The Mirror Crack’d by Agatha Christie

Some book club snacks

Agatha Christie’s The Mirror Cracked From Side To Side, is a victorian/flapper mystery novel inspired by the famous Lady Of Shalott Poem, by Tennyson. it is about an actress from the early black and white era of film. Rich, polished, and very crazy. Great for acting, but ummm oversentitivity can end you up at a party poisoning a nearly complete stranger if you aren’t careful. And so it happens here. Then you get the black mailers and others who figure it out…. There is always someone to silence. More murders, and finally, after 3 dead bodies have been wracked up by one woman, one last murder… Or was it suicide? the question remains… Unanswered. Because even the greatest of knights is imperfect, human, and has a right and a vested interest in remaining silent. The book club has grown I am thrilled to say we have really hit a number now where we are very cozy, and intimate in size, but large enough to have a good discussion from any angles. Our new members are diverse and just really really nice. Everyone brought food and we discussed our thoughts on the book. Which include discussion of archetypes through time, and the symbols and question, is Ms. Marple a detective? Or is she just a knitter that loves to unravel a knotted ball of yarn? We had a lovely film quiz. One of our members walked off with the prize, some farm fresh eggs, farm made lip gloss and some farm made soap.

Our Black And White Movie Trivia and answers.
The Mirror crack’d from side to side by Agatha Christie

1. The quote “It’s alive! It’s alive!” comes from what movie? (Frankenstein)
2. What screen actress will remember Paris with Humphrey Bogart? (Ingrid Bergman)
3. Who did Anne Bancroft, star with in The Miracle Worker? (Patty Duke)
4. Who wrote a movie about a crazy general determined to blow up the world? (Stanley Kubrik)
5. What was the name of the movie Kubrik wrote about a crazy general trying to blow up the world? (Dr. Strangelove.)
6. What is the plot of 2 Strangers On A train? ( 2 men swap murders to get away with it.)
7. Name the film noir, that stars Lauren Baccall and Humphrey Bogart, as they get caught in a storm of lies, and love, black mail, murder, and gambling? ( The Big Sleep)
8. Which actress stars in A Roman Holiday? (Audrey Hepburn)
9. Who was the actress in the movie, The Picture Of Dorian Grey? (Angela Lansbury)
10. In what movie does Charlie Chaplin, make one of the greatest speeches in film history? (the great dictator)

Tie breaker: What was the first movie called and in what year, and in which country? (Story of Kelly Gang in 1906 in Australia.)

Everyone brought food inspired by the theme, of a victorian/flapper country side British picnic. I wish I had taken more photos of the whole thing laid out. But I did get a few from before everyone arrived. We had tea, and of course I made daiquiris. Because, in this particular book, at an intimate gathering at an old house…. A Daiquiri, became a murder weapon when it killed a woman Mrs. Badcock. Seemed a fun thing to do to hand out murder weapons to everyone as they came in. Poison free though…. Always poison free. This is about bringing something to life, the book specifically. It isn’t about killing people. That is just not cool.

Baked pear, filled with granola, and later garnished with whipped cream and cinnamon.

On the table, we placed a mirror. Reading journals were passed out and we look forward to our next meeting. I hope everyone had as nice a time as I did.

There was laughing and discussion of books in general, as well as our next book… In The Woods by Tana French. which is about… little girls going missing in a new development. built right by and practically on top of the ruins of an old forest, and a mystery that still haunts the area… A mystery in which, 3 children went into the woods, and only one ever walked out, and he was covered in blood and a wreck. He is also the investigator and only link between the 2 cases… And he tells you himself, you can’t trust him because he is a liar. So what happened to 2 of those children that went into the woods that day long ago? What happened to the little girls? Could it have been the same person responsible for both? Can you have questions with no answers? What about puzzles with no solutions? This book is powerful because it haunts. Turning the readers into a forest full of ghosts… And so the book club, embarks today on a new adventure…. Into the naration of a liar to explore a more modern and an old mystery… I can’t wait to discuss this book. And I can’t wait to hear from everyone their thoughts and opinions and ideas, and to learn what about this story haunts them. Should the sight of our next meeting come equipped with bug spray and be a table set up in the farm’s wooded space? We shall see…..

Tags: Book club

About wildflowerfarm

Wildflower Farm, is a small New England homestead, B&B and AirBnB, in the Baystate. We came out here 7 years ago, when we returned from the better part of 10 years as peripatetic aristotelian nomads, for my husband's post docs. Upon our return, we had a plan. We had a lovely home. Everything was so clear. Then, I got sick. Things I used to eat all the time during our travels elsewhere in the world and even here before I left almost 10 years earlier made me ill. It took a couple trips to the ER and a trip to specialist... It became clear, something had changed in the way food is processed in this country since last I lived here. Some off label things was inevitably going to be my demise.

My husband and I looked around to see the clear path we were on, had exploded in front of us. We decided we had to create a new path for ourselves. We put children on hold. We found a small piece of land with a house we loved in a rural suburb in a right to farm area. I began researching how to do it ourselves. Grow it ourselves, make it ourselves, survive on our own as much as possible. We bought the property, and began plotting a new course. One that didn't involve off label chemicals. Closer to nature, with a lot more DIY, gardens, and animals for the products they provide. We created a life we loved though it hasn't always been easy and has of course come with compromise with each other, and even with ourselves.

Our family thought we had lost our minds. What were we doing leaving the city? We had no idea how hard this would be. They thought we would be back in 6 months. That was over 7 years ago, now. We have been making it work. They were not wrong, it isn't easy. But has anything worth doing ever been easy? And for us, avoiding as much store bought food as possible was simply necessary so I could live given how sick I was getting.

Then Covid hit.... We were lucky to have this place. It has allowed us a lot less need for public use territories which has kept us a lot safer and spared us much of the risk others face daily. This place, has given us a privilege through this of great meaning to us. To be of use in a difficult time. We have been able to help friends family and even strangers in need when things couldn't be found on store shelves. Or money was tight due to not working, rent being due and a child at home, or some other draining situation. We are so very grateful to have been able to not be helpless like so much of society through this miserable time. Our families, got used to it some time ago, us being out here. They made peace with it the day there was no bread and they had to ask me for some. Or when fresh vegies were rotten due to supply chain issues but they could find plenty in my garden.

Wildflower Farm, was a place I dreamed of. One of those sweet pastoral dreams a city dweller grows up knowing will never come true, that became unavoidable when I became ill. I never expected to get to do this. I never thought I had what it takes to make this work. I have learned pacing myself is important, compromise is critical, hard work never ends, burn out is real so breaks are just a necessary evil.

We are not fully self sufficient, but we work hard in that direction as we create a new path through life for ourselves, always reaching to do even more ourselves and to get closer to the ideal we envision. We are however far more self sufficient than many in this world. 7 years in, we continue to learn and grow in this homesteading lifestyle. We welcome comments and advice and ideas and questions.

We welcome visitors from all over to our home with strict covid policies in place. We spend our time learning to live all over again in a more environmental and sustainable way though even there we are far from perfect always learning and growing doing better as we know better.

This little homestead farm is a magical place named for the New England wildflowers that grow all around. A place where a physicist, watches the night sky on clear nights with the aide of mirror and glass, and a woman, works endlessly in the gardens, the kitchen, and a variety of projects to create and to keep a very unique life style running and functioning. Wildflower Farm, has become so much more than simply a piece of land we can grow a few vegetables on. The longer I spend here, the more alive the land seems, the more I learn about it's function and the more meaning it has. My place in the universe and the next steps on our new path become ever more clear.

We welcome you on this journey with us.

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The Mirror Crack’d by Agatha Christie

The Mirror Crack’d by Agatha Christie

About wildflowerfarm

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