Agatha Christie: A Life from Beginning to End

by Hourly History

Agatha Christie, born in upper-middle-class British society during the late Victorian era, turned into one of the most prolific and popular mystery writers of all time. Her novels have been translated into forty-four languages and have sold over two billion copies worldwide. Her mysteries continue to sell as new generations of readers discover the delights of her main characters, Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. In addition, Christie’s plays have been a tremendous success, with The Mousetrap running in London for the past 70 years.

This is the story of the best-selling fiction writer of all time—Dame Agatha Christie.

Discover a plethora of topics such as
An Enchanted Childhood
Agatha Meets Archie Christie
The Loss of Her Mother and Husband
Christie’s Mysterious Disappearance
Murder Most Foul: Enter Miss Marple
Final Years and Death

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, History, Biography Memoir, Mystery, Agatha Christie

40 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 18, 2020

About the author

At Hourly History, we focus on publishing history books that are concise, straightforward and take no longer than one hour to read.

Receive our new eBooks for free every Friday.
Sign up at: www.hourlyhistory.com/free

Reviews

[Lauren · Rating 2 out of 5]

Honestly, it was pretty boring. I wonder if I read a more thorough biography if I would have found deeper interest in Christie.

[D. Thrush · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn’t know much about Agatha Christie until reading this brief 47-page biography. After looking at other reviews, it seems there are quite a few inaccuracies. I expect a bio to be well researched. Though I’ve never read her books and found the plots interesting, this is supposed to be about her life. Hourly History can do a better job.

[Μαρία · Rating 4 out of 5]

Μια σύντομη αλλά ενδιαφέρουσα ματιά στη ζωή της Άγκαθα Κρίστι, μιας ταλαντούχας συγγραφέως που έχει μαγέψει τους αναγνώστες με τις εξαιρετικές ιστορίες μυστηρίου.

[Bonnie Gleckler Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m certainly one of Christie’s fans. I especially enjoy Hercule Poirot as a character more than Miss Marple. Reading Christie’s novels one one of my smoke pleasures. I also enjoy watching the movies and TV
Series being presented by the BBC.

[Cierra Otis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I learned a lot about Agatha’s life, however it was a bit boring.
Beware there are spoilers to how some of her early plays and books end, which I wasn’t expecting.

[Dori Sabourin · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Life and Works of Agatha Christie

Hourly History informs us that Agatha Christie was born under the name Agatha Mary Clarissa Miller in Torquay, England, on September 15, 1890. and, died on January 12, 1973, at the age of 85 at her second home, Winterbrook, and was buried at St. Mary’s Church in Cholsey.

Hourly History relates that Agatha Christie's first marriage to Archie Christie ended when he rejected her in favor of another woman, an event preceded by her mother’s death; and, due to this becomes ov

erwhelmed by depression which causes Agatha to create a worldwide mystery by disappearing for 11 days.

As fir her writing, Hourly History cites Sisterly rivalry as the springboard to Agatha’s writing career. They go on to tell the reader that Agatha Christie wrote 66 mystery novels. "Today, these are considered cozy, genteel mysteries with genteel characters. Her main protagonists, Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple, are known even to those who haven’t read Agatha’s books. In all her novels, people live refined lives in lovely homes. They are the upper classes with whom the author always identified best. There is an expectation of a certain type of behavior, just as there is in the novels of a previous generation written by Jane Austen. In Status Christie's debut novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, readers are introduced to three of Agatha’s most beloved characters: Hercule Poirot, Captain Hastings, and Inspector Japp."

The following truisms are contributed to Agatha Christie:

“One doesn’t recognize the really important moments in one’s life until it’s too late.” —Agatha Christie

“Surely for everything you love, you have to pay some price.” —Agatha Christie

“I learned . . . that one can never go back, that one should not ever try to go back—that the essence of life is going forward. Life is really a one-way street, isn’t it?” —Agatha Christie

“Everything must be taken into account. If the fact will not fit the theory—let the theory go.” —Agatha Christie

[Bettye McKee · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Queen of Mystery

There was so much that I didn't know that I didn't know about Agatha Christie! I always preferred to read her mysteries rather than her biography. She had an interesting life, an interesting family, and an interesting introduction to writing. Her first book was actually a sibling rivalry competition with her sister. She knew her sister was a talented writer and always doubted her own ability in comparison.

Her first husband, Archibald (Archie) Christie, was away fighting a war, and to combat loneliness, she began writing stories. For her first published novel, she received the grand sum of £25. In time, Archie divorced her for another woman. In keeping with her upbringing, she blamed herself for not giving him enough attention.

I enjoyed reading this brief peek into Agatha Christie's life and can only deepen my respect for her.

5

[Kendra Parker · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was interesting enough and it was short so I didn't feel like I wasted my time. Christie as a whole was not a likeable character and I think the author(s?) struggled with that. It seemed often that they were trying to make her more likeable (ex. explaining many times that she was a product of her time, trying to reason out her emotional and later physical abandonment of her daughter) My goal was to learn more about Agatha Christie as a person and not necessarily to enjoy her.

It also went into many longwinded and spoiler filled synopses of her novels. I understand that her novels are older but I don't want them spoiled for me and moreso I am not reading this biography to learn about her novels. I can read reviews of the novels themselves for that.

I most enjoyed her petty rivalry with her sister.

[Patricia S Winchel · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Very Creative Mind

This is a short but very interesting history of Agatha Christie. She was married twice and had only one daughter, and later, one grandson. She uses the surname of her first husband in her writing, except for a romance series in which she made up a name. I have only read one of her novels, “And then there were none.” I am now interested in reading more of her mysteries. She was driven to write mysteries because of a competition with her older sister, who also wrote. I don’t believe the older sister was ever very successful.

[Jerry Jares · Rating 3 out of 5]

After William Shakespeare, Agatha Christie is probably one of the most famous British authors ever. However, I thought this story was rather shallow and it spent more time telling the plots of some of her more famous books and plays than about the Queen of Mystery's life. I was glad that some time was spent on a partial explanation of Christie's disappearance (after the breakup of her marriage). Perhaps I'm grumbling because I read her autobiography a few months ago.

[Timothy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have never read another biography about Agatha Christie. So, this filled is some information about her life. However, I am not sure how much of it I can trust due to some obvious errors. Probably the most egregious is mentioning that she spent her last Christmas at one of her estates in 1973 and died in January of 1973 at a different estate. Great author and time traveler, who knew?

[Cheryl Kulas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting

I knew little of Agatha Christie's personal life before reading this short biography about her. Learning about her trials & tribulations was a lesson for the ages. Everyone goes through things in life, it's just a matter of learning how to deal & make the best of what is going on.

[Tracy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am a huge fan of Agatha Christie and found this book to be a good concise read of her life. However, it was sad to see numerous typos and intermittent questionable structures. There are also a few spoilers in this book about some of her stories, so don’t read it if you are only starting your collection. All in all a good read!

[Neera Kapahi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was a huge fan of Agatha Christie’s books growing up. I had some knowledge about her life - Her early years growing up in privilege and her two marriages. I did not know that she also wrote romance novels under a pseudonym.

This concise book was a very enjoyable read and gave me some insight into who she was.

[chris krug · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's Trotter not Tropper

I adore anything of Agatha Christie. I directed Mousetrap and was offended that this writer got a main character's name wrong. Hourly History needs a better proofreader. Too many errors in all the Hourly books.

[Unni Proveaux]

This was a very interesting and enlightening read! I thought I knew Agatha Christie fairly well, but not as well as I believed. She was a remarkable woman who was an adventurer as well as wife and mother - a somewhat different mother! Good, quick read. wjp

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a short, informative, little bio about the basics of Christi’s life. As many of these small books are it is meant to be read in about an hour and just gives the reader enough background to want to know more.

[Mehnaz Amjad · Rating 5 out of 5]

Got to learn the mystery behind Agatha's work.

Thank you for the concise information good enough to learn about one of my favourite authors who gave me the mystery world.
A sneak peak into her world gives the reader the stories behind the story.

[Autumn Kearney · Rating 3 out of 5]

Agatha Christie: A Life From Beginning to End starts off with a quote from the master storyteller herself. “One doesn’t recognize the really important moments in one’s life until it’s too late.” This is a good albeit compact biography.

[Bob Cantrell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mystery anyone

I have to say that I have never read an Agatha Christie mystery. But after reading this short biography of her I just may have to do that. To me it was an interesting story. I did know of her disappearnce, but did not know many of the facts surrounding it.

[Ana Isabel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Basic

Although it outlines Agatha Christie’s life, it is written in a disengaging style, resembling in language and sentence structure to a low-middle grade story. This basic language really pulls you out of any enjoyment you might have had.

[Ellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it!

Thanks for the insight into this wonderful lady...I am such a fan...recommend you get and read this book. You won't regret it.

[Mike Briley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a very flattering photo on the cover. I am sure the authors could have found a better one of the period when she was at her prime.

[Donna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Possible date issues

Last page of chapter 6
Agatha married second husband in 1930. Rosalind was left with Clara. Rosalind is daughter born 1919 and Clara is mother, died 1926??

[Santosh Prabhu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good coverage of Agatha through the years in a nutshell. A glaring mistake was in the year of death which is printed as 1973 (it is 1976).

[Book hoarder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting how she was raised to please a husband. Even before a child. She stuck to that.

[Irene O'Brien · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good

As an Agatha Christie fan over the years I enjoyed this book. The concise nature of the book is excellent to give an understanding of her life and times

[Rachel Ellis · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful quick read that in enlightening to more of the personal, behond the scenes life of Agatha Christie.

[Rochelle Martinez · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have always loved mysteries!
Agatha is one of my favorite writers!
It’s so hard to believe, she had to write under another name! We have come so far!

[Perrilyn Pringle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Agatha Christie

This was a great review of Miss Agatha's life. She's my favorite author. I adore her. This was a fun read about her life.