Is it macabre that BBC’s Maestro series uses technology to host an online writing class by an author who died in 1976? 

Aspiring crime writers can now learn the art of crime writing from the Queen of Mystery, Agatha Christie herself, thanks to cutting-edge AI technology. Using licensed images, carefully restored audio, and a voice reconstruction performed by actor Vivien Keene, Christie’s presence is faithfully recreated to guide students through the intricacies of crafting compelling whodunits. Drawn from her personal letters, rare interviews, and timeless writings, this course delivers advice curated by leading Christie scholars. With full support from her family and the Agatha Christie estate, the course promises that learners will uncover insights on plot structure, suspense, red herrings, and the difficult-to-manage balance of logic and surprise.

The question, of course, is whether this is a step too far? Already, the course has attracted a backlash – critics say that the BBC has created an Agatha Christie “deepfake”. The BBC has refuted this on the grounds that making a deepfake inherently implies that it is content created without consent. Here, they say, the BBC worked closely with Christie’s great-grandson James Prichard, who manages the author’s estate. 

But beyond the controversy, what can one say about the course itself? I watched the trailer, which gives a glimpse of the course to come, with mixed feelings. I love Agatha Christie’s novels, and I have read her no-nonsense autobiography, so it felt like an intimate experience to hear “her” words in a clipped British accent from beyond the grave. But here’s the catch – is the writing guidance too dated and “top-down” for the modern writer? Watch the trailer and tell me what you think. 

Christie is the best-selling novelist of all time. She is celebrated for iconic works like Murder on the Orient Express and The Murder of Roger Ackroyd and for creating legendary Hercule Poirot (my favorite detective!) and Miss Marple. Her mastery of misdirection and psychological nuance continues to influence writers around the globe, so maybe some students may as yet be inspired by nuggets she has to offer on writing a good mystery. 

So, should aspiring authors go for it? The jury is still out on that one.