Welcome to the world of Agatha

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Agatha Christie is still the only true Queen of Crime. Her creations of Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot are still as fresh and popular as when she was alive. Her immense popularity is in still contrast to the shyness she showed when in contact with the media. She kept her personal life very much hidden from the general public and mostly avoided giving interviews.

It is then even more refreshing that her autobiography, published in 1977 the year after her death, shares so many intimate thoughts and ponderings. Although it does not reveal all the mysteries behind the enigmatic author, she fails for instance to mention her sudden disappearance in 1926, it shows what a wonderfully strange life she has lived. The years of the war are covered in great detail and it is clear that that period was a big turning point in her life. In comparison Agatha does not spend a lot of time on how her writings came about, a lack she mentions in the introduction as being a conscience decision. More focus has been put on how she sees the world around here evolve. As such this work is very much like a historical, impressionistic painting of the world of Agatha Christie. The humor she interweaves through her narrative makes clear that she was always very aware of how relative her success and position in live has been. Something that is completely in line with her humble and shy character.

Agatha Christie, An Autobiography is a very personal and touching book that should be on the shelve of every Christie fan and is a real joy to read.

If you love Agatha Christie, you'll love this autobiography

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I am actually amazed that I never read Agatha Christie's autobiography before now, since I have loved her books and re-read them many times over the years.

She was born in 1890 in Devon, England and died in 1976 in Oxfordshire, England. She started this autobiography when she was 60 and finished it when she was 75. And, just to make sure people don't get disappointed right away, her publishers state flatly in the preface (of the edition that I own) that she does not, EVER, mention the infamous disappearance the year her mother died and Archie Christie asked her for a divorce. That will be a mystery never solved. You get the sense that she left quite a bit of her emotions and feelings out of the book. She mentioned frequently in the book that bad times were to be got through so that one could enjoy the good times.

The book does ramble on delightfully, as she herself would probably put it. "What I want is to plunge my hand into a lucky dip and come up with a handful of assorted memories." (from the Foreward). Here's a critical paragraph about how one should view her autobiography:

"We never know the whole man, though sometimes, in quick flashes, we know the true mam. I think, myself, that one's memories represent those moments which, insignificant as they may seem, nevertheless represent the inner self and oneself as most really oneself." (also from the Forward).

There is an amazing amount of detail regarding Victorian and Edwardian England. Her ability to describe things minutely and interestingly was one of the things I always loved about her books.

The main outlines of her life are there, as are quite a few details about her family. She loved her family immensely and it shows. She discusses her father's lack of business skills that wasted away the fortune he inherited and her brother Monty's wholly unsatisfactory life in the straightforward way that she wrote her books. She was an extremely practical person, I think.

Her interest in archaeology because of her (2nd) husband Max Mallowan manifested itself in quite a few of her books, and I think that perhaps some of my interest in archaeology was because of her interest. She had one daughter, Rosalind, who died in 2004, and a grandson, Mathew Prichard, who runs "the family business" as it were.

There are a few preachy parts and I would like to have had more dates, but she warns you in the Foreward, and you must simply sit back and let her tell her story and understand her the way she wanted to be understood.

The book ends before her husband, Max Mallowan was knighted for his distinguished archaeological career in 1968 and before she herself was appointed a dame of the British Empire in 1971. Truly an interesting woman, truly an interesting autobiography.

Not a very honest yield!

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A Victorian Memoir

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Agatha Christie recalls a happy childhood in Victorian England. Unfortunately, it's a way of life now gone. Hers was a fairy tale upbringing when customs, manners and the family group were all important in upper-class society. Her portraits of the family, her governesses, the servants, her pets are descriptive and funny. Now I know why she became such a great writer. Wonderful!

The Master of Mystery Revealed

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Agatha Christie, perhaps the best known mystery writer of all time, did not ever plan on becoming a writer. And when she did become one, it took her years to accept this as her profession and to believe that there was something other than money to be gained by writing books. Her autobiography is a pleasant ramble through the fascinating live lived by the creator of those master sleuths, Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. Her life was no mystery but most definitely an adventure.

Agatha Christie began writing her life story from her second husband's archaelogical dig in Iraq. It is set up in a rather rambling manner, starting from a brief family history to her earliest childhood memories and on through her life. Throughout these memories are punctuated by various tangents, often involving her writings, other times not. It is not a straightforward chrononlogical telling of her life, but rather like having a pleasant conversation or reading a leader that she has written to her readers. It allows fans of her writing to get to know the woman behind those characters.

While not as detalied as some fans might wish for - as author and editor, Christie has left out some events - and rather long, it is a pleasing read for any fan of Christie's stories. I learned much about her life that I did not know, including novels she wrote using pseudonyms, and took joy in reading her views on social concerns. While the time period she lived in and wrote about may seem long gone, Christie's words prove again and again to be timeless.