Prolific author and historian Dr Jonathan Oates gives a talk to Surbiton & District Historical Society on Agatha Christie and True Crime.

Many of Agatha Christie’s best-selling detective stories had their basis in reality. ‘Who killed Charles Bravo, and why?’ asks retired Superintendent Spence in Elephants Can Remember, referring to an unsolved Victorian murder mystery; one of many allusions to real life crime and criminals in Agatha Christie’s fiction.

The infamous Dr Crippen, Jack the Ripper, John George Haigh and other real killers, fraudsters and spies figure prominently in plots covering a timeframe from the 18th century to the 1960s, showing that Agatha Christie was not only an inspired writer of fiction but had a knowledge of true crime as well.

There are even instances where she seems to have anticipated real life crimes, as in the case of the poisoner Graham Young. The talk examines criminals and their crimes – some well-known, others largely forgotten – and how they are used in Agatha Christie’s stories.

The cornerHOUSE. Bar opens 7pm, talk starts 7.30pm. £4 visitors. Free to members (£20 per year) www.surbitonhistoricalsociety.org