THE programme for a festival to celebrate Wallingford and Cholsey’s connections with crime writer Agatha Christie has now been finalised.

The novelist lived in Winterbrook House, Cholsey, from 1934 until her death in 1976 and there is now a commemorative blue plaque on the house.

Mrs Christie is buried in the churchyard at St Mary’s Church, Cholsey, and in September Wallingford staged its first festival dedicated to the popular writer.

TV historian Lucy Worsley gave a talk and now organisers, including Wallingford Museum curator Judy Dewey, have prepared a programme of events for this year’s festival, which runs from Friday, September 18 to Sunday, September 20.

The curator said the festival was timed to follow the 125th anniversary of the author’s birth on September 15.

She added that she hoped hundreds of visitors to Wallingford would gather for the weekend of events.

Mrs Dewey is to give a talk, partly based on an interview with Agatha Christie conducted by 15-year-old schoolboy David Llewelyn in 1970.

Mrs Dewey said: “David was at Wallingford School, which was then the old grammar school and he approached Agatha Christie for an interview. It was published in the Wallingfordian, the school magazine.

“It’s not a widely known interview and it does shed light on her attitude to writing and on the way she wrote her books.”

Mrs Dewey’s talk takes place at 7.30pm at the Corn Exchange, Wallingford, on Friday, September 18.

For a full programme of events and ticket information visit wallingfordmuseum.org.uk