At the latitude and longitude of the detective: the state of Maurania and its inhabitants

The search for the origins of Maurania, the country from Agatha Christie's story “The King of Clubs”, brings to mind Arthur Conan Doyle's “A Scandal in Bohemia”. According to the plot of “The King of Clubs”, the heir to the throne, Paul of Maurania, wants to contract a morganatic marriage, which is a hint at Prince Albert (the future English King George VI), who in 1923 asked not for the hand of a princess, but for the daughter of a peer. The appearance of Maurania is to some extent explained by the colour symbolism of Lady Agatha's detective story: the word “mauran” is a designation for the colour black, which is a reference to the playing card, the suit of which is included in the title of the short story. The prototype of Christie's invented state can be found in various geographical areas, but the historical county of Maurania was located in the Savoy region. Agatha Christie's literary work made this name of a little-known state more popular in the wider society.