Kathryn Harkup is a former chemist turned writer and science communicator. Her interests are in anything gothic, gory and geeky, and preferably all three. She has written several books on the crossover between science, literature and pop culture including The Secret Lives of the Elements, The Secret Lives of Molecules, A is for Arsenic: The Poisons of Agatha Christie, Making the Monster: The Science of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Death by Shakespeare: Snakebites, Stabbings and Broken Hearts, Superspy Science: Science, Death and Tech in the World of James Bond and Vampirology: The Science of Horror’s Most Famous Fiend.
Kathryn also loves talking about the darker side of science. She is happy to help anyone devolop their plots to take over the world, or advise them on how to protect themselves from poisoners or the undead.
News & Events
New book coming 19 June 2025
V is for Venom: Agatha Christie’s Chemicals of Death
Fourteen stories. Fourteen more poisons. Just because it’s fiction doesn’t mean it’s all made-up …
Agatha Christie revelled in the use of poison to kill off unfortunate victims in her books; indeed, she employed it more than any other murder method, with the poison itself often being a central part of the novel. Her choice of deadly substances was far from random – the characteristics of each often provide vital clues to the discovery of the murderer. With gunshots or stabbings the cause of death is obvious, but this isn’t the case with poisons. How is it that some compounds prove so deadly, and in such tiny amounts?
This book, the follow-up to Kathryn Harkup’s best-selling A is for Arsenic, features fourteen more poisons from the books of Agatha Christie. V is for Venom explores the scientific facts behind the chemicals Christie put to such deadly use in her fiction. How do these compounds affect the body? What is their history of use in real-life murder cases, some of which may have inspired Christie, and how feasible was it to obtain, administer and detect these poisons, both at the time the novel was written and today?
V is for Venom is a celebration of the use of science by the undisputed Queen of Crime.
Passion for Poison: The Real Science of Agatha Christie
7pm Monday 23rd June 2025 – Royal Institution
Agatha Christie revelled in the use of poison to kill off unfortunate victims in her books, using poisons more accurately than any other crime writer. But how is it that some chemicals in such small quantities can be so deadly? And how feasible was it to obtain these chemicals both in Christie’s day, and today?
Join chemist-turned-writer Kathryn Harkup as she explores how Christie’s extensive knowledge of drugs and medicine mixed with real life cases, created her brilliantly plotted crime novels. Her poisons were picked with care to give clues, red-herrings and interesting new twists to her classic crime novels, whilst maintaining scientific accuracy. Kathryn will uncover howdunnit, but whodunnit is still up to you to find out…
Copies of Kathryn’s book “V is for Venom: Agatha Christie’s Chemicals of Death” will be available to purchase after the talk.
Tickets available here
Royston Pike Lectures – A is for Arsenic
7.30pm Wednesday 15 October 2025 – Riverhouse Barns Arts Centre, Walton on Thames
Agatha Christie revelled in the use of poison to kill off unfortunate victims in her books; indeed, she used more poisons more accurately than any other crime writer. The poison itself often became a central part of the novel. This talk looks at how the writer used her extensive knowledge of drugs and medicines mixed with real life cases to create her brilliantly plotted crime novels. Her poisons were picked with care, often providing vital clues to the discovery of the murderer. We will look at howdunnit but whodunnit is for you to find out.
Book tickets here