Synopses & Reviews
A fascinating exploration of the contents of Agatha Christie's seventy-three private notebooks, including illustrations and two unpublished Poirot stories
When Agatha Christie died in 1976, at age eighty-five, she had become the world's most popular author. With sales of more than two billion copies worldwide, in more than one hundred countries, she had achieved the impossiblemore than one book every year since the 1920s, every one a bestseller.
So prolific was Agatha Christie's outputsixty-six crime novels, twenty plays, six romance novels under a pseudonym and more than one hundred and fifty short storiesit was often claimed that she had a photographic memory. Was this true? Or did she resort over those fifty-five years to more mundane methods of working out her ingenious crimes?
Following the death of Agatha's daughter, Rosalind, at the end of 2004, a remarkable legacy was revealed. Unearthed among her affairs at the family home of Greenway were Agatha Christie's private notebooks, seventy-three handwritten volumes of notes, lists and drafts outlining all her plans for her many books, plays and stories. Buried in this treasure trove, all in her unmistakable handwriting, are revelations about her famous books that will fascinate anyone who has ever read or watched an Agatha Christie story.
How did the infamous twist in The Murder of Roger Ackroydreally come about? Which very famous Poirot novel started life as an adventure for Miss Marple? Which books were designed to have completely differ-ent endings, and what were they? What were the plot ideas that she considered but rejected?
Full of details she was too modest to reveal in her own autobiography, this remarkable new book includes a wealth of excerpts and pages reproduced directly from the notebooks and her letters, plus, for the first time, two newly discovered complete Hercule Poirot short stories never before published.
Review
“Provides a unique look into the mind and working habits of one of the worlds most successful authors.” Tulsa World
Review
“[Curran] has organized his material as efficiently as an Agatha Christie mystery….[His] enthusiasm for his subject carries us along.” Irish Times
Review
“Meticulously detailed and scrupulous in its judgments.” Strand magazine on Agatha Christie's Secret Notebooks
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“A must-have for any ardent fan of Miss Marple or Hercule Poirot.” Washington Post
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“The most fascinating aspect of the notebooks is the rare glimpse they allow into the mind of a writer, especially one as imaginative as Christie....An appealing read for Christie-philes.” Publishers Weekly
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“A meticulously detailed study that is packed with shrewd perceptions about Christies fiction....Curran has produced an enthralling miscellany of a book, in which her fans will rummage to their hearts content.” Sunday Times (London)
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“Many of Currans discoveries will shape how Christie is read in future....This book is fascinating.” The Independent on Sunday
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“A must for all Christie fans.” Newark Star-Ledger
Synopsis
A Gift for Agatha Christie Lovers
Agatha Christie's Secret Notebooks is the fascinating exploration of the contents of Agatha Christie's long hidden notebooks, including illustrations, analyses, and two previously unpublished Hercule Poirot short stories. Not only will Christie's legions of ardent fans find a treasure chest of new material from the author of such classics as
And Then There Were None, Murder on the Orient Express, and
Death on the Nile, but
Agatha Christie's Secret Notebooks is also a must-read tutorial for writers who want to learn the intricacies of constructing crime novels.
Synopsis
When Agatha Christie died in 1976, at age eighty-five, she had become the world's most popular author. At the end of 2004, following the death of Christie's daughter, Rosalind, a remarkable legacy was revealed: seventy-three handwritten volumes of notes, lists, and drafts outlining all her plans for her many books, plays, and stories. Buried in this treasure trove, all in the beloved author's unmistakable handwriting, are revelations about her famous books that will fascinate anyone who has ever read or watched an Agatha Christie story.
Full of details she was too modest to reveal in her own autobiography, this remarkable book includes a wealth of excerpts and pages reproduced directly from the notebooks and her letters—plus, two complete, recently discovered Hercule Poirot short stories never before published.
Synopsis
Agatha Christies Secret Notebooks is the fascinating exploration of the contents of Agatha Christies long hidden notebooks, including illustrations, analyses, and two previously unpublished Hercule Poirot short stories. Not only will Christies legions of ardent fans find a treasure chest of new material from the author of such classics as And Then There Were None, Murder on the Orient Express, and Death on the Nile, but Agatha Christies Secret Notebooks is also a must-read tutorial for writers who want to learn the intricacies of constructing crime novels.
About the Author
John Curran is the longtime literary adviser to Agatha Christies estate. For many years he edited the official Agatha Christie Newsletter and acted as a consultant to the National Trust during the restoration of Greenway House, Christies Devon home. He lives in Dublin, where he is writing a doctoral thesis at Trinity College.