Agatha Christie : an elusive woman
(Book)

Includes bibliographical references (pages 357-397) and index.

Publishers Weekly,,July 11, 2022

Kirkus Reviews,,July 01, 2022

Library Journal,,July 01, 2022

Kirkus Starred Reviews

A new, fascinating account of the life of Agatha Christie from celebrated literary and cultural historian Lucy Worsley. "Nobody in the world was more inadequate toact the heroine than I was." Why did Agatha Christie spend her careerpretending that she was "just" an ordinary housewife, when clearly shewasn't?Her life isfascinatingfor its mysteries and its passionsand, as Lucy Worsley says,"She was thrillingly, scintillatingly modern."She went surfing in Hawaii, shelovedfast cars, and she was intrigued by the new science of psychology, whichhelped her through devastating mental illness. So why-despite all the evidence to thecontrary-did Agatha present herself as a retiring Edwardian lady ofleisure? She was born in 1890 into a world that hadits own rules about what women could and couldn't do.Lucy Worsley's biography is not just of amassively, internationally successful writer.It's also the story of a person who, despite the obstacles of class andgender, became anastonishingly successful working woman. With access to personal letters and papersthat have rarely been seen, Lucy Worsley's biography is both authoritative andentertaining andmakes us realize what an extraordinary pioneer Agatha Christiewas-truly a woman who wrote the twentieth century.

Adult,Brodart.