Agatha Christie Mistress of Mystery

by G.C. Ramsey

Has discussion of techniques of writing used by author and as form of writing.

Genres: Literary Criticism

Hardcover

First published June 1, 1967

Reviews

[Michael Reidy]

Ramsey's slight book has always been criticised for not being what it never intended to be. At the time it was written, its purpose was to draw together thoughts about a living writer and to consolidate the portraits of Hercule Poirot, Jane Marple, and Agatha Christie herself, as well as making some observations about detective fiction.

Ramsey was only in his early twenties when he secured the first interview Christie gave since the 1920s, and he can be forgiven for being exceptionally cautious. In is account of her, he sticks to facts -which we all know well now - and makes little or no comment. Ramsey found her to be almost as cautious as she was in the interview, but things moved forward enough to complete the book and enable Ramsey to write the review of At Bertram's Hotel for New York Times Book Review.

While far from comprehensive, the chapter "Mystery Writers as Social Historians" was possibly the first post-WWII consideration of detective fiction as a social record. Details of everyday objects, things that could be found in the home and what people carried with them provide a better record than films or television, mostly because the objects and their uses were described.

Another not insignificant contribution of this book was that it gave the British and American titles of Christie's works. The 1960s saw exponential growth in transatlantic air travel, and many travellers would buy an Agatha Christie at Heathrow or JFK only to find at 30,000 feet that they had already read it. We were not blessed with a more detailed bibliography until 1975 with the publication of Nancy Blue Wynne's An Agatha Christie Chronology.

While much in the book has been superseded with what can be said about a writer after her death, Agatha Christie Mistress of Mystery remains an, albeit small, milestone in her story and that of detective fiction.

[Lennart Guldbrandsson]

An entertaining book about the first 50 years of Agatha Christie's authorship. As others have written in their reviews, it's a fairly short book, but in my view a more significant point against it is that it was written with too much reverence for what Mrs Christie would think. There are too many places where I can feel that the writer holds back their opinion in order to spare Mrs Christie's feelings. There are some interesting points about Poirot and Marple, and detective fiction as a whole, and the chapter about The ABC Murders is a well-worth read. As an overview it's excellent, but it leaves too much on the table to get a higher rating.

[Mathangi]

I was looking forward to a more in-depth construction of Agatha Christie’s plots. Instead the book had a narrow and shallow interpretation. There are a couple good pointers sprinkled around though, if we really care to find them.

[Fachrina]

I wish this book had been longer! It was quite informative, listing all Christie's works and recommended reading. It also argues that detective fiction is not a genre to be dismissed just because its popularity, which I wholeheartedly agree.

[Heidi]

A few chapters disconstruct the mystery-making, so might be useful.

[Kate]

For my full review click on the link below:
https://crossexaminingcrime.wordpress...