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67th out of 117 books
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15 voters
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Duchess of Death: The Unauthorized Biography of Agatha Christie
by
Richard Hack
Although she is the most popular novelist in history, with over two billion books sold worldwide, Agatha Christie lived a life shrouded in secrecy and fueled by curiosity. Nearly as notorious for her aversion to the press as she was for her 80 books and collections of short stories, Christie made no secret of her need for privacy. Utilizing over 5,000 previously unpublishe
...moreHardcover, 284 pages
Published
July 1st 2009
by Phoenix Books
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Heard it with a bit of parallel reading of her autobiography. I like the bit explaining about her mysterious dissapearance, I can understand why she did her dissapearing act and I enjoyed listening how it gave her a new confidence and new sense of self. I don't like how her love life with her 1st husband was portrayed though. It has too much sense of foreboding of the future doom. Of course there's a saying how an outsider can see things clearer and of course there's nothing more powerful than h...more
Overall, this is a decent book, although the audiobook reader is somewhat stuffy. I haven't read other biographies of Christie, so I can't compare, but this at least gave me a bulk of facts.
The book opens with a long chapter all about Christie's disappearance in 1926, before commencing the next chapter with the details of her parents prior to her birth. This was a tactic designed to pull the reader in, but for me, it didn't work. Instead, it started the book off with a bang of int...more
The book opens with a long chapter all about Christie's disappearance in 1926, before commencing the next chapter with the details of her parents prior to her birth. This was a tactic designed to pull the reader in, but for me, it didn't work. Instead, it started the book off with a bang of int...more
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This is an unauthorized biography of Agatha Christie based on 5,000 unpublished notes, letters, and documents. The book covers her life, the people in her life, her two marriages, relationship with her daughter, and the story of her development into writing the Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple series of mysteries.
Her references to Exeter, the Exeter Cathedral and Devon all had personal meaning due to my friendship with a British couple who lived in Devon, as well as an historic link of a tea...more
Her references to Exeter, the Exeter Cathedral and Devon all had personal meaning due to my friendship with a British couple who lived in Devon, as well as an historic link of a tea...more
The book begins with a few chapters on Agatha Christie's mysterious disappearance, which I found quite intriguing and which helps draw the reader in.
It is marketed as "immensely readable" and it is. It reads like a novel, again a nice touch for a biography.
There are a few spots where I found myself thinking "is this known or speculation?" but when you really think about it, that only happens for superficial facts...and if I want my biographies to read like...more
It is marketed as "immensely readable" and it is. It reads like a novel, again a nice touch for a biography.
There are a few spots where I found myself thinking "is this known or speculation?" but when you really think about it, that only happens for superficial facts...and if I want my biographies to read like...more
I thoroughly enjoyed listening to the story of Agatha Christie's life as read by Nicolas Coster. (Coster's British accent took some getting used to - Raatherrr...but I ultimately found his voice to be pleasant car company.) The book hooks you with the mystery and disappearance of Agatha herself during a time of marital strife. Although this incident casts her as a bit unstable, it turns out to be an anomaly in her long, productive life. In addition to her incredible ability to churn out novel ...more
I've never read an Agatha Christie but I am glad I listened to this. I have decided that it is certainly time I check out and read at least one of her 90? books. Her excitement for life and adventure probably added to her imagination. The writer had nothing but high praise over Christie's skill, modesty and lack of interest in critical acclaim. Most interesting was with all she wrote she never was financially flush. Also it's amazing to me how far reaching her writing was in terms of languages t...more
I enjoyed many sections of this book - especially the plausible explanation of Christie's disappearance for 11 days before her divorce and an account of all her travels of which I had not known. At times, though, the style of the book turned me off - it had almost a precious approach to Christie - making her seem to be a petulant child.... It was interesting also to see what relationship she had to those adapting her novels as plays or for movies. The situation with MGM changing sleuths and ma...more
Adds some valuable information to the subject of Agatha Christie, but not written in a compelling manner. It appears Richard Hack spent much of his efforts on the first half of the book. The latter part tends to be little more than a recital of Agatha's new book titles/plays as they came out.
One sentence towards the end of the work gives an example of the less than stellar writing on the part of the biographer:
One sentence towards the end of the work gives an example of the less than stellar writing on the part of the biographer:
"...they arrived in America, where they would remain for...more
Wonderful, detailed history of Agatha Christie's life. My favorite sections where when the author drew us to coincidings of her life and writing, such as her work with her archaeologiest husband is reflected in "Murder in Mesopotamia" and her experience on a stalled Orient Express shows up in "Murder on the Orient Express." The lengthy section on her self-imposed disappearance in the 1920s which shows up as the opening and chronologically, is a little unusual since the author...more
I picked up this biography originally because of Dr. Who. I know that's a strange leap, but one of the Dr. Who episodes involved Agatha Christie and referenced a mysterious period where Christie disappeared. I wanted to find out if Dr. Who was completely pulling my leg.
Despite some of the flaws of the biography (lack of good photographs, an unwieldy prologue), I did come away with a sense of just how interesting Christie's life was. And, yes, the book did have an explaination for her...more
Despite some of the flaws of the biography (lack of good photographs, an unwieldy prologue), I did come away with a sense of just how interesting Christie's life was. And, yes, the book did have an explaination for her...more
I read this for two reasons: one is, quite simply, I enjoyed reading Agatha Christie's mysteries when I was younger; the other is that our 6th grade students do research on mystery writers and this might be a good resource for them. It satisfies on both accounts.
This isn't so scholarly that younger readers won't be able to understand it, nor is it so simple that adults will give up. For many of us, the world into which she was born is so foreign (a minimum of two servants?!) that i...more
This isn't so scholarly that younger readers won't be able to understand it, nor is it so simple that adults will give up. For many of us, the world into which she was born is so foreign (a minimum of two servants?!) that i...more
I listened to this unauthorized biography on CD and found it delightful. At first it seemed the British narrator wasn't sure if he was going to warm up to this woman, but as the real Agatha Christie began to be revealed through events, he and I both began to really like the modest writer, and root for her happiness and success. She lived a remarkably long and productive life, and revelled in almost every part of it. I was glad to learn about her contributions outside of her mysteries, too.
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At first I didn't like this book. There were actually too many details/personal thoughts that the author could not have known. If those little things are not true, how do I trust the rest of the book?
As I got into the book however I enjoyed it more. The book is well annotated and so I feel that most of the facts are correct.
If you have a big interest in Agatha Christie you will enjoy the book.
Now I want to go and re-read all my AC mysteries!
As I got into the book however I enjoyed it more. The book is well annotated and so I feel that most of the facts are correct.
If you have a big interest in Agatha Christie you will enjoy the book.
Now I want to go and re-read all my AC mysteries!
Agatha Cristie was smart, unlucky in love, and took care of herself and her family when her first husband utterly failed her. The mystery of what happened to her during her spearation is explained here--although I wonder if some liscense was taken with the truth. She had the last laugh though and lived to know that she was respected as a writer and well loved by her younger 2nd husband. What a life she had.
This book is okay, I suppose, but inferior in to the biography by Laura Thompson, both in writing quality, in the careful analysis of Christie's character and motives, and the degree to which Thompson linked aspects of Christie's character to its expressions in her work. If I were going to be reading only one book about Christie, it would be the Thompson one, not this one.
It was interesting to read about Agatha Christie's childhood, young adulthood, and first marriage, but after that it wasn't so interesting. I'd give four stars to the first half of the book, and two stars to the last half, so that averages out to be three stars. The best part is that reading this book has inspired me to reread some Christie mysteries, which I always enjoyed very much but haven't read in a long time.
This is a book about Agatha Christie. A good portion of the beginning focuses on her first marriage and the time when she went missing, but the book also covers her second marriage and her life as she wrote murder mysteries and plays, becoming the most published author in the world.
Fairly interesting read about a quiet, publicity-avoiding woman.
Fairly interesting read about a quiet, publicity-avoiding woman.
Fabulous - this read like an Agatha Christie novel. What an interesting and prolific woman she was right up until the end of her long life. I actually listened to the audio book, unabridged, on a car trip to and around SLC and it made the driving seem short. I hate to say it but I was always eager to get back into the car so I could hear more.
pretty average. i think the word unauthorized was key to this mission. i really didnt feel the author's passion for this subject, and it leaned heavily on the autobiography, which i really ought to have gone for in the first place. but i did love reading about her life, especially her dedication to-- who knew-- archaeology.
This book reads like a text book, at least in the beginning, but as I got used to the style I did enjoy it. It is current with details about her country home, Greenway in Devon, being opened to the public earlier this year. For a more enjoyable read of Agatha Christie's life I recommend An Autobiography Agatha Christie by the Queen of Mystery herself.
Although this biography did not cover any new ground, it is a good light biography of Agatha Christie. I would recommend it to anyone who wanted a concise synopsis of her life and works. My favorite anecdote was her insistence that her family go into full mourning over the death of her beloved Scottie.
If you are a fan of Agatha Christie, you will like this book. it brings to life this very prolific writer. What remains mysterious is the creative springs Agatha possessed to write so many mysteries, plays, short stories.
Agatha Christie was an interesting and accomplished person, However the detail in this books is a bit annoying. I really do not care what she did not have for breakfast on December 3, 1926.
Interesting explanation of the missing 11 days and her second marriage. A bit ponderous,would have liked more about the books than just pub date and US titles....
Hmmm...I delayed writing my review for this to see if I felt differently later - I don't. My major complaint has to do with proof reading - putting the Grand Canyon in Colorado is inexcusable and made me wonder how many other errors the book contains, which is unfortunate since up to that point, I was enjoying the story. While this is perhaps a good into. to A. Christie for someone who has never read her, I think her own autobiography is better.
Teresa
added it
This is my first look at Agatha Christie. An interesting commentary on the times and the resourcefulness of women of independent mind.
Tried this on audiobook, and it got too bogged down in details and tangents for me to ever get into it.
I like biographies and this is a good one. I read it straight through yesterday (not much else I can do).
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