The first post of the year! We hope everyone has had a good Christmas; a great start to the new year - and that you don't need to thaw out like we do! We're having classic New England January weather here with lots of snow. We should have been going to visit our friends' horse who's happily getting settled into her new stable but the weather's put paid to that! Hopefully we'll soon be over the worst of it, but right now we're holed up at home, having stocked up on lots of hot chocolate and now we're going to get all cosy... with a cosy mystery!
I've recently started reading novels in the Agatha Raisin series and I'm also listening to the radio plays (with the sublime Penelope Keith in the lead role) based on the books written by the late Scottish author, M.C. Beaton. The Agatha Raisin series first came out in the early nineties with the first novel - The Quiche of Death - published in 1992. I will soon start watching the TV series - where Agatha is played by Ashley Jenson - and I am kicking myself for not getting immersed in the adventures of the Cotwalds-based former public-relations-agent-turned-private- detective a lot sooner. They're perfect for those who like an entertaining mystery that's witty and amusing rather than dark and macabre.
I often tell people that I grew up on a diet of classic horror flicks but I also grew up watching cosy mystery TV series and they really were all the rage during my childhood years. Murder She Wrote, Hart to Hart, Poirot... you name it, I watched it! For those of you who are wondering what a cosy mystery or 'cosy' is, well I'm not talking about watching a detective series while wearing bedsocks! A cosy mystery is one in which violence, bloodshed, and anything of a sexual nature is often downplayed, or omitted altogether, leaving viewers with just an inkling of the severity of the incident. So basically it's something that you can watch with your gran! Think pre-2000 Crimewatch UK! OK maybe not quite Crimewatch which is obviously quite dark, and cosies often have an element of humour in them. The protagonist is usually - but not always - an amateur, and furthermore crimes often take place in small, close-knit communities; the kind where everyone knows one another and knows how many spoonfuls of sugar they put in their tea that morning!
And indeed cosy mysteries helped to create another set of memories for me when I moved to America in the autumn of 2016. I was horribly homesick. So much so that I took to drinking tea and baking scones! I wasn't really much of a baker before moving to the States but it was all about the English connection, and I have to say - they were pretty good scones! And what could be more English than tea and scones? Well tea and scones while wearing a crown and sitting on a throne but seeing as I don't have a crown or a throne, I had to make do with a beanie (it's cold here in New England - even indoors!) and a recliner! But it instantly made me feel a lot less homesick and more at home. And what was I doing while I was drinking tea and enjoying freshly baked scones while pretending to be the lady of the manor? I was getting engrossed in a cosy mystery!
But since moving to America, it's really the British cosies that I've been most interested in, especially the ones set in quaint little towns and villages; where everyone knows Mr. Field the Farmer and his family; where everyone goes to the church service every Sunday morning without fail, and where locks on doors and windows are totally unnecessary. It makes you wonder how such gruesome murders take place in peaceful, tranquil communities like these. It must be because no one locks their doors or windows! Midsomer Murders; Hetty Wainthrop Investigates; Miss Marple; Rosemary and Thyme... I'm addicted!
So since Autumn 2016, tea, baked goodies, and a cosy mystery have become something of a ritual, and it's something I tend to do every autumn and winter - cosies were just made for these seasons where you can get all, um, cosy with a mug of tea and a blanket and get engrossed in a good story - it's especially delightful on snow days. I'm a little more settled in my new life in the States but I won't lie, I still miss home very much and have a yearning for all things English, which is why I love British cosies so much: the countryside; rolling green hills; flower beds; tearooms; stately homes, cottages... You can't get more English than that! And despite being a city girl and a die-hard Londoner, seeing the quintessential English countryside represented in such shows, really does remind me of the place I still call home.
So there you have it - my cosy mystery memories and rituals! Check out our upcoming cosy posts including one for amateur detective series Rosemary and Thyme which starred Felicity Kendal and Pam Ferris - two very familiar faces from my childhood. I'm disappointed that only three series were ever made but I am enjoying watching them again. Lounging around on the couch with a box of choccies, watching Rosemary and Thyme while the snow's pelting down outside is definitely my idea of bliss.
Do you like cosy mysteries? Which are your faves? Let us know in the comments.
Photos: YouTube and Angel Noire
Blog graphics: Angel Noire
A lot of the series mentioned here I enjoyed very much so in the past and I still do. Rosemary and Thyme, Midsomer... the scenery is just so beautiful. I'd love to live in a place like that. But with a much lower crime rate!
I've never been to England but when ever I watch any kind of British show that's set in the country, I always think that that's what England must look like.
As a Brit girl who now lives in Oz, these are the kind of shows I like to watch when I get an attack of homesickness. They're just so typically English so it reminds me of home - but also makes me feel sad at being so far away as well. 😥
I don't get to watch these shows very often but when I do, it's very relaxing and a great way to unwind. Must be the English countryside. Haha. Growing up I really enjoyed Murder She Wrote and Hart to Hart.
Alot of these kinds of shows are really popular here in the States. I have never visited England before but all these British shows with their beautiful landscapes make me want to go.