The book that changed Christie's career – with Harriet Tyce, Tony Medawar and Victoria Dowd
About Roger Ackroyd: The Killer Murder
Credit: HarperCollins
Roger Ackroyd was a man who knew too much. He knew the woman he loved had poisoned her first husband. He knew someone was blackmailing her – and now he knew she had taken her own life with a drug overdose. Soon the evening post would let him know who the mystery blackmailer was. But Ackroyd was dead before he’d finished reading it – stabbed through the neck where he sat in the study.
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is now 100 years old, yet it is undiminished in its impact. One century on since Roger Ackroyd met an untimely end in his study, join an evening that revels in the enduring power of this astonishing and pioneering work of fiction.
Please note: there is no way to appreciate its brilliance without spoilers, so the book is essential reading before attending this event!
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Harriet Tyce
Harriet Tyce is the million-copy, Sunday Times bestselling author of four novels.
Credit: Charlotte Knee
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She grew up in Edinburgh and studied English at Oxford University before doing a law conversion course at City University. After practising as a criminal barrister in London for nearly a decade, she subsequently completed an MA in Creative Writing – Crime Fiction at the University of East Anglia. Her first novel, Blood Orange, published in 2019 to huge critical acclaim and she has since written multiple Sunday Times bestsellers. In 2026, Harriet was a contestant on series 4 of The Traitors. Witch Trial is her fifth novel.
Tony Medawar
Tony Medawar programmed the International Agatha Christie Festival for five years.
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He has edited more than 30 books, including the long-running series of mystery anthologies Bodies from the Library and Ghosts from the Library, published by HarperCollins, and he compiled The Quotable Miss Marple, and While the Light Lasts, the final collection of previously uncollected stories by Agatha Christie. Tony was also a member of the advisory panel for the British Library’s Exhibition, Agatha Christie: A World of Mystery. Previously, he developed stories for the game 221B Baker Street, and he currently edits the Vintage Crime series for Profile Books.
Victoria Dowd
Victoria Dowd is the award-winning author of the bestselling Smart Woman’s Mystery series and has been shortlisted for the CWA Dagger.
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Her novel, The Smart Woman’s Guide to Murder, won The People’s Book Prize for fiction and was In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel’s Book of the Year. She was awarded the Gothic Fiction prize. Victoria is the Vice Chair of the Crime Writers’ Association and was a criminal defence barrister. The latest novel in her historical crime series is Threefold Death. Her standalone novel, The New Rules of Murder, will be published by Sphere in June next year.
Venue and bar opening times
This is an in-person only event in the British Library Knowledge Centre.
The Knowledge Centre and bar open from 18.00.
Please arrive no later than 15 minutes before the start time of this event. If you have specific access requirements please email customer@bl.uk
Concessions
There are a range of concessions available. These include discounts for British Library Members, Young Persons (16–25s), and visitors on Universal/Pension Credit and free entry for carers.
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