Which poison was used most frequently in Agatha Christie's novels? How many of her novels featured a butler? Exactly where on the train were the suspects located in Murder on the Orient Express? How many actors have portrayed Hercule Poirot?

Get a clue...or a lot of them, in
THE COMPLETE CHRISTIE
simply the most comprehensive guide to the life and works of the immortal Dame Agatha Christie.

Join author Matthew Bunson, whose Encyclopedia Sherlockiana was compared to "a box of the best chocolates" by mystery author Anne Perry, in this entertaining and highly enjoyable tour of the vast world of mystery created by Christie, and discover...

• a comprehensive biography of Christie, including new theories on her strange disappearance in 1926
• plot synopses that offer colorful capsules of the stories (without giving away the solutions!)
• A-to-Z entries on characters from vicars to butlers, police sergeants to maids, each cross-referenced to the story or novel
• detailed listings of all films, television programs, radio shows, and documentaries of Christie and her works
• up-to-date entries on the most recent releases of previously unpublished Christie writings
• sixty illustrations, including book covers, shots from movies, and stage productions.

Whether you've read every title in the giant Christie canon, or are just discovering her writing, The Complete Christie reveals in delectable detail why the mystique, fascination, and brainteasing fun of the mysteries penned by the century's most successful writing remain forever undiminished.

The extraordinarily rich cultural legacy of the Roman world has had a profound affect world civilization. Roman achievements in architecture, law, politics, literature, war, and philosophy serve as the foundation of modern Western society. Now, for the first time in an A-Z format, A Dictionary of the Roman Empire assembles the people, places, events, and ideas of this remarkable period in one easy-to-use source. With over 1,900 entries covering more than five hundred years of Roman history, from Julius Caesar and the Gallic Wars (59-51 B.C.) to the fall of Romulus Augustus, the last Roman emperor (476 A.D.), this accessible guide provides quick reference to one of the most studied periods of all antiquity.

Every aspect of Roman life is included. Here are profiles of the great emperors, such as Marcus Aurelius, one of the most profoundly intellectual monarchs in western civilization, and the aberrant Gaius Caligula, who, after draining the Roman treasury with his eccentric behavior, made it a capital crime for citizens not to bequeath him their estates. Informative entries describe the complex workings of Roman government, such as census taking, the creation of civil service, coinage, and the venerable institution of the Senate, and offer insight into the various trends and cultural tastes that developed throughout Roman history. For example, a discussion on baths, the most common type of building in the Roman Empire, demonstrates the unique intermingling of luxury, community, recreation, and, in the provinces, an association with Rome, that served as the focus of any city aspiring to greatness. Other entries describe the practice of paganism, marriage and divorce, ludi (public games held to entertain the Roman populace), festivals of the Roman year, and gluttony (epitomized by famous gourmands such as the emperor Vitellius, who according to the historian Suetonius, lived for food, banqueting three or four times a day, routinely vomiting up his meal and starting over). Also featured are longer essays on such topics as art and architecture, gods and goddesses, and the military, as well as a chronology, a short glossary of Roman terms, and appendices listing the emperors of the Empire and diagram the often intertwined family trees of ruling dynasties.

Comprehensive, authoritative, and illustrated with over sixty illustrations and maps, A Dictionary of the Roman Empire provides easy access to the remarkable civilization upon which Western society was built.

Amid the veritable choirs of popular angel books, this is the only one that offers factual information on every facet of angel lore. Here at last is a detailed reference for anyone who wants to finally get the straight dope on all aspects of angel arcana. 40 photos.