Agatha Christie: An Elusive Woman by Lucy Worsley

 

Reviewed by Jeanne

Agatha Christie has to be one of the best-known authors in the world.  Her first novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, came out in 1920 and her books have been in demand ever since.  Numerous movies, TV shows, and plays have been based on her works, including the 2023 movie “A Haunting in Venice” with Kenneth Branagh as Hercule Poirot.

But what of the author herself?  There have been numerous biographies of Dame Agatha and even a few fictional treatments, most revolving around her 1926 disappearance.  The lady herself continues to intrigue, as evidenced by the best-seller status of this book—helped along, no doubt, by the prominence of the author.

Lucy Worlsey is a historian known for her interesting documentaries which run on PBS such as “Royal Secrets” or “12 Days of Tudor Christmas.”  For me, it’s her background as a historian which makes this biography of Christie stand out.  She views Christie as a product of her times, and backs it up with references from her many novels. 

Agatha was born in 1890, at the end of the Victorian era, to an American father and an English mother, and was the youngest of their three children.  While the family had been upper middle class, financial problems arose: servants had to be let go, and there wasn’t even enough money for Agatha to have a proper debut. When she was 24, she married an artillery officer who was home on leave from fighting in France during World War I. 

After the war, they set up housekeeping in London. Society was undergoing a lot of changes:  think Downton Abbey or Upstairs Downstairs.  Agatha gave birth to a daughter, which she found almost bewildering. Fortunately, there was a nanny to take care of the child, while the Christies tried to find ways to make ends meet. One of those ways was for Agatha to try her hand at writing a mystery.

One book led to another, and soon Agatha was in demand as an author of mysteries.  Unfortunately, there were troubles in her marriage: Archie was spending a lot of time away from home. It’s debated how much Agatha suspected, but in August 1926, Archie asked for a divorce, having been carrying on an affair with Nancy Neely, a woman Agatha knew. 

The result was that Agatha went missing.  Search parties spent days looking for the famous author, finding only her abandoned car.  There were even dark suspicions that she might have met with foul play.  When she turned up at a spa, registered under the name of Neely, speculation was rampant.  Was she trying to frame her husband for murder? Did she have amnesia? Was it all a huge publicity stunt?

Worsley believes the explanation has already been given by Agatha herself and puts forth her own interpretation of the event, which I found plausible. Again, part of the understanding depends on knowing the time period.

The book continues with the rest of Agatha’s life, including her second marriage to a much younger man, her relationship with her daughter and grandson, and of course her writing.  I liked that Worsley didn’t feel as if this one incident defined Mrs. Christie (as she continued to be known, despite divorce and remarriage) and wanted to show the whole of her life.

The tone is conversational and light.  A great deal of research has gone into the book, including reading personal letters for background.  (One such gives lie to Agatha’s stance that she wrote her second novel only to help out with the household expenses, but Worsley explains that, given the times and Agatha’s upbringing, she would have felt obliged to have an excuse for doing something outside of being a housewife—which is what she continued to list as her occupation.  That, or “married woman.”) I also like that Worsley touches on some of the events or persons in her life that made their way into her fiction.  I very much want to re-read some of the books now.

If you are looking for scandal, this isn’t going to be the book for you. If, on the other hand, you’re interested in one of the most influential mystery writers of all time, by all means give it a try.

Series rule!

Comments by Jeanne

Or so it seems, anyway!  Readers do enjoy following a particular character from book to book, and this September  will see a bumper crop of returning favorites.

Catherine Coulter teamed up with J.T. Ellison to start a spin-off of her very popular FBI series about a Scotland Yard detective stationed in the U.S.  The Final Cut came out last year to good reviews. The new book will be The Lost Key. Some of our local readers also recommend books by Coulter’s co-author, so you may want to check out some of Ellison’s other books while you wait for this one.

Reacher fans who have been waiting anxiously for the next book after the twists of Never Go Back will have curiosity satisfied when Personal by Lee Child hits the shelves.

Philippa Gregory brings her “Cousins’ War” series to a conclusion with The King’s Curse. Margaret Pole was an intimate of Katherine of Aragon, first meeting her when Katherine was married to Arthur, Prince of Wales who died some six months after the wedding. Margaret becomes one of Katherine’s ladies-in – waiting when Katherine marries her former brother in law when he takes the throne as Henry VIII. Gregory has a real gift for making historical figures into flesh and blood people, making her one of the most popular current historical novelists.

Several authors have picked up characters from Robert B. Parker following the author’s death in 2010. Ace Atkins picked up the Spenser novels and Michael Brandman took over the Police Chief Jesse Stone, producing three novels.  Now Reed Farrel Coleman is going to take up the challenge of writing a new Jesse Stone.  We’ll see how he does in September, when Robert B. Parker’s Blind Spot comes out.

Speaking of characters picked up by other authors, Sophie Hannah will be resurrecting Hercule Poirot in an as yet untitled book.  According to an article in The Guardian, Agatha Christie’s estate selected Hannah to revive the series in hopes that it will bring new readers to Dame Agatha’s original books.  The only plot hints so far is that the book will be set in 1920s London. A few years back, Charles Osborne adapted a play by Christie as the Poirot novel Black Coffee, but Hannah's will be the first original book by someone other than Christie to feature the detective.

This is a good place to mention that another Golden Age detective has been revived for at least one book.  Albert Campion returns for Margery Allingham’s Mr. Campion’s Farewell by Mike Ripley.  After her death, Allingham’s husband Philip Youngman Carter had completed one of her books, then went on to write two Campions of his own.  He in turn left notes for another adventure, which form the basis of the Mike Ripley novel. The book is already out in England, but won’t be published in the U.S. until July.

Jill Paton Walsh has done another in her continuation of Dorothy Sayers’ Lord Peter Wimsey/Harriet Vane series. The Last Scholar takes the two back to Oxford where Peter wants to look in the disappearance of the Warden, who was to cast the deciding vote as to whether or not to sell some of the school’s assets. As with The Attenbury Emeralds, the story takes place in 1950s as the characters are adjusting to the changing times of post WW II England. The book is due out in June.

Another intriguing book for June is an anthology edited by David Baldacci entitled Faceoff.  This collection of stories pairs some of the most popular characters in thriller fiction in new stories written their creators:  Lee Child’s Jack Reacher meets Joseph Finder’s Nick Heller, Jeffery Deaver’s Lincoln Rhyme meets John Sanford’s  Lucas Davenport, and many more, including Linda Fairstein’s Alexandra Cooper, Lisa Gardner’s D.D. Warren, and Michael Connelly’s Harry Bosch.