Agatha Christie's estate threatens Val McDermid with legal action
Whodunnit? Agatha Christie’s estate threatens mystery writer Val McDermid with legal action over rights to the title ‘Queen of Crime’
- Val McDermid revealed she received letter demanding that she drop the moniker
- Novelist has sold more than 17million books and is referred to as Queen of Crime
- Great-grandson James Prichard expressed his ‘shock’ at seeing the nickname
Agatha Christie knew a thing or two about feuds and fierce rivalry.
But, 46 years after her death, the author is now at the centre of a drama fit for one of her own tales – as her estate has threatened crime writer Val McDermid with legal action in a row over who is the true ‘Queen of Crime’.
Scottish writer Miss McDermid, 67, revealed she received a letter demanding that she drop the moniker, which is used on her website, because copyright of the nickname is owned by the company Agatha Christie Ltd.
The novelist, who has sold more than 17million books and is referred to as the Queen of Crime on her website also claimed to have been sent correspondence from Mrs Christie’s great-grandson James Prichard, chief executive of Agatha Christie Ltd, who expressed his ‘shock’ at seeing the nickname.
Agatha Christie knew a thing or two about feuds and fierce rivalry. But, 46 years after her death, the author is now at the centre of a drama fit for one of her own tales – as her estate has threatened crime writer Val McDermid with legal action in a row over who is the true ‘Queen of Crime’
Scottish writer Miss McDermid, 67, revealed she received a letter demanding that she drop the moniker, which is used on her website, because copyright of the nickname is owned by the company Agatha Christie Ltd
Miss McDermid told the Edinburgh Book Festival: ‘They [the Agatha Christie estate] wrote: “You must cease and desist referring to Val McDermid as the Queen of Crime. We have trademarked this expression.
‘“If you call Val McDermid as the ‘Queen of Crime’, you will be in breach of copyright and this trademark”.
He said, “You will imagine my shock when my train pulled into Waverley Station [in Edinburgh] and a poster said, ‘New from the Queen of Crime’.
You must understand there is nothing personal in this, but we must protect my great-grandmother’s legacy”. It’s just astonishingly pitiful.’
The novelist, who has sold more than 17million books and is referred to as the Queen of Crime on her website also claimed to have been sent correspondence from Mrs Christie’s great-grandson James Prichard, chief executive of Agatha Christie Ltd, who expressed his ‘shock’ at seeing the nickname
Miss McDermid said she fell in love with crime fiction when she read about Miss Marple in The Murder At The Vicarage as a child.
Miss McDermid’s publisher and the Agatha Christie estate have been approached for comment.
Born in Torquay in 1890, Mrs Christie is best known for her 66 detective novels as well as the world’s longest-running play – The Mousetrap.
Miss McDermid is perhaps best-known for her Wire In The Blood series, featuring clinical psychologist Dr Tony Hill and DCI Carol Jordan, which was adapted for television starring Robson Green and Hermione Norris.
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