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Agatha Christie: Biographies

This page lists biographies, critical studies, reference works and other non-fiction books about Agatha Christie or some aspect of her work or life.



A second Agatha Christie page lists books by Christie.

- novels, short story colelctions



For all books, by Agatha Christie and by other authors, featuring specific Christie characters see:

- Hercule Poirot
- Miss Marple
- Tommy and Tuppence

 

Biographical, critical and other non-fiction books about Agatha Christie

Agatha Christie: First Lady of Crime

Editor: H.R.F. Keating

Weidenfeld and Nicolson / Holt, Rinehart and Winston

1977

"Agatha Christie was not only the biggest selling writer of detective stories the world has ever known and a creator of mysteries that have delightedly baffled millions, indisputedly the 'First Lady of Crime', but she was mystery herself. A mystery in that she eschewed personal publicity for most of her long life. The crime novelist Keating has assembled a dozen distinguished writers from both sides of the Atlantic to throw light on this mystery and the approaches are various - penetrating, affectionate, enthusiastic, analytical, funny even critical. Numerous illustrations highlight many fascinating aspects of Agatha Christie's career."
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The Bedside, Bathtub & Armchair Companion To Agatha Christie

Editor: Dic Riley & Pam McAllister

Introduction: Julian Symonds

Frederick Ungar

1979

Second edition published by Frederick Ungar in 1986 as The New Bedside, Bathtub & Armchair Companion To Agatha Christie. Third edition, reprint of second, in 1993. Fourth edition published by Bloomsbury Academic in 2001.

"The Bedside, Bathtub & Armchair Companion to Agatha Christie, on the 25th anniversary of Agatha Christie's death, continues as a grand salute to the queen of mysteries. It is filled with wonderful and surprising things about her books, her characters, the movies and plays based on them, and Dame Agatha herself. Original contributions by some sixty writers celebrate the Christie touch. Take your pick among these intriguing features and speculations: surviving an English country weekend - if you had the advice of Hercule Poirot; a guide to the Christie poisons, as well as the cruder methods of genteel mayhem; the 'other' Agatha Christie who wrote romantic novels; a murder victim's (!) first-person account of a Christie Mystery Weekend; the Hercule Poirot Double-Crostic and other puzzles. That's a taste. There's much more - and witty plot summaries of all Christie's novels, plays, and many of her short stories. (But no endings, of course!) This treasury is more than entertainment - it is also a personal reference work for Christie fans. And there are scores of movie posters, film stills, illustrations and a Christie mystery map, too."
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A Talent To Deceive: An Appreciation Of Agatha Christie

Robert Barnard

Dodd Mead / Collins

1979

Revised edition published by Mysterious Press in 1987 and Fontana in 1990.

"An examination of the books of Agatha Christie. The author analyzes her strategems of deception and her ability to divert the reader's attention from the matter of real importance and subjects the incomparable Hercule Poirot and the shrewd Miss Jane Marple to his critical scrutiny."
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Agatha Christie Companion

Russell H. Fitzgibbon

Bowling Green State University Popular Press

1980

"A short history of Dame Agatha's life, criticism of her works, and a summary of how critics and reviewers view her work. This book includes a bibliography of all the works of Christie published in either Great Britain or the United States, classified according to the detectives involved; an alphabetical list of Christie detective and mystery book and short-story titles; a short-story finder for Christie collections; and an index of all but the least important of the thousands of characters introduced by the author in the detective and mystery short stories and novels."
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Agatha Christie And All That Mousetrap

Hubert Gregg

Kimber

1980

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The Gentle Art of Murder: The Detective Fiction of Agatha Christie

Earl F. Bargainnier

University of Wisconsin Press

1980

"This study of the technique of Agatha Christie's detective fiction - sixty-seven novels and more than one hundred short stories - is the first extensive analysis of her accomplishments as a writer. Bargainnier demonstrates that Christie thoroughly understood the conventions of her genre and, with seemingly inexhaustible ingenuity, was able to develop for more than fifty years surprising variations within those conventions."
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Agatha Christie: The Art of Her Crimes

The Painting Of Tom Adams

Commentary: Julian Symons

Introduction: John Fowles

Everest House

1981

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The Life And Crimes Of Agatha Christie

Charles Osborne

Collins

1982

Also published by Holt Rinehart & Winston (1983), Contemporary (1990), Charnwood (1991), HarperCollins (1999), St. Martin's Press (2001)

"A comprehensive and authorised biographical companion to the works of Agatha Christie covering books, films, TV and plays. Agatha Christie was the author of over 100 plays, short story collections and novels which have been translated into 103 languages; she is outsold only by the Bible and Shakespeare. Many have tried to copy her but none has succeeded. Attempts to capture her personality on paper, to discover her motivations or the reasons for her popularity, have usually failed. Charles Osborne, a lifelong student of Agatha Christie, has approached this most private of persons above all through her books, and the result is a fascinating companion to her life and work. This ‘professional life’ of Agatha Christie provides authoritative information on each book’s provenance, on the work itself and on its contemporary critical reception set against the background of the major events in the author’s life. Illustrated with many rare photographs, this comprehensive guide to the world of Agatha Christie has been fully updated to include details of all the publications, films and TV adaptations in the 25 years since her death"
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Agatha Christie: A Biography

Janet Morgan

HarperCollins

1984

Also published by Knopf (1984), Fontana (1985), Harpercollins (1986), HarperCollins (1997), HarperCollins (2017)

"Agatha Christie (1890–1976), the world’s bestselling author, is a public institution. Her creations, Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple, have become fiction’s most legendary sleuths and her ingenuity has captured the imagination of generations of readers. But although she lived to a great age and was prolific, she remained elusively shy and determinedly private. Given sole access to family papers and other protected material, Janet Morgan’s definitive biography unravels Agatha Christie’s life, work and relationships, creating a revealing and faithfully honest portrait. The book has delighted readers of Christie’s detective stories for more than 30 years with its clear view of her career and personality, and this edition includes a new foreword by the author reflecting on the longevity of Agatha Christie’s extraordinary success and popularity"
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Agatha Christie Companion: The Complete Guide to Agatha Christie's Life and Work

Dennis Sanders & Len Lovallo

Doubleday

1984

Also published by W.H. Allen (1985), Avenel Books (1985), Berkley (1989)

"Provides information on Christie's personal life, examines all of her work - ranging from mysteries and romances to poetry and an autobiography - and discusses the characters, plots, and reviews of each book, play, and film."
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Agatha Christie : The Woman and Her Mysteries

Gillian Gill

Free Press

1990

Revised edition published by Robson Books in 1998.

"In this sensitive and revealing biography of Agatha Christie, Gillian Gill probes the mysterious private life and motivations of one of the bestselling authors of all time."
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Agatha Christie: Murder in Four Acts

Peter Haining

Virgin Books

1990

"A centenary celebration of the queen of crime on stage, film, radio & TV."

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Agatha Christie A to Z: The Essential Reference to Her Life & Writings

Dawn B. Sova

Facts On File

1996

New edition published in 2000.

"Agatha Christie A to Z offers a comprehensiv e reference to Christie''s life and work. With over 2,500 ent ries, the book includes descriptions of all Christie''s books , television and cinema adaptations, and looks at her friend s and associates."
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The Lost Days of Agatha Christie

Carole Owens

Cottage Press

1996

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In The Footsteps of Agatha Christie

Francois Riviere

Ebury Press / Trafalgar Square Press

1997

"In the county of Devon lie the roots of Agatha Christie's world. She lived most of her life there, and it provided the setting for many of her novels. Francois Riviere guides us on a romantic journey in Christie's footsteps, tracing the interleaved patterns of her private and fictional worlds."
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Agatha Christie and the Eleven Missing Days

Jared Cade

Peter Owen Publishers

1998

"In December 1926 Agatha Christie disappeared in bizarre circumstances from her home in southern England. The discovery of the crime writer’s abandoned car led to the biggest manhunt in British history for a missing person. Eleven days later she was found in a northern spa town claiming to be the victim of amnesia. Until the publication of this book in 1998 none of her biographers had come up with conclusive evidence as to what Agatha Christie did within the first twenty-four hours after she disappeared or whether her memory loss was genuine. Although the newspaper headlines made her famous, the private anguish that surrounded the episode ensured that she made no reference to it in her memoirs. Jared Cade’s acclaimed biography provides the answers to the mystery, including Agatha Christie’s long forgotten explanation of the notorious episode, along with startling accounts by her surviving relatives that reveal for the first time why she staged the disappearance with the help of a co-conspirator and how it all went terribly wrong. His sympathetic investigation reveals the incidents that shaped her character and how the fall-out from the episode affected the rest of her life"
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The World of Agatha Christie - The Facts and Fiction Behind the World's Greatest Crime Writer

Martin Fido

Carlton Books

1999

"Agatha Christie's works remain a literary phenomenon and many of her mysteries have been immortalized through sumptuous television and cinema adaptations. Christie herself was a discreet, private and ladylike person. Yet her life was far from dull: she travelled widely and in 1926 she hit the headlines when she disappeared, creating a mystery around her life as intriguing as any plot she had ever written. The World of Agatha Christie looks at this and other factors that have shaped her life, providing a colourful and informative look at the originator of the ingeniously constructed whodunits. Revised and updated for 2012 and highly illustrated, "The World of Agatha Christie" is the perfect companion to the work of this most popular of mystery writers."
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The Complete Christie: An Agatha Christie Encyclopedia

Matthew Bunson

Atria

2000

"Join author Matthew Bunson in this entertaining and highly enjoyable tour of the vast world of mystery created by Christie, and discover. . . a comprehensive biography of Christie, including new theories on her strange disappearance in 1926; plot synopses that offer colorful capsules of the stories (without giving away the solutions!); A-to-Z entries on characters from vicars to butlers, police sergeants to maids, each cross-referenced to the story or novel; detailed listings of all films, television programs, radio shows, and documentaries of Christie and her works; up-to-date entries on the most recent releases of previously unpublished Christie writings; and sixty illustrations, including book covers, shots from movies, and stage productions. Whether you've read every title in the giant Christie canon, or are just discovering her writing, The Complete Christie reveals in delectable detail why the mystique, fascination, and brainteasing fun of the mysteries penned by the century's most successful writing remain forever undiminished."
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Agatha Christie and Archaeology

Charlotte Trumpler

British Museum Press

2001

"This book, which accompanies a new international exhibition, should appeal to fans of crime novels, archaeology, the Orient and biography alike. Using sumptuous colour photographic illustration, this book sets out to recreate Agatha Christie's life in the Orient, with reference to both her novels and her personal diaries. Using artefacts and personal photographs from archaeological excavation, and her own accounts of travel and her relationship with archaeologist Max Mallowan, this book paints an unusual and striking picture of her as an intellectual, author and explorer. …. Using examples from both text and film, this book gives an insight into a fascinating woman who has captivated generations of readers with her skills as a suspense writer; a talent which has almost eclipsed in the public view her remarkable life."
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Life of Max Mallowan: Archeology and Agatha Christie

Henrietta McCall

British Museum Press

2001

"This is the first full-length biography of Sir Max Mallowan (1904-78), archaeologist and husband of Agatha Christie. Trained by the great Leonard Woolley at the site of the royal cemetery at Ur in the mid 1920s, Max Mallowan then excavated at previously untried sites in north-eastern Syria. After the Second World War, he returned to Iraq to supervise over a period of 12 years the excavation of the important city of Nimrud. Mallowan was always accompanied by his wife Agatha Christie, whose work on her current book was frequently interrupted by the demands of her role as site photographer, registrar of finds and repairer of pottery, as well as medical adviser and cook."
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Agatha Christie: A Reader's Companion

Vanessa Wagstaff & Stephen Poole

Aurum Press

2004

"Other crime writers may come and go, but Agatha Christie maintains her enduring appeal, and for her millions of fans this book is the next best thing to a new Christie novel. The authors have assembled a mouth-watering feast of period memorabilia - the jackets of first editions, stills from films and television series, photographs of the places and buildings that Christie used as settings for her stories, contemporary reviews and magazine features - which effortlessly transports the reader back into the world of Christie and her characters. Each of the novels is discussed in order of publication, with a summary of the plot, information on Christie's own life at the time the book was written, an account of its reception, and details of subsequent films and TV series. The result is a unique companion to her novels that will have enormous appeal to everyone who loves her work."
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The 8:55 to Baghdad: From London to Iraq on the Trail of Agatha Christie

Andrew Eames

Ted Smart / Overlook Press

2004

"Travel journalist Andrew Eames was in the ancient Syrian city of Aleppo when he met an elderly lady who had known Agatha Christie. Fascinated by the exotic history of this quintessentially English crime writer, he decided to retrace the trip from London to Baghdad which she made in 1928 - a journey which was to change Agatha Christie completely and led to her other life as the wife of an archaeologist in the deserts of Syria and Iraq. Travelling from London to Baghdad by train on the eve of the Iraq war, through the troubled areas of the Balkans and the Middle East, Eames found stark contrasts to the old Orient Express route as well as some unexpected connections with the past."
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The Pocket Essential Agatha Christie

Mark Campbell

Kamera Books

2005

Revised edition published by Oldcastle Books in 2015.

"The Pocket Essential Guide To Agatha Christie provides an informed introduction to the whole Christie phenomenon; a biography of Dame Agatha Christie; in-depth profiles of ten of her most popular characters together with an analyses of the stories in which they appeared; a look at her espionage thrillers and non-crime titles; a section on film, TV and stage adaptations; appendices that include an exhaustive bibliography and an overview of the best Agatha Christie websites around."
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Agatha Christie : The Finished Portrait

Andrew Norman

The History Press / Tempus

2006

Also published by Lustre / Roli Books in 2009.

"When Agatha Christie, the so-called 'Queen of Crime', disappeared from her home in Sunningdale in Berkshire for eleven days on 3 December 1927, the whole nation held its breath. This work explains, in the light of scientific knowledge, her behaviour during that troubled time."
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Agatha Christie: An English Mystery

Laura Thompson

Headline Review

2007

"A passionate and accomplished writer, Laura Thompson now turns her highly acclaimed biographical skills to Agatha Christie. Arguably the greatest crime writer in the world, thirty years after her death Christie's books still sell over four million copies worldwide a year. Thompson describes the Edwardian world in which she grew up, explores the relationships she had, including those with her two husbands and daughter, and investigates the mysteries still surrounding Christie's life - including her disappearance in 1926. Agatha Christie is a mystery and writing about her is a detection job in itself. But, with access to all of Christie's letters, papers and writing notebooks, as well as interviews with her grandson, daughter, son-in-law and their living relations, Thompson is able to unravel not only the detailed workings of Christie's detective fiction, but the truth behind her private life as well."
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Agatha Christie at Home

Hilary Macaskill

Frances Lincoln

2009

"Agatha Christie’s first home was at Ashfield in Torquay, a house that she retained for nearly half a century, until she sold it in 1938 in order to buy Greenway, her ‘dream house’ on the River Dart. She spent all her summers there till she died in 1976. It was, she wrote: ‘the loveliest house in the world.’ Now owned by the National Trust, Greenway was opened to the public in 2009. Both Devon homes, which featured in several of her novels and stories, were central to Agatha’s life, but she also loved the process of acquiring and planning houses in other places – from Sunningdale to Baghdad: at one time, before the Second World War, she owned eight properties in London. Her enthusiasm for buying, restoring and decorating houses is one of the lesser-known aspects of her life, but one that was very important to her. Agatha Christie at Home – illustrated with photos of her life, her homes and of the Devon she loved – recounts this side of her life, and its author, Hilary Macaskill, writes about some of the houses Agatha Christie lived in, her relationship with the staff who ran them, and her love of domesticity."
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Duchess of Death: The Unauthorized Biography of Agatha Christie

Richard Hack

Phoenix Books

2009

Also published by JR Books in 2010.

"Agatha Christie lived a fascinating life by anyone’s standards, achieving incredible accolades and experiencing fabulous, far-flung adventures around the world. Although the most popular novelist in history, with over two billion books sold worldwide, Agatha Christie lived a life shrouded in secrecy and fuelled by curiosity. Nearly as notorious for her aversion to the press as she was for her 80 books and collections of short stories, Christie made no secret of her need for privacy. Now, utilising over 5000 previously unpublished letters, notes and documents, award-winning biographer Richard Hack allows Christie to write again, 33 years after her death. Duchess of Death is her story, as full of romance, travel, wealth and scandal as any mystery that Christie ever crafted. Starting with Christie’s biggest mystery – her own disappearance, Hack takes us through her youth in Devon, the break up of her first marriage and global escapes with her second husband, her strained relationship with her daughter, and much more. The most authoritative, penetrating look at the personal and literary life of Agatha Christie yet, Duchess of Death is a fascinating and compelling portrayal of this unique and much-loved writer."
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Agatha Christie

Andrew Norman

The Pitkin Guide / Pavilion Books

2009

"Agatha was a quiet and retiring person who shunned publicity and rarely gave interviews, and therefore discovering the real Agatha is a challenge almost worthy of her own detectives. But vital clues to unravel the mystery of the author, including her disappearance in 1926, are to be found in her writings, and in particular in the novels which she penned under a pseudonym. A true Pitkin guide - for her fans and for visitors to her home too."
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Agatha Christie's Devon

Bret Hawthorne

Halsgrove

2009

"Bret Hawthorne has created a book which fans of Agatha Christie will find adds so much to their appreciation of her writing, while for others it simply provides an exciting means of exploring the area and coming across little known gems in the Devon countryside. The book will also delight the many visitors attracted to the region through their love of Agatha Christie, not only from England but from all over the world: Japanese, American and French being the most numerous. Agatha Christie's Devon is a beautifully illustrated guide to help readers in their search of the places mentioned in Christie's autobiography and in the settings of the novels. It is also a superb souvenir of Devon and its countryside."
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Agatha Christie’s Secret Notebooks

John Curran

HarperCollins

2009

"Agatha Christie's Secret Notebooks is the fascinating exploration of the contents of Agatha Christie's long hidden notebooks, including illustrations, analyses, and two previously unpublished Hercule Poirot short stories. Not only will Christie's legions of ardent fans find a treasure chest of new material from the author of such classics as And Then There Were None, Murder on the Orient Express, and Death on the Nile, but Agatha Christie's Secret Notebooks is also a must-read tutorial for writers who want to learn the intricacies of constructing crime novels."
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Agatha Christie’s Murder in the Making: Stories and Secrets from Her Archive

John Curran

HarperCollins

2011

"Agatha Christie’s life and career told through the decades, from the never-before-published original ending to her first book to the unused ideas for her last, complete with two unpublished Agatha Christie stories - including a lost Miss Marple. In this follow-up volume to the acclaimed Agatha Christie's Secret Notebooks, Christie archivist and expert John Curran leads the reader through the six decades of Agatha Christie's writing career, unearthing some remarkable clues to her success and a number of never-before-published excerpts and stories from her archives. …. Focusing on the detail of more than 20 Christie novels to illustrate this, John Curran shows the evolution of Agatha's writing through the decades, including the influence of the swinging sixties and seventies, concluding the book with a look at Agatha's last notebook, using his Christie knowledge to speculate about what she had in mind based on her brief notes for an unwritten final book."
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Stranger Than Fiction: Agatha Christie's True Crime Inspirations

Mike Holgate

The History Press

2011

"Discover the truth behind many of her books, such as how the exploits of Jack the Ripper inspired the serial killings in The ABC Murders and how the plot twist in The Murder of Roger Ackroyd was suggested by Lord Mountbatten. This book also reveals how many of her illustrious acquaintances found themselves immersed in episodes so bizarre that they could have been written by Christie herself, including how the father of Miss Marple actress Margaret Rutherford committed murder and Poirot actor Peter Ustinov witnessed the assassination of a world leader. Agatha Christie's True Crime Inspirations is a fascinating addition to Christie literature, focusing on little-known parts of this inconic writer's life and career. From her early roots in Torquay to her infamous eleven-day disappearance, no stone is left unturned as the events of her own life are revealed to be every bit as intriguing as her world-renowned novels."
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The Agatha Christie Miscellany

Cathy Cook

The History Press

2013

"This miscellany explores the fascinating and enigmatic world created by the undisputed ‘Queen of Crime’, Agatha Christie. Examining her place in literary history, her books and her iconic characters, including Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple, this unique collection includes facts, trivia and quotes that feature in Christie’s legendary stories and the subsequent film and television adaptations. The Agatha Christie Miscellany will also delve into the secrets, mysteries and tricks that made Christie the most sensational and successful mystery writer of her time. For example, how is it that she managed to keep us guessing the murderer until the very end? Looking at her life and the influences on her writing, this entertaining and informative miscellany will, above all, unravel the secrets of Agatha Christie’s phenomenal success."
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A Brief Guide To Agatha Christie, Queen Of Crime

Nigel Cawthorne

Little, Brown / Running Press

2014

"Cawthorne examines recurring characters, such as Captain Arthur Hastings, Poirot’s Dr Watson; Chief Inspector Japp, his Lestrade, as well as other flat-footed policemen that Poirot outsmarts on his travels; his efficient secretary, Miss Felicity Lemon; another employee, George; and Ariadne Oliver, a humorous caricature of Christie herself. He looks at the writer’s own fascinating life: her work as a nurse during the First World War; her strange disappearance after her first husband asked for a divorce; and her exotic expeditions with her second husband, the archaeologist Sir Max Mallowan. He examines the author’s working life – her inspirations, methods and oeuvre – and provides biographies of her key characters, their attire, habits and methods, including Poirot’s relationships with women, particularly Countess Vera Rossakoff and Miss Amy Carnaby. In doing so, he sheds light on the genteel world of the country house and the Grand Tour between the wars. He takes a look at the numerous adaptations of Christie’s stories for stage and screen, especially Poirot’s new life in the eponymous long-running and very successful TV series."
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Curtain Up: Agatha Christie: A Life in Theatre

Julius Green

HarperCollins

2015

"Published in celebration of Agatha Christie's 125th birthday, Curtain Up! is an essential purchase for Agatha Christie fans worldwide. Everyone knows that The Mousetrap is the world’s longest-running play, but this first ever book dedicated to Agatha Christie as a playwright tells how Christie prevailed against the male-dominated establishment to be the only woman to have three plays in the West End at the same time and became the most popular and successful female playwright in the world. Author and theatre producer Julius Green has been given unprecedented access to archives in the UK and USA and has uncovered more than ten unpublished and unperformed plays, as well as previously unknown facts and correspondence. Agatha Christie was a skilful and accomplished stage writer, and this long-awaited book is a fascinating, funny and revealing tale that theatregoers and Agatha Christie fans won't want to miss."
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A is for Arsenic: The Poisons of Agatha Christie

Kathryn Harkup

Bloomsbury

2015

"Agatha Christie revelled in the use of poison to kill off unfortunate victims in her books; indeed, she employed it more than any other murder method, with the poison itself often being a central part of the novel. Her choice of deadly substances was far from random - the characteristics of each often provide vital clues to the discovery of the murderer. With gunshots or stabbings the cause of death is obvious, but this is not the case with poisons. How is it that some compounds prove so deadly, and in such tiny amounts? Christie's extensive chemical knowledge provides the backdrop for A is for Arsenic, in which Kathryn Harkup investigates the poisons used by the murderer in fourteen classic Agatha Christie mysteries. It looks at why certain chemicals kill, how they interact with the body, the cases that may have inspired Christie, and the feasibility of obtaining, administering and detecting these poisons, both at the time the novel was written and today. A is for Arsenic is a celebration of the use of science by the undisputed Queen of Crime."
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The Ageless Agatha Christie: Essays on the Mysteries and the Legacy

Editor: J.C. Bernthal

McFarland

2016

"This collection of new essays brings fresh perspectives to Christie scholarship with new readings and discussions of little-known aspects of her life, career and legacy. The contributors explore her relationship with modernism, the relevance of queer theory, television adaptations, issues with translations, information behavior theory, feminist readings, postcolonial tribute novels, celebrity culture and heritage cinema. The final word is given to fans in an editorial that collates testimonies from readers, collectors and enthusiasts."
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Agatha Christie On Screen

Mark Aldridge

Palgrave Macmillan

2016

"This book is a comprehensive exploration of 90 years of film and television adaptations of the world’s best-selling novelist’s work. Drawing on extensive archival material, it offers new information regarding both the well-known and forgotten screen adaptations of Agatha Christie’s stories, including unmade and rare adaptations, some of which have been unseen for more than half a century. This history offers intriguing insights into the discussions and debates that surrounded many of these screen projects – something that is brought to life through previously unpublished correspondence from Christie herself and a new wide-ranging interview with her grandson, Mathew Prichard. Agatha Christie on Screen takes the reader on a journey from little known silent film adaptations, through to famous screen productions including 1974’s Murder on the Orient Express, as well as the television series of the Poirot and Miss Marple stories and, most recently, the BBC’s acclaimed version of And Then There Were None."
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Agatha: the Real Life of Agatha Christie

Anne Martinetti, Guillaume Lebeau, Alexandre Franc

SelfMadeHero

2016

"In their intriguing graphic novel Agatha, Anne Martinetti, Guillaume Lebeau and Alexandre Franc use Christie’s enigmatic disappearance as a gateway to explore the life and character of the Queen of the Whodunit. Taking in her childhood in Torquay and her early attempts at writing, the authors chart Christie’s development into a free-spirited and thoroughly modern woman who, among other things, enjoyed flying, travel and surfing. As her memorable characters take on case after case, we come to understand the events that inspired their adventures and made Christie the person she became."
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Agatha Christie and Shrewd Miss Marple

Peter Keating

Priskus Books

2017

"Miss Marple is far more than just a character invented by Agatha Christie. From her debut in the traumatic aftermath of Christie’s disappearance author and character were united in a bond that was literary and personal, public and private, open and submerged. Award-winning literary historian Peter Keating examines that bond in Agatha Christie and Shrewd Miss Marple, revealing the range and variety of the Miss Marple novels, linking them to Christie’s life and, in what is a highly unusual approach for a study of this most misunderstood of novelists, placing them tellingly within their historical context. Keating gives a positive account of Christie’s literary aims, draws attention to her creative interest in Freud and Shakespeare, and offers some challenging new interpretations of individual novels. Miss Marple herself emerges with a revitalized image and, as a bonus, a few mysteries about her personality and her famous home village of St. Mary Mead are unexpectedly solved."
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Agatha Christie: Traveler, Archaeologist, and Author

Meghan M. Cunningham

Cavendish Square Publishing

2017

"Listed as the best-selling novelist of all time by the Guinness Book of World Records, Agatha Christie can easily be considered a household name, but writing amazing stories is not all she accomplished. This book discusses her life including her experiences as a volunteer during World War I, archaeologist, traveler, and Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire, as well as her continued influence on the world today."
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Agatha Christie: The Queen of Crime

Julia Pihard

50minutes.com

2018

"Keen to learn but short on time? Find out everything you need to know about the life and work of Agatha Christie in just 50 minutes with this straightforward and engaging guide! In this book, you will learn about: Christie’s most famous works, including And Then There Were None and Murder on the Orient Express; the social context and earlier writers who influenced her work and ideas; her personal life, including her mysterious disappearance in 1926."
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Last updated February 2018