Inklings // May 2024

Hello, friends!

It's a new month, so it's a new Inklings! This monthly link-up is hosted by the lovely lady of Anorien herself, Heidi! I was going to wait until closer to the end of the month to post, but I couldn't get this Inklings prompt off my mind, so why wait?

How it works:

    1. At any time during the month, on your own blog post a scene from a book or film that matches the prompt, including a link back to the original post in your post.

    2. Leave a link to your post in the comments section of the monthly post and she'll post all your links with the next prompt.

Click HERE to see all of my past entries, and click HERE to see all of the entries for this month! That second link is where she gave the following prompt:

May 2024: A scene with a pearl necklace in book or film

Before we get into it, I want to relay a recent discovery. My older sister knits a lot and there are a few different stitches with different names. This whole time (since she was 9 or 10), I thought it was knit and pearl. Apparently it's knit and purl. So no knitting in this post.

I'm choosing a passage from the book Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie. 

I'm not the only person to choose an Agatha Christie inspired scene because Autumn Grace used a scene from the TV show Poirot. What can I say, mysteries and pearls go so well together.

Because of that, I don't want to tell you what happens in the mystery. This is from the first chapter, so no spoilers, but believe me, these pearls show up again and again.

"Joanna picked up a string of pearls from the dressing table.

'I suppose these are real, aren't they, Linnet?'

'Of course.'

'I know it's "of course" to you, my sweet, but it wouldn't be to most people. Heavily cultured or even Woolworth! Darling, they really are incredible, so exquisitely matched. They must be worth the most fabulous sum!'

'Rather vulgar, you think?'

'No, not at all---just pure beauty. What are they worth?'

'About fifty thousand.'

'What a lovely lot of money! Aren't you afraid of having them stolen?'

'No, I always wear them---and anyway they're insured.'

'Let me wear them till dinnertime, will you, darling? It would give me such a thrill.'

Linnet laughed.

'Of course, if you like.'

'You know, Linnet, I really do any you. You've simply got everything. Here you are at twenty, your own mistress, with any amount of money, looks, superb health. You've even got brains!...'"

This was my first Christie mystery (whoa, that rhymes) because I'd decided I was going to write a mystery myself because I was such a Nancy Drew fan. I'd proudly announced that it was going to be on a boat and my mom told me I should read Death on the Nile for "research". I LOVED IT. And in fact, I could never really go back to Nancy Drew because this was so complicated! I still haven't read all that many Agatha Christie books, but I consider her one of my favorite authors and the mystery genre is a comfort genre for sure.

Usually on this blog for Inklings I talk about movie scenes. I really enjoy both film versions of Death on the Nile (1978 and 2022), but neither of them incorporate pearls in the same genius way! 1987 has a shortened version, and 2022 turns the pearls into jewels and again, shortens what really happens. (Don't get me wrong, what they did instead BROKE ME and I love it and hate it at the same time). So the book it is! I reread this before watching either of those movies (in 2020) and had completely misinterpreted somethings the first time. But not how marvelously complicated it is.

Thanks to Heidi for hosting! Make sure you check out all the other entries HERE.

Is there a book that changed how you look at a genre? Do pearls seem like too much of a liability for you? Does anyone else know any of the other scenes with pearls in this book? What do you guys think of the film versions? Thank you for reading! 

Chloe the MovieCritic