Agatha Christie cover art

Agatha Christie

Preview

£0.00 for first 30 days

Try for £0.00
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Agatha Christie

By: Lucy Worsley
Narrated by: Lucy Worsley
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

Confirm Purchase
Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.
Cancel

About this listen

'Nobody in the world was more inadequate to act the heroine than I was.'

Why did Agatha Christie spend her career pretending that she was 'just' an ordinary housewife, when clearly she wasn't? As Lucy Worsley says, 'She was thrillingly, scintillatingly modern'. She went surfing in Hawaii, she loved fast cars, and she was intrigued by the new science of psychology, which helped her through devastating mental illness.

So why - despite all the evidence to the contrary - did Agatha present herself as a retiring Edwardian lady of leisure?

She was born in 1890 into a world which had its own rules about what women could and couldn't do. Lucy Worsley's biography is not just of an internationally renowned bestselling writer. It's also the story of a person who, despite the obstacles of class and gender, became an astonishingly successful working woman.

With access to personal letters and papers that have rarely been seen, Lucy Worsley's biography is both authoritative and entertaining and makes us realise what an extraordinary pioneer Agatha Christie was - truly a woman who wrote the twentieth century.

©2022 Lucy Worsley (P)2022 Hodder & Stoughton Limited
Authors Literary History & Criticism Women Thought-Provoking
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Listeners also enjoyed...

Shardlake: The Complete BBC Radio Collection cover art
Encounters with Victoria cover art
Cider with Rosie cover art
The Toff cover art
The Indigo Girl cover art
The Heart of the Conqueror cover art
Band of Sisters cover art
The Women of Chateau Lafayette cover art
The Midwife's Revolt cover art
Legacy cover art
Great and Horrible News cover art
Alexander McQueen: Blood Beneath the Skin cover art
The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post cover art
America's First Daughter cover art
The Gospel According to Coco Chanel cover art
AMORALMAN cover art

Critic reviews

'Paint(s) an intriguing picture of Christie.' - Guardian

'Ms Worsley herself writes engagingly... She combines an almost militant support for her subject with a considered analysis of her books and plays.' - Economist

'Admirably scrupulous' - New York Times

What listeners say about Agatha Christie

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    565
  • 4 Stars
    93
  • 3 Stars
    14
  • 2 Stars
    5
  • 1 Stars
    3
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    515
  • 4 Stars
    74
  • 3 Stars
    11
  • 2 Stars
    8
  • 1 Stars
    10
Story
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    504
  • 4 Stars
    91
  • 3 Stars
    13
  • 2 Stars
    7
  • 1 Stars
    2

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Authoritative and accessible

I love Lucy because of her wry humour, lovely style and genuine academic credentials - a winning mix. Fascinated by Agatha Christie too, so it doesn't get much better than this.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Loved this

This is the only biography of Agatha I have listened to. I liked it but felt a lot of questions were not answered. This is not a criticism of the writing, but more of an observation.

I would recommend, but I prefer books which leave me with less questions. I would have liked more of Lucy’s opinions.

It’s great work by Lucy. it feels like it has been written with a lot of love and I really enjoyed listening to this.

I would recommend, however if you know lots about Agatha (which I don’t) then you may feel this book is slightly light. Again not a criticism, just an observation on the style.
I feel like Lucy makes things accessible for people who read her books who do not have a great amount of knowledge. (me), however for people who know lots of background info already They may be disappointed.




Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Fabuloso!

Narrated by my favourite historian whose written about my all time favourite author! A fascinating read. I wonder what AC would have thought about it!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent

I loved this clever, thoughtful and entertaining book. Agatha suitably remembered by Lucy Worsely, another great author, who shows us the greatness of Agatha’s writing and the wonderful and interesting life she lived, leaving the world with a huge gift of plays and books to keep us entertained!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Loved it!

I am so glad I purchased this Audiobook! Have never been a huge fan of Agatha Christie stories, but Lucy gave me a completely fresh perspective on her life and motivation. I really appreciated Lucy’s broad based analysis of family correspondence, but also - particularly- her analysis of what the critics were saying about her work. Very interesting that it was the demands of Agatha’s reading public who kept her in print rather than the publishers and editors at the time! It’s no wonder that so many folk who love writing for its own sake are turning towards self-publication these days.
Agatha’s world was changing fast, as is ours and Lucy is a great analyst of what is happening now. Great book!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Excellent!

A thoroughly enjoyable listen, more like a conversation than a reading. Though I'm not an Agatha Christie fan, I found this biography entertaining, performed with ease and passion by the wonderful Lucy.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Enjoyable and interesting

I very much enjoyed the story and also Lucy's narration. Just a pleasure to listen to and get a view into Agatha Christie's life.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Fascinating and fun

An intelligent, well written and well read joy. It places Christie in the historical context of the twentieth century with love, respect and humour. Spoiler alert: if you haven't read most Christie novels there are understandably some plot revelations.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Agatha Christie's life captured beautifully

This was an amazing story about Agatha Christie's life captured beautifully by Lucy Worsley. It gave me insight into what it was like to be a pioneering female author before it was acceptable to do so and despite all odds, having the determination and courage to stick to her passion. Very enjoyable read.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant

Very interesting, thank you Lucy for writing this great book on Agatha Christie’s life, brilliantly read.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!