Agatha Christie’s life rivalled immortal mysteries she created
Work of prolific British author – whose ‘whodunnit’ inspired the 2017 film adaptation ‘Murder on the Orient Express’ – has never gone out of style
Agatha Christie’s work has never gone out of style, nor out of print, in the four decades since the British author’s death –- to the tune of more than 2 billion copies sold.
But Christie’s flame burns extra bright in the present, thanks to new film adaptations (Murder on the Orient Express), authorised sequels (The Monogram Murders and Closed Casket, by Sophie Hannah) and homages (Magpie Murders, by Anthony Horowitz).
Yet derivative works and adaptations cannot fully explain why Christie’s work endures.
A splendid biography by Laura Thompson, however, does.
Agatha Christie: A Mysterious Life was published in Britain over a decade ago and took an inexplicable amount of time to cross the Atlantic.
Yet, the timing is perfect because Thompson’s thorough yet readable treatment of Christie’s life, in combination with artful critical context on her work, arrives at the reason for her endurance.
As she would often do, Agatha Christie used the familiarity of the stereotype to subvert our expectations ... by such means she revealed her insight, her lightly worn understanding of human nature
“As she would often do, Agatha has used the familiarity of the stereotype to subvert our expectations,” Thompson writes.