History & The Arts
Killed by Agatha Christie: Strychnine and the detective novel
...system action was known and well-respected. In low doses, it was even prescribed as neuro-stimulant, a kind of chemical pick-me-up for people complaining of flagging energy. To further confuse the case, then, the story’s victim, Mrs. Inglethorp, has herself just finished taking a strychnine tonic. But she had been taking it for weeks at far too trace a dose to have...