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A review by catherine_t
Agatha Christie by Laura Thompson
4.0
Agatha Christie is the best-selling author of all time. Her sales are just behind the Bible and Shakespeare's works. Many dismiss her works as simply light entertainment, read to relieve the tedium of a train journey perhaps. There is more, however, beneath the surface.
Laura Thompson had unique access to Christie's diaries, letters, family, and friends, and it shows. Her biography is deep, detailed, and well-written. Thompson had the opportunity to interview not only Christie's grandson Mathew Prichard, but Christie's daughter Rosalind and son-in-law Anthony Hicks, as well as her nephew (by her second marriage to Max Mallowan) John. Being able to speak to people who really knew your subject is a great boon to any biographer--always allowing for their personal biases, of course. Having access to personal writings, too, is fantastic; you can get a real feeling for your subject through their letters. I fear that in the future, biographies will be thin things, what with the growth in electronic communication. (Who keeps an email any longer than needed to answer it?)
I've long been a fan of Christie's work, but up until now the only biographical work on her I've read is Robert Barnard's A Talent to Deceive, which if I recall correctly is more an appreciation of her work than a real biography. I feel Laura Thompson has written the definitive life of Agatha Christie here. Anyone searching for a good in-depth examination of Christie's life and work couldn't do better than to read this book.
Laura Thompson had unique access to Christie's diaries, letters, family, and friends, and it shows. Her biography is deep, detailed, and well-written. Thompson had the opportunity to interview not only Christie's grandson Mathew Prichard, but Christie's daughter Rosalind and son-in-law Anthony Hicks, as well as her nephew (by her second marriage to Max Mallowan) John. Being able to speak to people who really knew your subject is a great boon to any biographer--always allowing for their personal biases, of course. Having access to personal writings, too, is fantastic; you can get a real feeling for your subject through their letters. I fear that in the future, biographies will be thin things, what with the growth in electronic communication. (Who keeps an email any longer than needed to answer it?)
I've long been a fan of Christie's work, but up until now the only biographical work on her I've read is Robert Barnard's A Talent to Deceive, which if I recall correctly is more an appreciation of her work than a real biography. I feel Laura Thompson has written the definitive life of Agatha Christie here. Anyone searching for a good in-depth examination of Christie's life and work couldn't do better than to read this book.