A Letter to Agatha Christie: Digging in the Eco-colonial Heritage of the East

Abstract

“Dear Agatha, I extend my warmest greetings from Mosul. Although the opportunity for a personal encounter was never afforded to us, I assure you that I can vividly imagine observing your endeavours while sitting on the surface of a hole, excavating the historical sites of Nimrud and Arbachiya alongside your husband. It was the beginning of the 1980s when I first started reading your masterpieces, which took me to the world of mystery. It was the summer holiday, and I was a teenager in Intermediate School. The holiday sounded long and boring because I was with my two elder sisters, Nadia and Muna, who were in the Preparatory School and did not take the final exam under the General Exemption System implemented by the Ministry of Education in Iraq. My youngest sister, Najalaa, was in Primary School. How to spend the long summer days? It was during this time that reading emerged as a profound solution to our ennui. Our mother played a pivotal role in shaping our literary journey, often acquiring children’s literature, short stories, novels, and texts spanning various disciplines in Arabic—a precious gift during our school years. The bookstores along Al-Najafy Street in Mosul served as the departure point in our journey with you. The translated copies of your crime fiction books were in the queue at that time: “Appointment with Death, “The Sparkling Cyanide, “The Mysterious Mr. Quin”, and “Death in the Clouds”.I remember the covers of these books, which were mystery-leading, featuring intriguing designs that served as gateways into the world of crime fiction during my formative years. Yes, Agatha, I recall the cover pages of these books, featuring intriguing designs that acted as gateways into the world of crime fiction at an impressionable age.