Agatha Christie: A Mysterious Life

 

By Laura Thompson (read by Pearl Hewitt )

Read as part of the Agatha Christie Centenary Celebration and

A 20 for '21 read

 

 

I have been reading Agatha Christie mysteries off and on for at least half a century. I don't know how many I have read at this point and won't even hazard a guess -- and it doesn't really matter because in just 5 years I will be able to say that I have read them all, because for some odd reason, perhaps to read, perhaps for the socialization, I have joined up with a group that is going to read them all. When I heard that people in the reading group were reading and enjoying the recent biography by Laura Thompson, and when I saw that I could get it for free from Audible Plus, I decided that I should give it a whirl. About half way through, I decided that I needed a print copy for note taking.

I'm almost finished listening now and I will say that I have enjoyed going a bit deeper into her life than I get with a Wikipedia article. She was an interesting lady, to say the least.

Thompson book is an interesting combination of historical research and literary criticism -- and it is the literary criticism part that I am having trouble with, and part of the reason that I want a print edition. I am not sure of her methodology. I had a literature professor who went crazy any time someone would try to claim that actions or thought of a character had a direct correlation to what the author thought or believed. Thompson spends a lot of time pointing out which characters and scenes in the books are autobiographical. While it might be interesting to look for these things as I move forward reading the books, I also want to know the basis for these conclusions; I want to see the footnotes and references upon which she basis her opinion.

The early chapters are much more interesting than the later chapters. She covers almost every aspect of Christie's life -- her childhood, her marriages, her travels, her family, her financial affairs, her final years. While it started strong, at the end it just seemed to end abruptly.

Should you read it? Yes, if you are interested in the life and times of Agatha Christie. She was an interesting person who lead a fulfilled life and who didn't waste time crying over spilled milk. She worked hard to get where she was and she did it all on her talent and creativity.

Three and three quarters stars.