Just when you thought you knew everything about Agatha Christie, boom! The new meticulously researched book, Secrets from the Agatha Christie Archives, arrives to prove you wrong.
Every published work of Agatha Christie, and a few rumored unpublished ones, are included in this comprehensive guide. Ordered by original publication date, each work includes a brief plot summary (with no spoilers), publisher, and even the selling price at the time. Both UK and US publications are included.
Some interesting tidbits are mentioned like why a book title was changed for US audiences and what was going on in Ms. Christie’s life at the time of publication. Another surprise was how often the novels were serialized in magazines and newspapers both before and after their hardcover release. The author states that Ms. Christie often made more profit on those releases than on the sales of the books themselves.
Secrets from the Agatha Christie Archives is definitely formatted like a research book. Reading it cover-to-cover like a novel is not recommended. However, reading each work’s section while also reading the referenced novel is great fun. It definitely improved the experience of rereading the less famous Christie books.
Secrets from the Agatha Christie Archives would make a great gift for the Christie fan in your life. 4 stars!
Thanks to NetGalley and White Owl for providing me with an advanced review copy.