THE MYSTERY OF AGATHA CHRISTIE

by Gwen Robyns ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 18, 1978

Agatha Christie told what she wanted to tell in Come Tell Me How You Live and her enchanting but selective Autobiography; otherwise she kept mum, and her family and intimates are fiercely doing the same. But that hasn't stopped Gwen Robyns from talking to dozens of minor acquaintances and assembling one of those breathless, sloppy, gossipy trivia-thons that give female writers a bad name. It's possible perhaps that voracious fans might appreciate Robyns' indiscriminate quote-gathering: ""One remembers her as being pleasant and her face all smiles and she looked very elegant in a dress of silk brocade"" . . . . ""I clearly remember that there was some kind of pastry. . . . The coffee was also good."" And more demanding Christie-lovers might be willing to wade through the dizzy detail to savor a few plums: Gladys Mitchell on Sayers (""I'm perfectly certain that Dorothy couldn't stand Agatha""); intriguing author-publisher vignettes; some sound comments on the autobiographical nature of the Mary Westmacott novels; and a wearingly exhaustive inquiry into that 1926 disappearance (not mentioned in the Autobiography) that's impressively researched but dubiously analyzed (""as a woman of many years' experience and having researched the entire episode. . . I am of the opinion that Mrs. Agatha Christie knew exactly what she was doing""). But this is at best a perky, superficial gathering of undigested material. For a probing literary/psychological portrait that solves ""The Mystery of Agatha Christie""--we'll have to wait.

Pub Date: Aug. 18, 1978

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Doubleday

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1978

Categories: NONFICTION