February 13, 2022

the enduring allure of agatha christie

More than 100 years after she published her first novel, Agatha Christie is having a moment! As someone who read every detective story she could get her hands on growing up, I couldn’t be happier to see one of my favorite authors in the spotlight. In addition to a new movie adaptation of Christie’s Death on the Nile, I’ve been pleased to see a couple books debut that explore the life and genuine mystery surrounding Agatha herself.

The Mystery of Mrs. Christie by Marie Benedict

Farrah and I had the opportunity to meet author Marie Benedict at a Charleston Library Society event awhile back. I may have let out a little cheer when she announced this new book delving into the private life of Agatha Christie and the real-life mystery surrounding her eleven-day disappearance. Benedict is an expert at bringing historical women to life by sharing their relatively unknown and intriguing stories. I had a hard time putting down The Mystery of Mrs. Christie, which raises an interesting question. What if the greatest mystery Agatha Christie ever wrote was her own disappearance? While we will never know for certain what happened leading up to and during the time she went missing, I found Benedict’s plausible depiction enthralling.

The Christie Affair by Nina de Gramont

Benedict isn’t the only author who has been speculating about Christie’s personal life. Nina de Gramont’s new book, The Christie Affair, explores the drama of Christie’s disappearance from the perspective of her husband’s mistress. Christie’s first husband Archibald was a cheat, and there were more than a few suspicious happenings surrounding her disappearance. I happily added The Christie Affair to my February Book of the Month Club box, along with a newly-published version of Death on the Nile. I can’t wait to dig in as de Gramont’s novel also happens to be our latest book club pick.

Christie’s Legacy

Christie’s breakout novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, was published in 1920 after a bet with her sister who challenged her ability to concoct the ideal puzzler. That bet launched a writing career that would span five decades, 66 crime novels, 150 short stories, and more than 30 plays. Christie’s play, The MouseTrap, has been seen by more than ten million theatergoers in London alone! Aside from the Bible and Shakespeare, Christie is the best-selling author of all time. (Read 100 Interesting Facts about Agatha Christie.)

The Queen of Mystery

My love affair with Christie’s classic whodunnits runs deep. I don’t know if it’s the nostalgia of the English country house where many a crime takes place or the wanderlust evoked by stories that hark back to the Golden Age of Travel (think Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile). Perhaps it’s the brilliant way Christie presents a perfect puzzle that keeps me guessing until the very end or the satisfaction that comes with her neat and orderly conclusions. All of these elements have me returning to the weathered paperbacks I’ve stashed in my nightstand time and again.

Despite the mixed reviews, I’ve been looking forward to the new Death on the Nile movie since I first saw this trailer. There have been numerous cinematic adaptions of Christie’s work, including my favorite BBC video series with David Suchet as the famous Belgian detective Hercule Poirot. Although I had to have the entire DVD collection, the more casual detective aficionado doesn’t have to go to such extremes. A Britbox subscription is great for the occasional Christie binge.

If you’re looking to read something that will stimulate your “little grey cells” (a Poirot-ism), you can’t go wrong by picking up one of Christie’s classic mysteries. And Then There Were None, Murder on The Orient Express, Death on The Nile, or the book that started it all, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, are great options for rediscovering the Queen of Mystery.

Are you an Agatha fan, too? Have you seen the new Death on the Nile movie? What did you think?