Travels With Agatha Christie And Sir David Suchet S01 E05
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00:00In September 1922, a young novelist, Agatha Christie, journeyed up this hill with her
00:18husband Archie and other members of the British Empire Exhibition Mission.
00:25They'd been invited to visit this building, the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory.
00:34Now at the time of their visit, this observatory was fairly new, and their hosts were very keen to make a good impression on their visitors.
00:43The country behind this exciting venture wanted to make a name for itself on the international stage, and that country was Canada.
00:55For Agatha, this observatory in Victoria was the start of an epic adventure that would take her over 3,000 miles from west to east.
01:12Agatha had come to Canada on the journey of a lifetime.
01:17She was travelling the world as part of a mission that was championing the upcoming British Empire Exhibition.
01:25Held in London in 1924, the exhibition was being designed to boost trade and strengthen the bonds between nations.
01:36I've been recreating this journey, and following in Agatha's footsteps.
01:42So far, it's taken me to southern Africa, Australia, and New Zealand.
01:49Welcome.
01:50And even on holiday to Hawaii.
01:54I'm David Suchet, and I played Agatha Christie's famous character, Hercule Poirot, for 25 years.
02:04I want to explore the countries Agatha visited in the 1920s.
02:08There were 94,099 sheep, Sean, the year that Agatha was here.
02:14What?
02:16And learn about the legacy of the British Empire today.
02:20We are still black, dispossessed, displaced, and landless.
02:24You can't understand why things are the way they are with indigenous people in Canada if you don't look at what the history is.
02:31And through seeing what Agatha saw.
02:34That is extraordinary.
02:35With my trusty camera at my side, I'll discover more about the woman whose work has played such a pivotal part in my own career.
02:45She embraced life for all it was worth.
02:49Wow, what a discovery.
02:52On the 16th of September, 1922, Agatha and Archie arrived in Canada.
02:59A self-governing dominion of the British Empire, created in 1867.
03:07They started in Victoria, Canada.
03:10They were the first of their kind in the world.
03:12Just four years before Agatha's visit, the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory had opened its doors.
03:20Inside, was the largest and most important observatory in the world.
03:25The Dominion Astrophysical Observatory.
03:28It was the largest and most important observatory in the world.
03:32It was the largest and most important observatory in the world.
03:35The Dominion Astrophysical Observatory had opened its doors.
03:40Inside, was the largest and most important telescope in the British Empire.
03:46The observatory's historian, Dennis, has offered to show me what Agatha would have seen when she came here in 1922.
03:55Oh, hi David. Hello.
03:57Welcome to the observatory. Thank you very much.
03:59Dennis, I've got to ask you straight away.
04:00What would have been its significance for a visit by Agatha Christie and the British Empire mission?
04:06In the early part of the 20th century, the US in particular was building larger and larger telescopes.
04:11And Canada, feeling it wanted to become a major player on the world stage, said we need a big telescope.
04:18And so it was built partly for national pride as well as for the science.
04:22People came from around the world to see it.
04:24What was the telescope actually doing when Agatha Christie came here in 1922?
04:28Well, it was basically doing what it did every clear night, taking the spectrum of stars and recording it on photographic plates.
04:35Yes. I have here the logbook on astronomers keeping track of what they're doing.
04:41Yes.
04:43September 15th, 1922, the night before Agatha visited the telescope, and they did a lot of observing that night.
04:50The next page is September 17th.
04:52What happened to the 16th?
04:53What happened to the 16th?
04:55From the looks of it, clouds came in late on September 15th. I think the 16th was cloudy.
05:00That's when she was here?
05:02Yes.
05:03It was cloudy?
05:05That's life as an astronomer. You end up with cloudy nights.
05:08So she wouldn't have been able to actually see anything?
05:11Through the telescope? I don't think so.
05:13But you can observe the moon through a fair bit of cloud, so who knows? She might have been able to see something.
05:18I hope so.
05:20I'd like to think so.
05:21Fascinating.
05:27Over a century after Agatha's visit, this observatory is still operational.
05:33Before night falls and the telescope gets to work, I have the opportunity to see it up close.
05:40Oh my goodness! That's amazing!
05:45It's a wonderful machine.
05:47Think how Agatha would have viewed this in 1922.
05:49I'm sure she would have had the same reaction as I've just had.
05:52I'm sure she did. And is this as she would have seen it?
05:56What it looks like and the scale of it would be basically the same.
05:59The difference, of course, today is we have computers, which they didn't have in 1922.
06:04The computers control the motion of the telescope.
06:06So what the telescope can do today is about 10,000 times more sensitive than the telescope was in 1922.
06:20Wow!
06:22The first thing is you have to point the telescope at the start.
06:31You can see that gear moving.
06:33Yes.
06:35And as we also point the telescope, the dome will have to be moved so the telescope is looking out through the shutter.
06:42There are basically rail wheels on a railway track.
06:46Oh my God!
06:47And that big top turns around.
06:57And you use it.
06:59We use it every clear night for science.
07:01Wow!
07:03This is really impressive.
07:05It's an impressive machine.
07:07Even though it's 106 years old, it's a very impressive machine.
07:11The telescope was the brainchild of the Canadian astronomer John Stanley Plaskett,
07:17who made public access to the observatory a priority from the start.
07:25Plaskett said, the telescope we open for the public tours on Saturday night and for every Saturday night thereafter.
07:32And we've been running public tours almost consistently during that time.
07:37Running these star parties.
07:39A star party?
07:41Yeah, you have a party, come look at the stars, enjoy the sky, you know.
07:45Beautiful.
07:47Do you have any idea what day of the week Agatha Christie visited?
07:50Well, it turns out she visited on a Saturday.
07:52Saturdays are special up here at the observatory.
08:02And just like Agatha, I'm also a fan of science.
08:05And just like Agatha, I'm also here on a Saturday.
08:09So I'm joining the star party that's in full swing.
08:13I'm looking at the red giant.
08:18Gosh, it's rather awe-inspiring, isn't it?
08:21It really is.
08:25Were there any major discoveries as a result of this observatory?
08:29Oh yes, many great discoveries were made here.
08:31In 1922, in fact, Plaskett discovered the most massive pair of stars known up until that time.
08:37Really?
08:39And it got to be known very quickly as Plaskett's Star.
08:43Plaskett won many international awards for his work.
08:47It was a demonstration of Canada coming of age as a modern country.
08:51And it really made the observatory famous around the world.
08:54And of course it made Victoria the city famous around the world.
08:57In 1922, Canada was still forging its own identity,
09:02and was keen to distinguish itself from Britain.
09:05And this meant many in Canada were initially sceptical of the Empire Exhibition.
09:11The leader of the Empire Mission, Major Belcher,
09:15he really believed that Canada needed more encouragement than other dominions,
09:20as far as the Exhibition was concerned.
09:23And I think, with a twinkle in his eye and rather wickedly,
09:28he sort of set up a competition between other dominions and Canada by using the media.
09:35And in one newspaper, it was quoted as saying,
09:38Australia is making a magnificent response,
09:43due largely to their sense of vision as to what the Exhibition will mean
09:48for the extension of Australia's trade.
09:52That's a good bit of publicity to get Canada moving.
10:10While in Victoria, Agatha and Archie stayed at the Empress.
10:16This impressive hotel, known as the Castle on the Coast,
10:20must have provided some much-needed respite after eight long months of travelling.
10:27But its opulence may have made Agatha uneasy.
10:34In Agatha's autobiography, she tells us that at this stage in the trip,
10:39she and Archie were running out of money.
10:42And I find that quite extraordinary, really.
10:44You see, although Agatha's seafares were paid for, she had no allowance.
10:48Archie had £1,000 allowance for the trip.
10:53But by this stage, they were really running low and getting very worried.
10:59But Agatha had a plan.
11:03In a surprising passage from her autobiography,
11:07she recounts how she gorged herself on the hotel breakfast.
11:11I had grapefruit and sometimes pawpaw as well.
11:14I had buckwheat cakes, waffles with maple syrup, eggs and bacon.
11:20I came out feeling like an overstuffed boa constrictor.
11:24But I managed to make it last until evening.
11:27What's lovely about this is that it shows a sense of resourcefulness.
11:32In all her writings, she never complains. Never.
11:36She recounts everything with a certain lightheartedness and wit,
11:40which shows a wonderful positive character.
11:44A week after her arrival in Canada,
11:48Agatha left Victoria behind and began an epic journey east.
11:53I'm getting ready to do the same on the Rocky Mountaineer.
11:58A luxury train that travels from Vancouver to the mountain resort of Banff.
12:05Hello. Thank you very much. Good morning. Good morning.
12:11Well, I've been on a couple of red carpets in my life,
12:14but never the red carpet of the Rocky Mountaineer.
12:21We are excited to host you on board the Rocky Mountaineer
12:25as we make our way from the beautiful city of Vancouver.
12:28We have our crew waving us off just on the right-hand side.
12:32There they are.
12:34You certainly don't get this send-off leaving Paddington Station.
12:52Back in the 1920s, Canada's railway was advertised to tourists
12:57as the most efficient and seamless railway in the world.
13:00It was advertised to tourists as the most efficient and scenic way
13:04to explore this vast country.
13:11We're slowing down.
13:16Oh, wow. That is extraordinary.
13:20I'm completely amazed at how this whole rail was constructed.
13:26What a feat.
13:29Built in the 1880s, this railway line played a crucial role in Canada's formation.
13:35Our train manager, Wendy, has worked on this route for nearly 15 years.
13:40The idea was to build a railway line that would be able to run
13:43Our train manager, Wendy, has worked on this route for nearly 15 years.
13:48The idea was to unite both eastern and western Canada.
13:53So our government in Ottawa thought we need to get a rail line built.
13:58British Columbia, at that point, hadn't joined into the Federacy,
14:03so the rail line was the draw.
14:06So once they heard that they would get a rail line built through British Columbia
14:10joining the two coastlines,
14:11they were willing to join the country,
14:15and really is why we have the Canada that we have today.
14:18How did they do it?
14:20They brought in a lot of Irish workers, Chinese workers,
14:23and they were the ones who really helped to finish that rail line.
14:28Throughout Canada, we are built off of immigration.
14:31It really is kind of that foundation.
14:34I mean, it must have been hugely dangerous.
14:38Very much so. We see the terrain we're travelling through.
14:41They say for every mile, there's usually a loss of life.
14:44Every mile?
14:46Every mile of track being laid.
14:48They were doing it in what is considered really impassable, rugged areas.
14:53You've got mudslides, dynamite, the weather, the terrain.
14:59It's estimated that around 15,000 Chinese labourers
15:04worked on this stretch of track through British Columbia.
15:07They were paid less than other workers,
15:09and hundreds lost their lives during construction.
15:17Once this section of track was complete,
15:20the Canadian Pacific Railway in the west
15:23could be connected to Canada's rail network in the east.
15:26The railways met over 300 miles from Vancouver.
15:30Our host, Tony, can show me where.
15:33OK, this is going to be Craig Allakey coming up.
15:36Here we are.
15:38What happened here was the last spike of the Canadian Pacific Railway
15:42was hammered in, so just a spike like this.
15:44The first one that they tried to hammer in actually bent
15:47because it was done by a politician rather than an engineer
15:50because he wanted the camera shot.
15:52So he tried to do it himself.
15:54Typical politician.
15:56So it was bent, but the second one went in,
15:58and that was in November in 1885.
16:01Wow.
16:08I just love the sound of the train.
16:17That's amazing.
16:27During the next stage of this journey,
16:30the train must traverse the infamous Canadian Rockies,
16:33a towering mountain range with around 50 peaks
16:37that surpass 11,000 feet.
16:40I really can't believe how massive these mountains are.
16:46It really makes me feel that small.
16:54At the rugged Kicking Horse Pass,
16:57the highest point on our journey,
16:59trains must ascend over 5,000 feet
17:02To gain this amount of height safely,
17:05two tunnels were built through two immense mountains.
17:09But this required a unique design.
17:12So it was in 1907 that they began the building of the spiral tunnels.
17:17They started at the bottom on the town of Field that we just passed by,
17:21and they had one team start there,
17:23and they had the other team start at the very top of Mount Cathedral,
17:27and they worked for two years to meet the requirements
17:29and they worked for two years to meet in the middle.
17:32And a spiraling...
17:34Exactly, spiraling the entire way.
17:40Here we go, into our first tunnel.
17:43Now we're in a spiral.
17:45We are. We are inside Mount Ogden.
17:48So we're turning.
17:50We really are turning now.
17:52We're turning 226 degrees.
17:54We're turning left.
17:56So when we come out of this mountain,
17:57everything that we saw on the left-hand side is now going to be on the right-hand side.
18:01Now we're out.
18:03So we're out.
18:05The spiral tunnels were completed in 1909
18:09and allowed trains to make this vast ascent gradually.
18:14Really, really incredible.
18:16This is the second mountain here that we're going to be making our way through,
18:19Mount Cathedral.
18:21Yes. I'm getting a wonderful sense that you're quite excited this time.
18:25I am really excited, to be honest.
18:28Yes.
18:41Wow, look, here we are.
18:43We're all turned around.
18:45Oh my goodness me, we have turned around.
18:47The valley, the Kicking Horse River.
18:49Yes.
18:51Everything is all on the other side now.
18:55Yes.
19:00A margarita?
19:02Yes.
19:08It seems obvious that Canada's railways were an important part of their story.
19:14And I would say even their identity.
19:18And something the country was very proud of in the 1920s
19:21because they featured very prominently in the British Empire exhibition.
19:26And I'm just looking at the map here in the guidebook.
19:29And either side of the Canadian Pavilion are two buildings.
19:35One dedicated to CPR, that's the Canadian Pacific Railway.
19:39And the other one, the CN Railway, the Canadian National Railway.
19:44Telling the story, according to the guidebook,
19:47of their marvellous conquest of prairie and mountains.
19:51It also seems clear that they were keen to advertise
19:56the ingenuity and technical achievements of the railways.
20:00And also the potential for tourism,
20:03probably targeting the Brits visiting the exhibition.
20:07Yes, but, you know, look at the potential.
20:11Stunning.
20:14No wonder it's on so many people's bucket list.
20:25Also near the top of many a bucket list is the train's destination,
20:30Banff, the highest town in the Canadian Rockies.
20:35One of the town's key attractions is the Banff Springs Hotel.
20:39It was built in 1887 by the Canadian Pacific Railway
20:43to attract tourists to the area.
20:46And it's one of the first and most striking
20:49of Canada's famous grand railway hotels.
20:58These mountains are so impressive.
21:01And I'm about 4,500 feet above sea level.
21:05And I'm at Banff, staying at the Banff Springs Hotel.
21:09Where Agatha stayed.
21:12So I am, once again, following in her footsteps.
21:18With its towering mountains and serene lakes,
21:22it's no surprise that Agatha said
21:25it was one of the most beautiful places she had ever seen.
21:29And it continues to attract thousands of tourists to this day.
21:40Where the Rockies end, the prairies begin.
21:45A valley of plains, forest and farmland,
21:49nearly 1,500 miles long.
21:52Agatha came here because the Empire Mission
21:56were following in someone else's footsteps.
21:59That someone was the future Edward VIII.
22:03He would become infamous as the British king
22:05who abdicated to marry Wallis Simpson in the 1930s.
22:09But in 1919, he was still a young prince touring the British Empire.
22:15David, this is the view that the prince would have seen.
22:19Sensational.
22:21They say that he got up early in the morning before breakfast
22:24and he went for a long walk and he walked the ridgeline behind us here
22:28and he saw the view and this is what he fell in love with.
22:32The Prince of Wales had come here to Alberta
22:35and visited a ranch called The Bayou.
22:38He was so enamoured, he decided to buy a ranch for himself, right next door.
22:44Today, the ranch is owned by Jennifer and her family.
22:48It's pretty much identical to what the prince would have seen back in 1919.
22:53And he was incredibly taken with the Rocky Mountains in the background,
22:58the foothills, and then Pekisco Creek,
23:01the wooded meandering creek that you see that goes through the ranch.
23:03Yes.
23:05Historically, royals do not buy personal property,
23:07so it's said to be the only property that was ever owned personally
23:12by a member of the royal family.
23:14So if you look straight at the end, there's the Prince of Wales house.
23:18It's the red house with the white trim.
23:20Okay, yes.
23:22That's the original ranch house.
23:24Is it?
23:31What did he do when he was here?
23:33Did he get involved?
23:35I understand he was very active.
23:37I understand he liked to take part in anything to do with the cattle operations.
23:41The cattle? Did he become a cowboy?
23:43Well, I think he played cowboy when he was here.
23:46And I think he just wanted to sort of embrace the lifestyle.
23:54One of the things that everyone remembers
23:57is that he would always refer to my fellow Albertans.
23:59Oh, really?
24:01It's as though he had assumed that he was an Albertan himself
24:03after purchasing the ranch.
24:05When the Prince of Wales found out that the Empire Mission were visiting Canada,
24:10he insisted they visit his ranch.
24:13And maybe Agatha was able to experience a bit of the ranching lifestyle herself.
24:18The Prince certainly did.
24:21In 1941, the Prince came with Wallace Simpson,
24:26and they stayed at the ranch house,
24:27and they were here approximately a week.
24:29Was that her first visit?
24:31Her very first visit.
24:33And his last visit was in 1950.
24:36And it was a very short visit.
24:38It lasted two days.
24:40They arrived in April to one of our infamous spring snowstorms.
24:44So I think the weather became a huge deterrent.
24:48But back in 1924,
24:50the ranch captured the imagination of visitors to the Empire exhibition
24:54in quite a surprising way.
24:57I've got to show you a photograph.
25:00Okay.
25:02Of that.
25:04Do you know what that is?
25:06The Prince?
25:08That is the Prince.
25:10Next to a horse.
25:12In front of the ranch house.
25:14In front of the ranch house.
25:16But let me tell you, the whole thing is a butter sculpture.
25:18Butter?
25:20That's crazy.
25:22This life-size sculpture made of 3,000 pounds of butter
25:25was one of the most admired spectacles in the entire exhibition.
25:30Also, did you know that in the exhibition,
25:33very prominently, was also a photograph of your ranch?
25:38I did not know that.
25:40You have a very, very, very special place here.
25:44We love it.
25:56Well, I can quite see why Edward loved it here.
26:01And I'd like to think that Agatha liked it too.
26:05And this particular ranch, whether in photographic form
26:09or even in a butter sculpture,
26:12would have certainly been a highlight of the Canadian pavilion.
26:16It's as if they wanted to promote themselves as a homestead,
26:21if you like, for the British settlers.
26:23And I can quite imagine that some of the British visitors
26:28to the Canadian pavilion may have wanted to have a taste
26:32of the ranch lifestyle themselves.
26:35But you know, there's something also that I'm curious about.
26:42In all my travels with Agatha throughout Canada,
26:47I've never heard any mention
26:50of the indigenous people.
26:54So that gets me to question what Agatha didn't see.
27:14I've come to see a place
27:17that the Empire Mission were not taken to visit.
27:21This is St Eugene.
27:26The land here has been home
27:30to the Tanaka people for thousands of years.
27:33Today it's a beautiful resort,
27:36but in the 1920s, this building was a residential school
27:40for First Nations children.
27:43Gordie's parents and grandparents were sent here,
27:46and he had to attend the school himself
27:48when he was five years old.
27:51Our dormitory is on the top floors in each of the corners.
27:55Boys to that side of the building,
27:57girls to this side of the building.
27:59Boys' side, girls' side.
28:01Gordie, can you actually remember your very first day here?
28:05I can't forget it.
28:07Really?
28:09It was one of the worst days of my life.
28:11When I came to school here in 1957,
28:13my grandmother brought me here.
28:15I came on horse and buggy.
28:16We go into the building, what's called the Indian parlor.
28:19We have to sit there and wait for the police to come.
28:21You could hear a nun shouting at her, scolding a girl,
28:23and the girl started crying, so I started getting scared.
28:26One of the things that my grandmother tells me
28:29before she leaves is,
28:31if I have any problems dealing with it here,
28:33don't carry it on my shoulder.
28:35So she knew?
28:37She knew, yeah.
28:39What sort of things would the boys and girls
28:41have had to endure?
28:43Hardship, abuse.
28:44Physical abuse,
28:46sexual abuse,
28:48culture abuse.
28:50We weren't allowed to speak our language.
28:52That was taken away from us.
28:54You were punished for it.
28:56You were either given a strap
28:58or maybe had to do extra labour or something,
29:00or maybe even eat soap.
29:02Soap?
29:04Yeah.
29:06That's one of the punishments was eating soap
29:08for speaking a language.
29:10Residential schools were run by Christian churches
29:12with the financial support of the Canadian government.
29:14150,000 Indigenous children
29:16were forcibly sent to these schools
29:19and the thousands died while in their care.
29:22They were a central part
29:24of a wider effort to suppress Indigenous culture.
29:27Sophie Pierre is an elder
29:29and retired chief of the Tanaka Nation.
29:32The Minister of Indian Affairs
29:35stood up in Parliament
29:37and said that the purpose of these schools
29:39was to raise these children
29:41to be adults
29:42that no longer identify as Indian.
29:45It was really the intent
29:47of wiping out who we are as Tanaka,
29:50removing us from the land
29:52so then it becomes available for development
29:54and for everybody else.
29:56A very effective way of doing that
29:58is through the children.
30:00And was this encouraged by the government?
30:02Oh, absolutely.
30:04It's part of our law.
30:06It's still on the books.
30:08Oh, sure, yeah.
30:10We still have something
30:12Canadian legislation
30:14called the Indian Act.
30:16The Indian Act,
30:18introduced in 1876,
30:20placed legal restrictions
30:22on the lives of Indigenous Canadians
30:24and led to the foundation
30:26of the residential school system.
30:28By the 1920s,
30:30when Agatha was in Canada,
30:32oppressive amendments had been made
30:34which included compulsory attendance
30:36at the schools
30:38for children aged between 7 and 15.
30:40The majority of students
30:42who came here
30:44would have arrived
30:46speaking nothing but Ktoonakha
30:48and by the time they left
30:50would be speaking nothing but English.
30:52Some of these children,
30:54they're five, six years old
30:56and they start to get punished
30:58from the time they arrive
31:00because they're not speaking English.
31:02It doesn't take much
31:04to break down a child
31:06and to affect them
31:08for the rest of their lives
31:10just by taking away their language.
31:12They can no longer communicate.
31:14They're afraid to communicate.
31:16But that was the purpose
31:18of having these buildings.
31:20The Saint Eugene Mission School
31:22closed in 1970.
31:24In the decades that followed,
31:26a decision had to be made
31:28about what to do with the building.
31:30Sophie was chief at that time.
31:32Really what we had
31:34was a big white elephant on our hands.
31:36It's a huge building.
31:38We still had our own people
31:40who were former students
31:42and we should just tear it down.
31:44That's not how you heal.
31:46Just because something's out of sight
31:48doesn't mean that
31:50it's going to make things better.
31:52It was our elder, Mary Paul,
31:54that really gave us
31:57our directions on what to do
32:00because it was she who told us
32:02that if we thought
32:04we had lost so much in that building
32:06that we need to go back in there
32:08and pick it up.
32:10The community decided
32:12to build a new building
32:14in the heart of the fort
32:16that also has
32:18an interpretive centre.
32:20It's here that the traditions
32:22and culture that historic governments
32:24tried to eradicate
32:26are now being championed.
32:28Liana is the director
32:30of the centre.
32:32We tell our 12,000 plus year history
32:34as well as our residential school story.
32:36And our guides
32:38are former residential school survivors
32:40who tell their stories.
32:42Passing on that knowledge
32:44to the next generations.
32:46A keystone of this work
32:48is ensuring the language
32:50that was so nearly taken
32:52from the community endures.
32:54If you weren't raised
32:56in the language
32:58it is hard for some speakers
33:00to come back to try to learn it later
33:02when they're in their adult years.
33:04A lot of our people today
33:06are learning.
33:08Myself, I can read better
33:10than I can speak.
33:12I have knowledge of learned phrases
33:14and the animals,
33:16how to count.
33:18Liana, you've been talking
33:20so vividly about your language
33:22but I haven't heard it.
33:24Will you talk to me
33:26and say something to me?
33:28That was wonderful.
33:30Thank you so much.
33:33It wasn't until the 1980s
33:35that the truth
33:37about what happened
33:39at residential schools
33:41was made public.
33:43It wasn't until the 1980s
33:45that the truth
33:47about what happened
33:49at residential schools
33:51was made public.
33:53It wasn't until the 1980s
33:55that the truth
33:57about what happened
33:59at residential schools
34:01began to be publicly acknowledged.
34:03The last closed its doors
34:05in 1996.
34:07You don't just move away
34:09from intergenerational trauma.
34:12You can't understand
34:14why things are the way they are
34:16with Indigenous people in Canada
34:18if you don't look
34:20at what the history is.
34:22That ain't going to happen.
34:24Not till we deal with the truth.
34:25That's why we're in this building
34:27so that for future generations
34:29it's a positive impact.
34:31It is the thing
34:33that I am most proud of
34:35of our people
34:37that we made that decision
34:39to do this.
34:41It's been so interesting
34:43talking to you.
34:45Interesting is not the word.
34:47I think you've been
34:49amazingly honest with me
34:51and thank you very,
34:53very much for sharing.
34:55Hopefully we can get it out.
34:57So thank you.
34:59Bless you.
35:05Indigenous Canadians
35:07weren't included
35:09in the image of Canada
35:11that was shown to Agatha
35:13or to visitors
35:15to the 1924 Empire exhibition.
35:17The exhibition was used
35:19to display
35:21a homogenous version of Canada
35:23that would appeal
35:25to the public.
35:27To find out more,
35:29I'm following Agatha
35:31and the delegation
35:33to the seat of government,
35:35Ottawa.
35:37I'm going to the National Gallery
35:39to meet art historian Katerina
35:41to find out how Canada
35:43represented itself
35:45at the exhibition
35:47through art.
35:49This is September Gale
35:51by Arthur Lismore.
35:53Look at that.
35:55That's the symphony of nature.
35:57We do have in the collection
35:59another work by Frederick Farley
36:01and he painted a very similar subject,
36:03probably even the same tree
36:05from the same locations.
36:07Oh, how interesting.
36:09And it was called
36:11Stormy Weather, Georgian Bay.
36:13Stormy Weather.
36:15These paintings were included
36:17in a selection of artworks
36:19chosen to represent Canada
36:21in the Palace of the Arts
36:23at the Empire exhibition.
36:25There's a young generation
36:27of painters in Canada
36:29who believe that they can represent
36:31the uniqueness of the landscape
36:33and the country
36:35and forward Canadian art
36:37in a modern direction
36:39by painting nature.
36:41So you can immediately see
36:43that influence on the atmospheric effects
36:45of that response
36:47of how nature makes you feel
36:49as opposed to what you see.
36:51What's fascinating also
36:53is just having a look
36:55at the paintings
36:57that you've brought to Canada.
36:59Now I'm looking at a reflection of those.
37:01Yes.
37:03Probably similar to Agatha's tour as well.
37:05She would have recognised
37:07the landscape of Canada.
37:09Precisely.
37:11And how is that distinctly Canadian?
37:13I think the whole idea
37:15is to say that the artists
37:17were not just painters
37:19but they were woodsmen,
37:21they were outdoors,
37:23they were communing with nature.
37:25This aligned with the way
37:27that Canada wanted to be represented
37:29across the exhibition.
37:31Have you got the real catalogue?
37:33We have the real catalogue.
37:35The foreword was written
37:37by our first director, Eric Brown.
37:39He says Canada is having the opportunity
37:41of measuring her art
37:43for the first time
37:45against that of the other British dominions
37:47at the British Empire exhibition.
37:49Canada will show
37:51that she possesses vigorous school
37:53of painting and sculpture
37:55and colour of her seasons.
37:57Oh, that's so interesting.
37:59You know, this says to me
38:01Canada is distinctive.
38:04We possess a style of our own.
38:07We're not European.
38:10We are Canadian.
38:12And that is precisely
38:14what they wanted to achieve.
38:16Their inclusion in the exhibition
38:18gave the group of seven
38:20exposure outside of Canada
38:22and their work was seen
38:23by Canada gaining
38:25a national voice of its own.
38:27The scenery with simplification of form,
38:29with boldness and colours
38:31and expressiveness,
38:33that's what delighted
38:35and fascinated the British critics.
38:37Exactly that representation
38:39of the Canadian landscape.
38:41One of the leading critics at the time,
38:43he writes in the Daily Chronicle
38:45and he says the Canadian landscapes,
38:47I think, are the most vital group
38:49of paintings produced since the war.
38:51Indeed, this century.
38:53My goodness.
38:55So he's giving a very high credit.
38:57Very high.
38:59This was exactly what Canada wanted.
39:01A uniqueness, but a union.
39:03And a recognition.
39:05Yes.
39:07International recognition
39:09and an idea that Canada
39:11is close to the parent,
39:13to the imperial centre,
39:15yet distinct and independent.
39:17And yet distinctive.
39:19Because a lot of politics
39:21going on in here, isn't there?
39:23Yes.
39:25Amongst the mission's meetings
39:27with Canada's governing officials,
39:29Agatha managed to carve out
39:31some leisure time,
39:33coming here
39:35to the Royal Ottawa Golf Club.
39:37While enjoying a few rounds,
39:39Agatha must have been thinking
39:41of an imminent milestone
39:43in her career,
39:45the publication of her next novel.
39:47Agatha's third novel to be published
39:49was Murder on the Links,
39:51in which a body is discovered
39:53at the edge of a golf course
39:55in France.
39:57This was only her second
39:59full-length Poirot novel.
40:01And so beautifully
40:03had she drawn the character
40:05of Poirot in her first novel
40:07that her readers would not
40:09have been surprised to learn
40:11that Poirot did not like golf.
40:13But the reason?
40:15Because the bunkers
40:17were not symmetrical.
40:19But even though Agatha
40:21had finished the book
40:23Murder on the Links
40:25would be a success.
40:27In the Times Literary Supplement,
40:29the reviewer compared
40:31Poirot to Sherlock Holmes
40:33and wrote that
40:35the novel provides the reader
40:37with an enthralling mystery
40:39of an unusual kind.
40:41The Daily Express.
40:44Murder on the Links
40:46is one of the best mystery stories
40:48I have read.
40:50Miss Agatha Christie
40:51stands in a class by herself
40:53as a writer
40:55of detective stories.
40:57But you have to remember
40:59at the beginning of the Empire Tour
41:01she'd only published one novel
41:03and that was as an amateur.
41:05She did it as a dare.
41:07But maybe she was now thinking
41:09that writing could be
41:11her chosen career.
41:13And maybe she could earn
41:15a good living at it.
41:17Well, I personally would like
41:19to think that she was now ready
41:21as the Queen of Crime.
41:26After a truly epic journey
41:29and 11 months of travelling,
41:31it was time for Agatha
41:33to return home
41:35and resume her writing in earnest.
41:37She finally arrives back in the UK
41:39on the 1st of December 1922.
41:48Over a year later,
41:49Agatha and Archie
41:51must have been fascinated
41:53to see the culmination
41:55of their endeavours
41:57when the British Empire Exhibition
41:59opened in 1924.
42:01The 216-acre site
42:03attracted 27 million people
42:05over two years.
42:07Amongst the highlights
42:09heralded in the British press
42:11were the elaborate Dominion pavilions,
42:13the vast amusement park
42:15and the life-size butter sculpture
42:17of the Prince of Wales.
42:20Perhaps the exhibition's
42:22most lasting legacy
42:24was the twin-towered
42:26Wembley Stadium,
42:28a London icon until 2003.
42:30But the exhibition was deemed
42:32to be a financial failure
42:34and was reported to have lost
42:36£1.5 million.
42:38And although it was popular
42:40with audiences at home,
42:42it didn't have the international impact
42:44many had hoped for.
42:49Here at Greenway,
42:51a house that Agatha
42:53adored in later life,
42:55the souvenirs
42:57that she collected
42:59during her Empire tour
43:01can still be found.
43:03But it's not enough
43:05to make up for the loss
43:07of the British Empire.
43:09It's not enough
43:11to make up for the loss
43:13of the British Empire.
43:15It's not enough
43:17to make up for
43:19the loss of the British Empire.
43:21But being part of the Empire mission
43:23would have another,
43:25rather more unexpected impact
43:27on Agatha's life.
43:29It was through the Empire mission's leader,
43:31Major Ernest Belcher,
43:33that Archie was introduced
43:35to Nancy Neill.
43:37They fell in love with each other
43:39to such an extent
43:41that Archie asked Agatha
43:43to grant him a divorce in 1926.
43:46I would imagine
43:47that without this,
43:49her memories
43:51of the Empire tour
43:53would have been bittersweet.
43:55And yet,
43:57she still kept these mementos.
43:59I find that very touching.
44:11It was another love
44:13in Agatha's life
44:15that saved her.
44:17She was a prolific professional
44:19and the 1930s and 40s
44:21bore witness
44:23Here it is.
44:25to some of her best work.
44:27Now, there's a Poirot quote
44:29from this book,
44:31Evil Under the Sun,
44:33which is a travel-themed book
44:35set on an island.
44:37And I can't help but think
44:39that Agatha Christie
44:41is speaking through the mouth
44:43of Hercule Poirot.
44:45He is actually talking
44:47about marriage.
44:49To marry and have children.
44:51That is the common lot of women.
44:54Only one woman in a hundred,
44:56more in a thousand,
44:58can make for herself a name
45:00and a position as you have done.
45:03And I can't help but think,
45:05you know,
45:07that Agatha is writing
45:09with a sense of her own achievement,
45:11that she may be one of those
45:13very few women in a thousand.
45:15And knowing how hard it had been.
45:17A sense of pride.
45:19Knowing what she had achieved.
45:22And I wonder how she'd feel
45:25knowing that today,
45:28all those years later,
45:30she remains in a class
45:32all by herself.
45:36It feels right
45:38to end my journey here
45:40at Greenway
45:42because this house
45:44was so special to Agatha
45:45that I said goodbye
45:47to Hercule Poirot.
45:49Through getting to know Agatha
45:51so much better
45:53at a time when she was developing
45:55this beloved character,
45:57I feel even closer to him
45:59than I was before.
46:01You know, the final shot
46:03of me playing Poirot was taken
46:05when I was standing
46:07on this very step.
46:09And when I heard the words
46:11that's a wrap,
46:13I thought I'd be saying
46:15so to be able to spend time
46:18with him again
46:20on this Empire tour,
46:22well, it's been a real joy.
46:45¶¶