Agatha Christie by Lucy Worsley
Published in paperback by Hodder, 2023

The Daily Telegraph described this book as a mix of biography, analysis and literary criticism and it’s exactly that. 

That it’s well researched is no surprise given Ms Worsley’s reputation for quality documentaries, her background as a historian and her current role as Chief Curator of Historic Royal Palaces. And anyone who’s watched her TV programmes or listened to her podcasts will know she is brim full of enthusiasm for whatever subject she focusses on. 

As a huge fan of Agatha Christie’s books, this was a must-read for me and I wasn’t disappointed. It’s full of details about plots*, Agatha’s childhood, her working life, her two marriages, family and friends, that famous “disappearance”, her financial problems, love of houses, travel and archaeology. 

Born in the Victorian era, when society’s rules dictated the role of women, Agatha Miller (as she then was) later describedherself as a “retiring Edwardian lady of leisure” albeit with a love of fast cars and surfing. That description was clearly tested during two world wars when the old norms relating to women and to class structures were largely swept away. 

Elements of her life are researched and re-examined, things we thought we knew are questioned and parallels drawn between her characters and her own life. 

The result is an affectionate presentation of a life, distilled into 350 pages and supplemented by photographs: the good, the bad and the awful of a life well lived. 

*Warning: the murderers and endings of several of her books are disclosed. That didn’t bother me as I’ve read them all but it might ruin them for others.