North Carolina
Agatha Christie, Classic Film Mysteries & Sherlock Holmes’ Legacy
Program No. 22387RJ
Delve into a week of mystery at Montreat Conference Center as you discover the secrets of the lives and works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie, Alfred Hitchcock and more.
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Itinerary
While we make every effort to ensure the accuracy of our published materials, programs are typically advertised more than a year prior to their start date.
Read More.
While we make every effort to ensure the accuracy of our published materials, programs are typically advertised more than a year prior to their start date. As a result, some program activities, schedules, accommodations, personnel, and other logistics occasionally change due to local conditions or circumstances. Should a major change occur, we will make every effort to alert you. For less significant changes, we will update you during orientation. Thank you for your understanding.
Duration
6 days
5 nights
What's Included
14 meals (
5B, 4L, 5D
)
13 expert-led lectures
2 expert-led field trips
2 performances
An experienced Group Leader
5 nights of accommodations
Taxes and customary gratuity
Road Scholar Assurance Plan
Day
1
Check-in, Registration, Welcome Dinner, Orientation
Location:
Montreat, NC
Meals:
D
Stay:
Assembly Inn
Activity Note
Inn check-in from 3:00 p.m. Remember to bring your name-tag (sent previously).
Afternoon:
Please note: This week includes a visit to the Biltmore Estate for dinner and a Candlelight Evening experience. Come treat yourself to something special! You will share the week with other Road Scholar programs. Be sure to check out what's offered this week to see if you have friends who might want to join you for a different program! Assembly Inn check-in 3:00-5:30 p.m. Pull up to the Assembly Inn porch to unload, then park your vehicle in any designated spot close to the Inn or by the lake and check in. Program Registration. After you check in and have your room assignment, join us at the Road Scholar table to register with the program staff and get your welcome packet containing the up-to-date schedule that reflects any changes, other important information, and to confirm the time and location of the Orientation session. If you arrive late, please ask for your packet when you check in. Feel free to relax in your room, meet and enjoy fellowship with other participants in the beautiful lobby, or stretch your legs with a walk around the campus before dinner.
Dinner:
Dinner will be served from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. in the Assembly Inn Dining Room. A relaxing treat after your day of travel... enjoy Montreat's dinner buffet... select one of two main entrées (or have both), good-for-you vegetables, a full salad bar, bread, and of course, something for your sweet tooth. Sweet and unsweetened tea, coffee, variety of milk choices, as well as cold or hot water (with tea or hot choc).
Evening:
Orientation: 7:00 p.m. The Group Leader will greet everyone and lead introductions. We will review the up-to-date program schedule, discuss roles and responsibilities, logistics, safety guidelines, emergency procedures, and answer questions. We will also meet the instructor. This is a Road Scholar Retreats program. Programming at Retreat locations includes opportunities for light morning exercise, interaction with members of the local community, a farm-to-table meal, and evening entertainment. Sleeping and dining facilities are in one building, with approximately 300 yards walking required. On some evenings, there will be entertainment such as a concert, dance, or storyteller followed by opportunities for fellowship in the lobby of the Inn. Periods in the schedule designated as “Free time” and “At leisure” offer opportunities to do what you like and make your experience even more meaningful and memorable according to your personal preferences. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions. Program activities, schedules, personnel, and indicated distances or times may change due to local circumstances/conditions. In the event of changes, we will alert you as quickly as possible. Thank you for your understanding. We’ll finish up around 8:00 p.m. with some “get to know you” activities and then have refreshments and fellowship in the lobby. Continue getting to know your fellow Road Scholars, settle in, and get a good night’s rest for the day ahead.
Day
2
Classes on Holmes and Christie
Location:
Montreat, NC
Meals:
B,L,D
Stay:
Assembly Inn
Activity Note
Classroom based program. Limited walking and activity. Coffee in lobby at 6:30 a.m., join us 7:30 - 7:45 a.m. for early morning stretches with Martha Nelson.
Breakfast:
Our breakfast buffet is served from 7:30 - 8:30 a.m. in the Assembly Inn Dining Room. Is breakfast your favorite meal of the day? If so, you're in for a treat this week! Breakfast options change daily, incorporating lots of your favorites... biscuits and gravy, sausage, bacon, scrambled eggs, grits, hash browns, French toast, pancakes, oatmeal (not the packaged kind either), and lots of others. Standard offerings include fresh fruit, cereal, yogurt, granola, baked pastries, orange juice (and another juice option). Fresh coffee or hot tea will start your morning off right!
Morning:
Today, with our instructor Bobbie Pell, we enter the world of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, author of the famous Victorian literary detective Sherlock Holmes. To better understand this infamous character, we discover the biography of the man behind the brilliant deductions. We will review his personal biography, avid interest and support of the Spiritualism Movement, and follow the timeline of his 60 tales of Sherlock Holmes spanning a writing career from 1887 and 1927. After our refreshment and fellowship break, we will return to the classroom to earn about the Master of Suspense, Sir Alfred Hitchcock. After learning about the man himself as writer and film maker, we will investigate major themes in his works such as politics, intrigue, and thrillers. Specific elements of suspense employed by film writers will be focal points in viewing film clips where we will see the Master at work!
Lunch:
Lunch (buffet) is served from 12:30 - 1:30 in the Assembly Inn Dining Room
Afternoon:
During our afternoon class (more fun with Bobbie Pell), we begin with an overview of the week along with biographical time-line of our writer, Agatha Christie. Varieties of traditional mysteries will be discussed with a focus on “Cozy Mysteries” such as Christie’s “Miss Marple” series. A closer look at this popular genre reveals key elements for a successful story. The basics of Plot Scene and Structure related to mysteries exemplify the outline, the course of settings, insertion of clues, and plot twists. Our excerpt viewing today will be scenes from the first Miss Marple mystery, ‘Murder at the Vicarage.”
Dinner:
(Buffet) Dinner in the Assembly Inn Dining Room
Evening:
Our evening program will feature a local musician/band or a storyteller. The remainder of the evening is at leisure, with activities in the lobby of the Inn for fellowship
Day
3
Mystery Week classes and field trip to Biltmore Estate
Location:
Montreat, NC
Meals:
B,L,D
Stay:
Assembly Inn
Activity Note
Classroom based program. Limited walking and activity. Coffee in lobby at 6:30 a.m., join us 7:30 - 7:45 a.m. for early morning stretches with Martha Nelson. Boarding vans and traveling for 34 miles r/t. Lots of stairs and walking at the Biltmore Estate.
Breakfast:
Our breakfast buffet is served from 7:30 - 8:30 a.m. in the Assembly Inn Dining Room
Morning:
Back to our Study of Sherlock Holmes with Bobbie Pell. Today we fill out a 20-point writing tool named “The Character Template” as we examine this infamous legend. By looking at Sherlock’s back story through discussion and film clips (family, interests, hobbies), we uncover the author’s true genius. His flair for the dramatic is equally stunning as we view some of his crafted disguises. Allies create a close-knit circle such as Dr. John Watson (friend and Biographer), Mrs. Hudson (housekeeper), and Inspector Lestrade (Scotland Yard) along with the infernal nemesis Dr. James Moriarty. We consider their roles in filling out the landscape of mysteries that surround Holmes. We conclude by observing primary themes found in both personal and political arenas. After a refreshment and fellowship break in the lobby, we return to the classroom for Classic Film Mysteries with Bobbie Pell. We look more closely at specific elements of characterization in mysteries, specifically the “Femme Fatale.” By exploring these personality types, we can better discern their uses in mysteries to add depth and intrigue. Primary traits exposed through film clips will be pride, blind ambition, jealous love, and revenge.
Lunch:
Lunch (buffet) is served from 12:30 - 1:30 in the Assembly Inn Dining Room
Afternoon:
We conclude our writing time-line of Christie then discover Cozy Mystery sleuth characteristics in light of her intriguing sleuths: Miss Marple, Hercule Poirot, Tommy and Tuppence Beresford, and Mr. Parker Pyne. We watch clips of Christie’s investigative sleuth, Mr. Parker Pyne, who deals with personal problems more than criminal acts. His puzzle-solving techniques are put to the test by the irascible fiction writer, Mrs. Ariadne Oliver, who delivers adventurous scenarios for Pyne’s unhappy clients. Here we meet Miss Felicity Lemon, secretary extraordinaire, who later appears in the Poirot tales. After class, we'll board the vans and head into Asheville for a visit to the beautiful Biltmore Estate. Our first stop will be Antler Village, where you can explore exhibits, do some shopping or walk up for a tour of the winery and a wine tasting.
Dinner:
We'll be at the Stable Cafe Loft for our Candlelight Dinner. We'll post a menu closer to the event. The Stable Cafe is located right next to the Biltmore House, so after dinner we'll walk over for our Candlelight Evening at Biltmore experience.
Evening:
Following dinner, we'll enter the Biltmore House for our Candlelight tour. Biltmore House is beautiful in all seasons of the year, but the Candlelight experience is nothing short of magical. You'll see the house as the first guests of the Vanderbilts did when they first opened the home. Musicians and entertainers are on all different levels of the house. You'll go through at your own pace, and there are docents available for questions. we will board the vans by 9:45 p.m. (at the latest) for departure back to Montreat.
Day
4
Classes on Christie, Classic Film Mysteries, and Sherlock
Location:
Montreat, NC
Meals:
B,L,D
Stay:
Assembly Inn
Activity Note
Classroom based program. Limited walking and activity. Coffee in lobby at 6:30 a.m., join us 7:30 - 7:45 a.m. for early morning stretches with Martha Nelson.
Breakfast:
Our breakfast buffet is served from 7:30 - 8:30 a.m. in the Assembly Inn Dining Room. Do you like sausage links or patties the best?
Morning:
Today, with Bobbie, we conclude our character template using film excerpts to examine his personal life (family, interests, hobbies) and eccentricities. His flair for the dramatic is equally stunning as we view some of his crafted disguises. To see Doyle's true plotting genius, we will view "A Scandal in Bohemia. After a refreshment and fellowship break in the lobby, we will explore Studio One (Emmy Award Winning TV show, 1948-1958) We will view the stellar performances by award-winning actors in a weekly television series, “Studio One,” which ran for ten years. We will continue looking into classic elements of Film Noir by reviewing techniques visible in the production “Flowers from a Stranger” with Yul Brynner and Felicia Montealegre (1949).
Lunch:
(Buffet) In the Dining Room.
Afternoon:
Free time. This period of time has been set aside for your personal independent exploration to see and do what interests you most. Please refer to the list of Free Time Opportunities. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions. Please note that the period scheduled for free time is subject to change depending on local circumstances and opportunities for independent exploration.
Dinner:
5:30 to 6:30 p.m. in the Assembly Inn Dining Room. We will enjoy a farm-to-table meal (buffet).
Evening:
Back for some more fun mysterious times with Bobbie! Tonight the class will focus on Christie’s writing process as evident in her secret notebooks. Chapter hooks, techniques for heightening suspense, and realistic dialogue tips add flavor to a good mystery story. We finally meet Hercule Poirot, and watch him unveil a complicated, well-planned murder from beginning to end! Instructor’s choice.
Day
5
Classes on Holmes, Classic Mysteries and Agatha Christie
Location:
Montreat, NC
Meals:
B,L,D
Stay:
Assembly Inn
Activity Note
Classroom based program. Limited walking and activity. Coffee in lobby at 6:30 a.m., join us 7:30 - 7:45 a.m. for early morning stretches with Martha Nelson.
Breakfast:
Our breakfast buffet is served from 7:30 - 8:30 a.m. in the Assembly Inn Dining Room
Morning:
Back to Sherlock Holmes with Bobbie Pell... The iconic character of Holmes has been fiddled with over the years. Today we draw our own conclusions as we consider film interpretations of this character by the following actors: Basil Rathbone (Early Film days, 1935), Robert Downey, Jr, (Action Adventure Hero), Benedict Cumberbach, (BBC current film craze) and the penultimate actor, Jeremy Brett, Consummate Holmes. Excerpts from one of the most famous cases, “The Sign of Four” will also be viewed. Following a mid-morning refreshment and fellowship break, we'll return to the classroom for another look at Classic Film Mysteries. Film Noir Following up on our “dark ladies,” we will examine the psychological aspects explored by film-makers of the 40s and beyond. Suspense played a major role in these films which exposed the frailties of the human condition in various dramatic settings. Our focus will be on false accusations, roads to insanity, crimes of passion, and controlling possession.
Lunch:
(Buffet) in the Dining Room.
Afternoon:
In the last class, moving successfully through murky middles to a surprising yet satisfactory ending. We consider necessary qualities such as varying locales, different murder methods, local/social issues, even personal character growth for the returning sleuth within a written series which keep readers coming back for more. Our final viewing will be excerpts from “Dead Man’s Folly,” set in Christie’s beloved garden home of Greenway in Devon, exposing the lawn fete, boat house, Georgian home, and expansive gardens. We will view the gardens as we close our time together along with hearing from Agatha herself as taped by a BBC interview.
Dinner:
(Buffet) in the Dining Room.
Evening:
Our evening program will be our great instructor, Bobbie, sharing North Carolina Mysteries and Legends, from the Mountains to the Sea. Prepare for check-out and departure.
Day
6
Class on Holmes; Program concludes at 10:15 am
Location:
Montreat, NC
Meals:
B
Activity Note
classroom based program
Breakfast:
(Buffet) in the Dining Room.
Morning:
We conclude our week by enjoying the haunting mystery “The Empty House,” the story following the “death” of Holmes where we discover the masterful way Doyle brings this character back to life. We close with our favorite elements of mysteries - will you leave as a true “Sherlockian?” If you are returning home, safe travels. If you are staying on independently, have a wonderful time. If you are transferring to another Road Scholar program, detailed instructions are included in your Information Packet for that program. We hope you enjoy Road Scholar learning adventures and look forward to having you on rewarding programs in the future. Don’t forget to join our Facebook page and follow us on Instagram. Best wishes for all your journeys!
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Please Note:
This program has itinerary variations on certain dates.
Nov 29, 2026 - Dec 04, 2026
May 25, 2025 - May 30, 2025
Oct 12, 2025 - Oct 17, 2025
Oct 26, 2025 - Oct 31, 2025
Nov 02, 2025 - Nov 07, 2025
Nov 09, 2025 - Nov 14, 2025
Feb 22, 2026 - Feb 27, 2026
Mar 01, 2026 - Mar 06, 2026
Mar 08, 2026 - Mar 13, 2026
Mar 29, 2026 - Apr 03, 2026
Oct 25, 2026 - Oct 30, 2026
Nov 08, 2026 - Nov 13, 2026
Nov 29, 2026 - Dec 04, 2026
Nov 29 - Dec 4, 2026 Itinerary Differences:
This week includes a visit to the Biltmore Estate for dinner and a Candlelight Evening experience. Come treat yourself to something special!
