Agatha Christie: A Reader's Companion [Paperback]

Vanessa Wagstaff (Author), Stephen Poole (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2007

Other crime writers may come and go, but Agatha Christie maintains her enduring appeal and for her millions of fans this book is the next best thing to a new Christie novel. The authors have assembled a mouth-watering feast of period memorabilia --the jackets of first editions, stills from films and television series, photographs of the places and buildings that Christie used as settings for her stories, contemporary reviews and magazine features--which effortlessly transports the reader back into the world of Christie and her characters. Each of the novels is discussed in order of publication with a summary of the plot, information on Christie's own life at the time the book was written, an account of its reception, and details of subsequent films and TV series. The result is a unique companion to Christie's novels that will have enormous appeal to everyone who loves her work.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This book is a joy to hold, to browse, and to read. Anyone who picks it up will get lost in it for hours."  —Choice

"An entertaining romp through the world and works of the 'Queen of Crime.'"  —Mystery Scene

"Well-illustrated."  —Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine

From the Inside Flap

Other crime writers may come and go, but the immortal Agatha Christie, the ‘Queen of Crime’, maintains her enduring appeal, and for her millions of fans this book is the next best thing to a new Christie novel.

The authors, avid fans themselves, have assembled a mouth-watering feast of period memorabilia - the jackets and bindings of first editions from both sides of the Atlantic, stills from films and television series, photographs of the places and buildings that Christie used as settings for her stories, contemporary reviews and magazine features – which effortlessly transport the reader back into the world that Christie and her characters inhabited.

Her first published novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles (1920) was partly inspired by a challenge from her sister and partly by her experiences during the First World War, when she served as a VAD nurse and qualified as a dispenser, which gave her a working knowledge of drugs and poisons. These were the fortuitous circumstances that provided the springboard for a writing career of unsurpassed length and brilliance.

The authors discuss each of the novels in chronological order of publication, with a summary of the plot-line and, in the case of the more famous books, bibliographical data, background information on Christie’s own life at the time the book was written, an account of its reception by readers and the press, and details of subsequent films and TV series.

The reader is thus able to trace Christie’s career as an author, and the way in which her detectives were introduced and developed, while following, in parallel, her own life and travels. The result is a unique companion to her novels which will have enormous appeal to everyone who loves her work. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Aurum Press (April 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1845132033
• ISBN-13: 978-1845132033
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 7.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,633,211 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I Like This Book!, July 11, 2008

By 

Arcade Bear "AC" (Paris, France) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Agatha Christie: A Reader's Companion (Paperback)

I'm a huge Christie fan. This book takes a look at her books in order. It's a little collector guide and picture book of the first edition sleeves. It could be a little more edited or tightened up but it's a great book. I've read most of the Christie books but will re-read some of the information about the plots in this book. It's a great guide for any fan and it's priced reasonably too!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Almost perfect book, falls short on the short stories., February 9, 2011

By 

Paul J. Mular (San Carlos, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Agatha Christie: A Reader's Companion (Paperback)

This book is well detailed about the early books and showing the covers of the first british editions. Later stories from 1950 on get only a 1/2 page mention.

I find it surprising that a readers companion book would NOT list the names of the short stories included in the short story collections. I found myself printing pages from Wikipedia to fill in the gaps. This was a big oversight!

It would have also been nice if the main character of the story (Poirot of Miss Marple) were more clearly marked at the start of the story description. You have to read in to find out which series the books fall into.

This companion book is only focused on the First Edition books, so there is no mention of any re-issues or combining stories in omnibuses. The American titles are mentioned for all of the books, and their First Editions are sometimes pictured for the major books.

Some space is wasted showing you an 'actual size' detail of a portion of a title page of jacket cover. These reveal nothing new and it leaves one to wonder why they were included when other information is omitted.

Otherwise this is a good complete companion for the Christie stories. I just found the above issues frustrating, requiring additional research by the reader when the authors already had the information right in front of them.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pretty Special Tribute, February 20, 2008

By 

Doug - Haydn Fan (California) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Agatha Christie: A Reader's Companion (Hardcover)

Any fan of Agatha Christie should find this book chock full of delightful and sometimes eye-opening visuals and facts. The press summary does a fine job, and frankly can't be improved on. I add my voice to encourage Amazon mystery buffs, who must number on the hundreds of thousands, to give it a try.

The book can be gently perused for an overview of Agatha Christie's home sites, travel locations, and the like. Ms Chrisite used her own backdrop to a far greater extent than many people might imagine. Anyone reading this book should certainly come away not only with a better sense for place and image the next time you begin one of her mysteries, but also for the sharpness of vision she brought to her best writing.

A chronological listing of the works is convenient, and all in all the book as a whole is quite charming. I like it a great deal, and can't imagine an Agatha Christie fan being disappointed.

Note: Pictures of the many book covers showcase the difference the Atlantic ocean made during the height of Christie's fame: the English covers (and titles) are sometimes marked with an ugly racism already tabu in America.

This is also available in paperback.