Boston Globe
“This book proves as inspiring as it is charming and absorbing.”
An Autobiography
by Agatha ChristieView All Available Formats & Editions
Back in print in an all-new edition, is the engaging and illuminating chronicle of the life of the “Queen of Mystery.” Fans of Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple and readers of John Curran’s fascinating biographies Agatha Christie’s Secret Notebooks and Murder in the Making will be spellbound by the compelling, authoritative
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Back in print in an all-new edition, is the engaging and illuminating chronicle of the life of the “Queen of Mystery.” Fans of Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple and readers of John Curran’s fascinating biographies Agatha Christie’s Secret Notebooks and Murder in the Making will be spellbound by the compelling, authoritative account of one of the world’s most influential and fascinating novelists, told in her own words and inimitable style. The New York Times Book Review calls Christie’s autobiography a “joyful adventure,” saying, “she brings the sense of wonder...to her extraordinary career.”
Editorial Reviews
Cleveland Plain Dealer
“Contains some wonderful treats....Christie writes with such wit and insight that all 542 pages fly.”Charlotte News & Observer
“A fun read, full of detail about upper-crust life in the Victorian era and about Christie’s own surprise at finding herself a mystery novelist.”Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
“The history of a unique upbringing in a time long gone. It’s a portrait of a childhood and young womanhood that vanished with World War I.”Daily American
“Christie writes with a wonderful dry wit. It is fascinating to see how people she met became characters in her novels.”The Times (London)
“Wonderfully easy to read and engrossing.”New York Times Book Review
“Joyful adventure….She brings the sense of wonder…to her extraordinary career.”Daily Mail (London)
“Agatha Christie’s most absorbing mystery – the story of her own unusual life. She has put it all on record: her early romances; a broken (and a happy) marriage; strange events on the path to roaring success.”Chicago Tribune
“Agatha Christie is no longer merely one of my favorite writers. She is now one of my favorite people.”Los Angeles Times
“A delightful autobiography….Warm, witty and discerning.”Financial Times (London)
“A wonderful book—written with a delight in the gradual unfolding of 75 years through the eyes of an exceptional old lady and writer.”Publishers Weekly
Originally published in 1977 and out-of-print, this new edition of Christie’s autobiography includes a CD of the grand dame of mystery authors expounding on her life as a writer—making it especially welcome as a holiday treat for all Christie fans. Although Christie’s tales reportedly still sell in numbers only exceeded by the Bible and Shakespeare, and are almost as timeless, her life (1890�1976) and work go back a long way. If the descriptions of the happy (despite the death of her feckless father), comfortable Victorian-era childhood of a genius of genre strikes as a bit ingenuous, things become more delectable with maturity: the travels, the coming-out parties, the nursing career, first marriage, and first publication (The Mysterious Affair at Styles). Christie’s decision to utter not a word about her celebrated disappearance is as revealing as it is secretive. Her second marriage, to a younger Catholic archeologist, marks the beginning of the “satisfying” years (known to most people as the Great Depression). In all, after a somewhat tiresome first third in muted colors, this memoir fulfills the intention to extend by one year the 120th anniversary celebration of Christie’s birth. 8 pages of color, 16 pages of b&w photos. (Nov. 22)Product Details
- ISBN-13:
- 9780062204578
- Publisher:
- HarperCollins Publishers
- Publication date:
- 09/11/2012
- Edition description:
- Reprint
- Pages:
- 576
- Sales rank:
- 191,318
- Product dimensions:
- 8.80(w) x 6.00(h) x 1.00(d)
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