Lee Allen's Blog - Posts Tagged "biography"

Agatha Christie: A Very Elusive Woman by Lucy Worsley

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


A mesmerising biography of the Queen of Crime.

Agatha Christie - novelist, short story writer and playwright; a true icon of Golden Age detective fiction, indeed, across the spectrum of crime fiction; the creator of Hercule Poirot and Miss Jane Marple and many more, a pioneer amongst female writers and an inspiration to all who write.

In 'Agatha Christie: A Very Elusive Woman', historian Lucy Worsley takes us on a journey through Agatha's life, from her birth in 1890 and early years with her family, through her courtship and first marriage, her work during the First World War and the beginnings of her writing career, with significant attention to her famous 1926 disappearance. From there, we explore her continued flourishing career and second marriage, through the decades which saw the Second World War, the beginning of the Cold War, and many developments in the world of art and entertainment. Agatha's success continued through to her death in 1976, and continues posthumously.

Worsley's style of making history accessible and thrilling to a modern audience is brought superbly to the life and work of Agatha Christie and reference to almost a century of contemporary context. Beautifully written with insight and empathy, and impeccably researched, with the hindsight of our modern perspectives on mental health, feminism, and societal views, Worsley's writing makes even existing knowledge fascinating to discover anew - channeling the magic of her subject. At the core of the narrative is Agatha’s craving for privacy and her battle to maintain it alongside her incredible success. No one can admire Agatha and her work and not feel, at times, the emotion in exploring the lowest points of her struggles and the heights of her successes, and ultimately at her passing.

Worsley pays special attention to the novels Christie wrote under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott; within these, she explores some personal segments of her life and her own struggles through the characters. It should be noted, in segments of literary analysis and exploration of how Agatha's stories related to periods of her life and historical context, some plot details, including the final twists, are revealed - as such, I would highly recommend reading at least Agatha's most famous works before embarking on this biography. Also, don't miss the brilliant accompanying three-part documentary which Worsely produced for the BBC - 'Agatha Christie: Lucy Worsley on the Mystery Queen' – as riveting as the written biography.

Compelling and insightful, ‘Agatha Christie: A Very Elusive Woman’ is a fascinating, inspiring and moving portrait of a talented and remarkable woman, who was truly groundbreaking in her field and whose legacy lives on to this day.



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Getting Away with Murder: My Unexpected Life on Page, Stage and Screen by Lynda La Plante

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


An insightful and entertaining memoir from the legendary crime writer.

Lynda La Plante has created some of the most iconic crime dramas and leading characters in crime fiction – amongst them DCI Jane Tennison of ‘Prime Suspect’, the first high-ranking female detective to lead a series on British television; Dolly Rawlins and her fellow widows, who took the lead on an audacious robbery at a time when women leading a television drama was scarce; and the innovative and groundbreaking ‘Trial and Retribution’. She has written and produced countless hours of television and published over fifty novels and novelisations since ‘Widows’ first hit the screen in 1983. I have been a huge fan of her work since my early teenage years, eagerly devouring every novel and television drama over the last two decades.

In ‘Getting Away With Murder’, Lynda looks back on her life and her career, from her early childhood where her desire to tell stories began, going on to train at RADA and embark on her early career as an actress on stage and television, interspersed with tales of her family and friends, her marriage and dreams of having a child, and how she first decided to write a script of her own. Given the opportunity by producer Verity Lambert, Lynda discovered her true passion for writing as she developed the story that would become the first series of organised crime drama ‘Widows’. Following two seasons of ‘Widows’, she went on to write her first novel, family saga ‘The Legacy’, these two early works beginning an illustrious career as both a screenwriter and novelist. A prolific body of work followed in the next three decades, including organised crime epic ‘Bella Mafia’ (1990), police procedural drama ‘Prime Suspect’ (1991-93), psychological thriller ‘Entwined’ (1992), prison drama ‘The Governor’ (1995-96), police procedural and legal drama ‘Trial and Retribution’ (1997-2009), police procedural novels featuring Anna Travis (2004-13), and so much more.

Her dedication to research has been a cornerstone of her work since the beginning – whether exploring the dangerous underbelly of the criminal world, the ingenious intricacies of forensic science, the technicalities of police procedure and the criminal justice system, or the unspeakable, inhumane horrors of the Holocaust. Never one to shy away from the true horror of her subject matter, Lynda has often tackled this darkness in her stories, exploring compelling characters, intricate plots, and often the most shocking crimes. Through her company La Plante Productions, she was able to take full creative control of her projects, a rarity for a screenwriter in the days before the role of a lead writer showrunner became more mainstream. So often ahead of the curve and with a keen eye for spotting acting talent, her work became event television and her name synonymous with quality crime drama.

Featuring many anecdotes from throughout her career, with multiple guest appearances – including Helen Mirren, Anthony Hopkins, Ann Mitchell, David Hayman, and many more – Lynda takes us behind the scenes of her most famous dramas and novels, told with laugh-out-loud humour, poignant moments, and insights into the entertainment industries, including personal and professional challenges she has faced and the battles she has overcome – amongst them her dyslexia, the struggles of the acting industry, the fight for screenwriters to earn respect, and suffering the realisation that she didn't own the rights to some of her most popular characters.

In more recent years, since adopting her beloved son, Lynda’s focus has primarily been on her novels, with a triumphant return to Jane Tennison with the prequel series of books (2015-24), and the creation of new detective Jack Warr, through whom we made a return to the world of ‘Widows’, in her ongoing series that began with ‘Buried’ in 2020. Having recently reached her milestone eightieth birthday, Lynda continues to write, and long may she gift us many more gripping stories!

‘Getting Away With Murder’ gives us a fascinating insight into Lynda’s world, in a riveting, moving, and inspiring life story of an incredible writer and icon of crime fiction.



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Madonna by Mary Gabriel

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


An engrossing and powerful biography of the Queen of Pop.

Madonna exploded onto the music stage in the early 80s and has dominated the charts worldwide for four decades, blending infectious melodies, multi-layered lyrics, provocative performances, and controversial themes into immortal pop music, propelling her to superstardom and crafting a legacy as a legendary, timeless icon.

In 'A Rebel Life', Mary Gabriel studies Madonna's life and career – from her birth in August 1958, her early childhood and the devastating loss of her mother, through her teenage years and her move to New York with dreams of becoming a dancer, and how she began to create music and signed the record deal that would change her life, beginning her meteoric rise to megastardom – and builds a portrait of the woman behind the superstar everyone thinks they know.

Exploring in detail the writing and recording of each of her albums, the creation of her concert tours and performances, the production of her movies, plus books and photographic projects, this is a rich study of her art and her impact on music, film, fashion, and popular culture. Her unique style and infusion of themes and imagery – religious and spiritual, sexual and romantic, political and social – and blending of genres – dance, rock, disco, R&B, punk, gospel – has produced a varied and diverse artistic range; infectious music always emblazoned with Madonna’s signature.

Alongside her music itself, Madonna was one of the leading artists to embrace and drive the medium of the music video, creating mini movies to accompany a single that could deliver an impactful message, tell a story, and enhance the power of a song; just one of the ways Madonna proved herself a trailblazing inspiration in the music industry and beyond, coupled with her flair for reinvention securing her longevity and an enduring impact that remains unrivalled. Madonna always has a message to deliver, and you're going to listen whether you like it or not.

As well as Madonna the artist, we examine Madonna the radical cultural icon, Madonna the philanthropist and political activist, and get to know Madonna the human being, exploring her relationships with her family, her friendships, her romances and two marriages, and as a mother to her six beloved children. Featuring insights and anecdotes from many who have known her over the years, including key collaborators, Gabriel has produced a riveting and stunning biography, with multiple facets and layers.

Often misunderstood and maligned for her artistic choices, criticised for her rebellious nature, dismissed and underestimated, at so many points during her career and personal life, Madonna could have allowed herself to break, to become the tragic and contrite figure many may have been more accepting of. But she refused. She has remained, despite all the adversity, an artist committed to her craft and her vision, and a warrior who never gave up on her dreams, always emerging as a survivor no matter the battle she has faced.

Amongst the rewards and controversies of her art, she has been confronted with staggering misogyny throughout her career, combined with increasing ageism since her thirties, through which she has beaten a path for women in the music industry in a way that no one before her had done – Madonna’s career proving to be a powerful feminist tale, inspiring countless artists who followed her. Sexism has also not been the only prejudice she has combatted – from the very beginning, her unwavering support for the gay community at a time when society wished to ignore and vilify them has proved her a true LGBTQ ally.

Suffering many tragedies throughout her life, including the loss of friends to AIDS, inspired her commitment to supporting the children of Malawi, only then to be faced with further battles and vitriol over her adoptions of David and Mercy. Often moving and deeply emotional, the stories of the injustices Madonna has overcome and the people she has helped give a voice are amongst her greatest achievements and a cornerstone of her legacy.

Madonna’s story is also a piece of history, so entwined is her art and career with the development of popular music, plus socially and culturally, both in terms of her influences and inspirations and the environment that nurtured them, and the monumental impact and influence she herself has had through the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. Concluding with one of the final shows in London of the 'Madame X Tour' in early 2020, Gabriel’s biography covers over six decades of Madonna’s life and the astonishing career she built for herself. I've read several Madonna biographies and this is amongst the best and by far the most detailed and insightful.

A fascinating depiction of an icon and an entrancing revisitation of her art, ‘Madonna: A Rebel Life’ is an enthralling and captivating chronicle of one of the most important and enduring figures in popular culture – a visionary performance artist whose work and influence has already continued beyond the biography’s final pages with ‘The Celebration Tour’ in 2023-24, which concluded with a performance at Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana Beach and set a new record for the largest audience for a standalone concert. Still holding the record as the bestselling female recording artist of all time (and fourth bestselling of all recording artists) and with a new studio album poised for release, Madonna remains the unsurpassable empress of pop.



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