
In The Poisoner's Handbook, Blum draws from highly original research to track the fascinating, perilous days when a pair of forensic scientists began their trailblazing chemical detective work, fighting to end an era when untraceable poisons offered an easy path to the perfect crime.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Fascinating book marred by production errors
- By Reagan Kelly on 03-02-10
By: Deborah Blum
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Ten Drugs
- How Plants, Powders, and Pills Have Shaped the History of Medicine
- By: Thomas Hager
- Narrated by: Angelo Di Loreto
- Length: 8 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 4,890
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 4,233
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 4,215
Beginning with opium, the “joy plant,” which has been used for 10,000 years, Thomas Hager tells a captivating story of medicine. His subjects include the largely forgotten female pioneer who introduced smallpox inoculation to Britain, the infamous knockout drops, the first antibiotic, which saved countless lives, the first antipsychotic, which helped empty public mental hospitals, Viagra, statins, and the new frontier of monoclonal antibodies. This is a deep, wide-ranging, and wildly entertaining book.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Engrossing to physicians & lay persons alike
- By C. White on 03-08-19
By: Thomas Hager
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Happy Accidents
- Serendipity in Major Medical Breakthroughs in the Twentieth Century
- By: Morton A. Meyers
- Narrated by: Richard Waterhouse
- Length: 12 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 50
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 45
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 44
Happy Accidents is a fascinating, entertaining, and highly accessible look at the surprising role serendipity has played in some of the most important medical discoveries in the 20th century. What do penicillin, chemotherapy drugs, X-rays, Valium, the Pap smear, and Viagra have in common? They were each discovered accidentally, stumbled upon in the search for something else. In discussing medical breakthroughs, Dr. Morton Meyers makes a cogent, highly engaging argument for a more creative, rather than purely linear, approach to science. And it may just save our lives!
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1 out of 5 stars
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Don't waste your money!
- By Amazon Customer on 03-20-16
By: Morton A. Meyers
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The Moth in the Iron Lung
- A Biography of Polio
- By: Forrest Maready
- Narrated by: Forrest Maready
- Length: 5 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 489
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 430
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Story5 out of 5 stars 428
A fascinating account of the world’s most famous disease - polio - told as you have never heard it before. Epidemics of paralysis began to rage in the early 1900s, seemingly out of nowhere. Doctors, parents, and health officials were at a loss to explain why this formerly unheard-of disease began paralyzing so many children. Why did this disease start to become such a horrible problem during the late 1800s? Why did it affect children more often than adults? Why was it originally called teething paralysis by mothers and their doctors?
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5 out of 5 stars
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Root Cause
- By Circlekay1 Gulfport MS on 10-24-19
By: Forrest Maready
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The Truth About Cancer
- By: Ty M. Bollinger
- Narrated by: Ty M. Bollinger
- Length: 9 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 318
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 276
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 275
One out of three women alive today, and one out of two men, will face a cancer diagnosis, according to the World Health Organization. Ty Bollinger takes this personally: in the course of a decade, he says, "I lost my entire family to cancer. I don't believe I had to lose them." The Truth about Cancer has been written for one simple reason: to share the knowledge we need to protect ourselves, treat ourselves, and in some cases save our lives or the lives of those we love.
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5 out of 5 stars
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save a life with this valuable information.
- By edwin matias on 12-30-16
By: Ty M. Bollinger
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Under the Knife
- A History of Surgery in 28 Remarkable Operations
- By: Arnold van de Laar, Andy Brown - translator
- Narrated by: Rich Keeble
- Length: 9 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 260
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 223
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 224
From the story of the desperate man from 17th-century Amsterdam who grimly cut a stone out of his own bladder to Bob Marley's deadly toe, Under the Knife offers a wealth of fascinating and unforgettable insights into medicine and history via the operating room. What happens during an operation? How does the human body respond to being attacked by a knife, a bacterium, a cancer cell, or a bullet? And, as medical advances continuously push the boundaries of what medicine can cure, what are the limits of surgery?
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5 out of 5 stars
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Why did a surgeon need a fast horse?
- By India Clamp on 10-18-18
By: Arnold van de Laar, and others
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Napoleon's Buttons
- 17 Molecules That Changed History
- By: Penny Le Couteur, Jay Burreson
- Narrated by: Laural Merlington
- Length: 11 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 309
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 269
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Story4 out of 5 stars 270
Napoleon's Buttons is the fascinating account of 17 groups of molecules that have greatly influenced the course of history. These molecules provided the impetus for early exploration, and made possible the voyages of discovery that ensued. The molecules resulted in grand feats of engineering and spurred advances in medicine and law; they determined what we now eat, drink, and wear. A change as small as the position of an atom can lead to enormous alterations in the properties of a substance.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Wish one of the authors would have read this book
- By A.J. on 03-09-12
By: Penny Le Couteur, and others
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Drugged: The Science and Culture Behind Psychotropic Drugs
- By: Richard J. Miller
- Narrated by: Roger Clark
- Length: 15 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 359
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 317
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Story4 out of 5 stars 316
In Drugged, Miller takes listeners on an eye-opening tour of psychotropic drugs, describing the various kinds, how they were discovered and developed, and how they have played multiple roles in virtually every culture. Drugged brims with surprises, revealing the fact that antidepressant drugs evolved from rocket fuel, highlighting the role of hallucinogens in the history of religion, and asking whether Prozac can help depressed cats. Entertaining and authoritative, Drugged is a truly fascinating book.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Interesting reading but heavy on the biochemistry
- By Scott on 06-28-14
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The Demon Under The Microscope
- By: Thomas Hager
- Narrated by: Stephen Hoye
- Length: 12 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 3,488
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,543
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,541
The Nazis discovered it. The Allies won the war with it. It conquered diseases, changed laws, and single-handedly launched the era of antibiotics. This incredible discovery was sulfa, the first antibiotic medication. In The Demon Under the Microscope, Thomas Hager chronicles the dramatic history of the drug that shaped modern medicine.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Great Book!!!!!
- By Amazon Customer on 05-21-08
By: Thomas Hager
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The Mystery of the Exploding Teeth
- And Other Curiosities from the History of Medicine
- By: Thomas Morris
- Narrated by: Thomas Morris, Ruper Farley
- Length: 9 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 625
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 540
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 537
A puzzling series of dental explosions beginning in the 19th century is just one of many strange tales that have long lain undiscovered in the pages of old medical journals. Award-winning medical historian Thomas Morris delivers one of the most remarkable, cringe-inducing collections of stories ever assembled.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Boring Toilet Humor
- By Nemo on 01-30-20
By: Thomas Morris
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Missing Microbes
- How the Overuse of Antibiotics Is Fueling Our Modern Plagues
- By: Martin J. Blaser
- Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor
- Length: 8 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 379
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 322
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 324
In Missing Microbes, Dr. Martin J. Blaser invites us into the wilds of the human microbiome, where for hundreds of thousands of years bacterial and human cells have existed in a peaceful symbiosis that is responsible for the health and equilibrium of our body. Now this invisible eden is being irrevocably damaged by some of our most revered medical advances-antibiotics-threatening the extinction of our irreplaceable microbes with terrible health consequences.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Very enlightening and information well supported
- By James on 05-03-15
By: Martin J. Blaser
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The Cancer Chronicles
- Unlocking Medicine's Deepest Mystery
- By: George Johnson
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 8 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 62
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 53
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 53
When the woman he loved was diagnosed with a metastatic cancer, science writer George Johnson embarked on a journey to learn everything he could about the disease and the people who dedicate their lives to understanding and combating it. What he discovered is a revolution under way - an explosion of new ideas about what cancer really is and where it comes from. In a provocative and intellectually vibrant exploration, he takes us on an adventure through the history and recent advances of cancer research that will challenge everything you thought you knew about the disease.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A quick read - hard to put down
- By Digital Dilema on 09-06-13
By: George Johnson
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Gulp
- Adventures on the Alimentary Canal
- By: Mary Roach
- Narrated by: Emily Woo Zeller
- Length: 8 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 3,922
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3,464
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Story4 out of 5 stars 3,469
Best-selling author Mary Roach returns with a new adventure to the invisible realm we carry around inside. Roach takes us down the hatch on an unforgettable tour. The alimentary canal is classic Mary Roach terrain: The questions explored in Gulp are as taboo, in their way, as the cadavers in Stiff and every bit as surreal as the universe of zero gravity explored in Packing for Mars. Why is crunchy food so appealing? Why is it so hard to find words for flavors and smells? Why doesn’t the stomach digest itself? How much can you eat before your stomach bursts?
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3 out of 5 stars
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Funtastic Voyage
- By Mel on 04-05-13
By: Mary Roach
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The Medical Marijuana Guide
- Cannabis and Your Health
- By: Patricia C. Frye MD, Dave Smitherman - contributor
- Narrated by: Pamela Almand
- Length: 8 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 44
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 39
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 38
In The Medical Marijuana Guide: Cannabis and Your Health, Dr. Patricia Frye takes a direct, no-nonsense approach to educating listeners about cannabis and its medicinal qualities. In this audiobook, using humorous and touching stories from the many situations she has encountered in her practice over the years, Dr. Frye provides valuable information about the undeniable medicinal qualities of cannabis. This audiobook helps to destigmatize this misunderstood drug and educate listeners on the history of cannabis and how it is used by the medical community today.
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5 out of 5 stars
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This book is just what medical Cannabis needed!
- By Tisha Stewart on 08-09-19
By: Patricia C. Frye MD, and others
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Chris Beat Cancer
- A Comprehensive Plan for Healing Naturally
- By: Chris Wark
- Narrated by: Chris Wark
- Length: 8 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 669
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 596
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Story5 out of 5 stars 596
Two days before Christmas and at 26 years old, Chris Wark was diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer. He had surgery to remove a golf ball-sized tumor and a third of his colon. But after surgery, instead of the traditional chemotherapy, Wark decided to radically change his diet and lifestyle in order to promote health and healing in his body. In Chris Beat Cancer, Wark describes his healing journey, exposes the corruption and ineffectiveness of the medical and cancer industries, and shares the strategies that he and many others have used to heal cancer.
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3 out of 5 stars
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sale's pitch
- By Tim Havens on 10-16-19
By: Chris Wark
What listeners say about A Is for Arsenic
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- EJ
- 10-24-23
Fascinating, know knowledeg of Christie required
The author writes a fascinating story of various poisons not only in Christie books, but in real life. The real life history of how poisons were used is absolutely fascinating. I was glued to the book.
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Nick
- 04-02-24
Difficult to listen to.
The narration is slow and a bit monotone. The content is not bad but I just can’t listen long enough to get interested.
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