An Autobiography

What a fascinating life she led ... writing was sort of done inbetween accompanying and helping her husband on archaeological digs in the Near East, traveling all over the world, doing her part in both world wars, and living an upperclass British life. Also lots of info about how she wrote, how she came up with characters for her books, etc. Wonderful book, and extremely well written (of course!).

Often times autobiographies are dull things of interest only to the author or those who may be mentioned in the book, others are glowing brag fests relating how marvelous the subject is, or are filled with juicy gossip about other celebrities. This one is completely different in that Christie did not attempt to write a complete chronicle of her life, or to focus on what the public might want to hear (in fact she deliberately left out the very episode - her disappearance - that most would want to know more about) but instead told about those parts of her life that she was interested in remembering. For example most autobiographies rush through the subject's childhood and focus on the parts of their adult life that made them famous, not so here. Instead Christie takes the first third of her tale to describe her life before she ever thought of Hercule Poirot. What the reader gets instead of stories about the great and famous is a charming glimpse into the life of a middle-class child born at the end of the Victorian era, her perceptions of a society that was rapidly changing as she grew to young adulthood. She tells about her life as a child in a comfortable household filled with servants, her teenage years with her widowed mother, as a young woman caring for wounded soldiers, as a bride then a single mother through her later years as a successful author and her second, happier marriage to an archaeologist and their travels to the Middle East. She glosses over meeting the Queen but tells at length about various nannies and secretaries that were part of her everyday life. For fans of Christie it is particularly interesting to learn what inspired certain of her characters or plots, what was occuring in her life while writing some of the novels, to see people or situations that one can recognize in a favorite novel. For anyone interested in life in the early twentieth century this book also gives an insight into that time that is rarely seen.

Although I generally believe that the one story a writer shouldn't write is their own, Agatha Christie's autobiography is the happy exception to this rule. The famous mystery writer takes much of the mystery out of how she became a writer telling a straightforward story of a fairy-tale childhood that abruptly changed into a grown-up existence of uncertainty, hard-work, determination, pluck and verve. She admits to less ambition than necessity dictated by money and marriage woes. Christie is a natural storyteller but she is far too polite to admit it outright. Instead, she brings the same hands-off style to her own story as she does to the main characters in her mystery books: that of being caught up in the circumstances of events rather than being driven by them. Her life story gently unfolds complemented by a dry and self-effacing wit. Christie blends in tidbits of her writing life, including her early efforts, story and character inspirations, why her books are so short, her writing style and routine and her dealings with editors and publishing houses, into the mostly personal narrative. While it may be a mystery as to whether Christie created or responded to opportunities, there's no mystery that once those opportunities presented themselves Christie seized them and rode them spectacularly to fame and fortune.

I picked up Agatha Christie's biography off a dusty shelf in the library... it hadn't been read since 1984, and it still had one of those cards you had to write in names and stamp dates in. Interestingly, I wasn't drawn to the book due to the author. I hadn't even read more than one book by Ms. Christie, and that was in high school for required reading. What drew me to the book was the simple unpretentious title "The Story of My Life". (This is an older copy of the book, not the printing titled Agatha Christie an Autobiography.)It was the first page, the first paragraph in the book,that hooked me. "One of the luckiest things that can happen to you in life is, I think, to have a happy childhood. I had a very happy childhood." If you continue reading you'll have to agree. With tenderness, Agatha recounts sun-filled days at her home Ashfield, describing family and friends (both real and imaginary), servants, and experiences with fond poignancy. Her father she describes: "By modern standards my father would probably not be approved of. He was a lazy man.......I don't know what the quality was he had...he had no outstanding characteristics. I think that he had a simple and loving heart, and he really cared for his fellow man." A family game, when Agatha is older and courting "We use to have a family game, invented by my sister and a friend of hers- it was called 'Agatha's Husband'. The idea was that they picked two or three of the most repellent strangers in a room, and it was then up to me that I had to choose one of them as my husband, on pain of death or slow torture by the Chinese. 'Now then, Agatha, which will you have-the fat young one with pimples, and the scurfy head, or that black one like a gorilla with the bulging eyes?' 'Oh, I can't-they're so awful.' 'You must-it's got to be one of them. Or else red hot needles nad water torture.' 'Oh dear, then the gorilla.' In the end we got into the habit of labelling any physically hideous individual as 'an Agatha's husband':"Oh! Look! That's a REALLY ugly man-a real Agatha's husband." Many funny family stories are recounted in this book, as well as some painful life experiences in Agatha's adult life. Yet, she still manages to keep a cheerfullness, and a somewhat balanced attitude, which is refreshing. I heartily recommend this book.

I randomly picked this book in a library - I was looking for something to read and this seemed interesting enough. I had no idea how captive this would be. Agatha Christie doesn't write, she paints beautiful portraits with her words. From the moment I picked up this book it was impossible to put down. The way she talks of her life (and of course, her life itself) is truly enchanting. I don't think I could ever do this book justice, but I assure you - time spent on reading this book will be time well spent.

Agatha Christie's, An Autobiography, is an excellent read. Unlike most books of this type, it is not chronological in the true sense of the word. It's almost as if Dame Agatha is talking to you personally about her life. She jumps from one topic to another much as one would in an ordinary conversation. Thoroughly entertaining!