Agatha Christie: First Lady of Crime

Agatha Christie: First Lady of Crime

Agatha Christie: First Lady of Crime

Agatha Christie: First Lady of Crime

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Overview

From Poirot to Miss Marple, from The Mousetrap to Witness for the Prosecution, this a fascinating look at the life and work of Agatha Christie, the world's most successful and popular crime writer.

Agatha Christie was not only the most successful author of detective stories the world has ever known, she was also a mystery in herself, giving only the rarest interviews—declining absolutely to become any sort of public figure—and a mystery, too, in the manner in which she achieved her astonishing success.

Distinguished crime novelist (and acclaimed critic) H. R. F. Keating brings together a dozen noted writers from both sides of the Atlantic to throw light on the ever-intriguing Dame Agatha. Some essays analyze Christie’s art itself; some explain the reasons for her success—not just the books, but also in film and theatre.

The myriad of critical angles explored here are penetrating, affectionate, enthusiastic, analytical, and even funny. Together, they give an almost unique insight into the life and work of the First Lady of Crime.

Includes essays by Sophie Hannah, H. R. F. Keating, Elizabeth Walter, Julian Symons, Edmund Crispin, Michael Gilbert, Emma Lathen, Colin Watson, Celia Fremlin, Dorothy B. Hughes, J. C. Trewin, Philip Jenkinson, William Weaver, and Christianna Brand.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781643137360
Publisher: Pegasus Books
Publication date: 08/03/2021
Pages: 272
Sales rank: 702,824
Product dimensions: 5.50(w) x 8.20(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

About The Author
H. R. F. Keating (editor) was an award-winning crime author renowned for his series of novels featuring Inspector Ghote of Bombay. He was the crime fiction reviewer for The London Times for fifteen years, chairman of the Society of Authors, and president of the Detection Club. He was a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and was awarded the CWA Cartier Diamond Dagger for outstanding services to crime literature. Keating passed away in 2011.

Born in Torquay in 1890, Agatha Christie began writing mysteries during the World War I and wrote over one hundred novels, plays, and short story collections. She was still writing to great acclaim until her death in 1976, and her books have now sold over one billion copies in English and another billion in over one hundred foreign languages. Yet Agatha Christie was always a very private person, and while Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple became household names, the Queen of Crime was a complete enigma to all but her closest friends.

Date of Birth:

September 15, 1890

Date of Death:

January 12, 1976

Place of Birth:

Torquay, Devon, England

Education:

Home schooling

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments 7

Introduction to the 2021 Edition Sophie Hannah 9

Introduction H. R. F. Keating 19

The Case of the Escalating Sales Elizabeth Walter 25

The Mistress of Complication Julian Symons 39

The Mistress of Simplicity Edmund Crispin 62

A Very English Lady Michael Gilbert 75

Cornwallis's Revenge Emma Lathen 103

The Message of Mayhem Parva Colin Watson 132

The Christie Everybody Knew Celia Fremlin 153

The Christie Nobody Knew Dorothy B. Hughes 169

A Midas Gift to the Theatre J. C. Trewin 187

The Agatha Christie Films Philip Jenkinson 215

Music and Mystery William Weaver 245

Miss Marple - A Portrait Christianna Brand 258

Hercule Poirot - A Companion Portrait H. R. F Keating 277

The Agatha Christie Titles 295

The Contributors 303

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