In the Footsteps of Agatha Christie [Hardcover]

Francois Riviere (Author), Jean-Bernard Naudin (Photographer)

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: French

Product Details

• Hardcover: 157 pages
• Publisher: Trafalgar Square Publishing (May 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1570760691
• ISBN-13: 978-1570760693
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 10.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,395,275 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An opportunity to return to Christie's time and place., December 30, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: In the Footsteps of Agatha Christie (Hardcover)

Beginning with text and photograph headers presented in the old manual typewriter fonts, Francois Riviere successfully transports her readers back to the Devon countryside of Agatha Christie's childhood. Early family pictures are interspersed with gorgeous color photos of the south of England, each one representing an event or memory which provided Christie with the germ of her intricate plots. Ms. Riviere provides a rare treat for devoted fans and casual readers alike: the personal life and environment of an author who guarded her privacy and was able, like her books, to keep us guessing. The Devonshire home of Greenway, not visible from the road but glimpsed by boat from the river Dart, is described in detail with ample color photos, as is the Burgh Hotel, the setting for "Evil Under The Sun" and "Then There Were None". Her relationships with both husbands, her daughter and friends are good reading; they provide the bones. The real meat in this book is the author's ability to invoke a past which we already feel we know so well, make it come alive and provide the visual counterpart. Actually seeing the physical locations which sparked her imagination and translated into complex narratives is an opportunity not to be missed by anyone who has enjoyed being transported to that very special time and place where Christie lived and then created in print for posterity. Ms. Riviere also provides a detailed color map of Devon which includes Agatha's special "haunts" and a list of hotels and road directions in the areas most frequented by her and her characters. It is a singular offering for mystery fans to truly "walk in the author's footsteps": along the beach in Torquay, boating on the River Dart, tramping through the heather atop Dartmoor, staying at the Haytor Hotel where she wrote her first book. The book is a pleasure in itself but also a definite Must Read for anyone familiar with Agatha Christie's work or interested in the formation of a Mystery author.