Program 408: Europe's Royal Families; Agatha Christie's Grand Tour; Walking Dublin

Just in time for "Bloomsday," a Dublin tour guide takes us on an audio walk past the city's must-see sights for fans of James Joyce's "Ulysses." Then we hear about Agatha Christie's 1922 Grand Tour to promote the British Empire, as told to her grandson. And we take a close look at how World War I upended the roles of Europe's monarchies.

• Ben Curtis, associate professor of political science at Seattle University, and author of "The Habsburgs: The History of a Dynasty"  (Bloomsbury)
• Mathew Prichard, grandson of author Agatha Christie, and editor of "The Grand Tour:  Around the World with the Queen of Mystery"  (Harper)
• Joe Darcy, tour guide based in Dublin

• Mathew Prichard compiles Agatha Christie's correspondence from her 1922  "grand tour" in "The Grand Tour:  Around the World with the Queen of Mystery."
• Agatha Christie describes her travels in her 1946 book "Come, Tell Me How You Live."
• The International Agatha Christie Festival is planned for September 11-19, 2015 in Torquay, England.  This year's events will celebrate the 125th birthday of the "Queen of Crime."  It's also the location of the Agatha Christie Literary Trail.
• Davy Byrne's Pub in Dublin was a favorite of writer James Joyce, and is visited on June 16, "Bloomsday," by fans of his book "Ulysses."  Other pilgrimage sites in Dublin on Bloomsday include the historic Sweny's Pharmacy for a bar of lemon soap.
• There is a museum at the James Joyce Centre in Dublin.
• The Anna Livia statue has been moved from its original location in Dublin.
• As Joe Darcy points out in this week's program "extra," the waterfront site of the former Anglo-Irish Bank in Dublin is being refurbished as the new headquarters for the Central Bank of Ireland.