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Book Review for: Duchess of Death: The Unauthorized Biography of Agatha Christie by Richard Hack

Phoenix Books, 2009, 823.912 ChrH

 The popularity of Agatha Christie more than a century after her birth tells us of the quality of her work.  But can anyone capture the same intrigue we would expect from one of her novels when writing about her life?  We are told that this unauthorized biography draws from over 5000 unpublished letters, notes and documents: a rather enticing tidbit of information before we even begin to read!  Richard Hack then begins his biography with his account of the most mysterious chapter of Agatha Christie’s life: her 11 day disappearance in 1926.  If only the whole of the book was as interesting!  But of course, as most lives don’t offer us a plot worthy of an Agatha Christie mystery, we must settle with reading the extraordinary – but not often exciting – story of her life.  Written like a novel, it is easy to read and the facts (which are abundantly given) usually flow quite well. The end of the book rather drags out in the same way that most lives tend to do, and yet it emphasizes the way that Agatha Christie never stopped working, and that she never gave in to her age! 

In the end, Richard Hack offers us an interpretation of Agatha Christie’s life that is easy to accept and a pleasure to read.  There is a hint of the mystery and intrigue that one would hope to find in an Agatha Christie tale, and many explanations (interpretations) of the events in her life.  He ends by discussing her home in Devonshire called “Greenway House” which was restored and opened to the public in February 2009. 

“To visit Greenway is to step back in time…There in the hall is the leather chest from Baghdad, worn from daily use, as is much of the house in general…It takes very little imagination to hear her reading still, for this house contains more than history.” (Pp.236-237). 

One wonders if his visit to Greenway House was what got him started on his biography in the first place, and one cannot help but entertain the idea – whether in fantasy or not – in order to truly complete the experience of Agatha Christie’s life history – of one day visiting the beautiful estate oneself!