Agatha Christie: An Autobiography

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Summary: Like talking to the author herself!
Review: I have read Agatha Christie's Autobiography at least four times, and I have yet to be bored. Far from a typical year-by-year recounting of activities, Christie's masterpiece is a series of vivid and picturesque memories that make this work a step above all other biography. Captivating and beautifully written, this is a must-read for _everyone_, commoners and fans alike.

Rating:
Summary: Two Thumps Up
Review: I have read most of Agatha Chritie's book. I owned about 70 A.C's book. And this is one of her greatest work. I love it....

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Summary: enjoyable read!who knew life could be better than mysteries?
Review: I picked up Agatha Christie's biography off a dusty shelf in the library... it hadn't been read since 1984, and it still had one of those cards you had to write in names and stamp dates in. Interestingly, I wasn't drawn to the book due to the author. I hadn't even read more than one book by Ms. Christie, and that was in high school for required reading. What drew me to the book was the simple unpretentious title "The Story of My Life". (This is an older copy of the book, not the printing titled Agatha Christie an Autobiography.)It was the first page, the first paragraph in the book,that hooked me.

"One of the luckiest things that can happen to you in life is, I think, to have a happy childhood. I had a very happy childhood."

If you continue reading you'll have to agree. With tenderness, Agatha recounts sun-filled days at her home Ashfield, describing family and friends (both real and imaginary), servants, and experiences with fond poignancy.

Her father she describes:
"By modern standards my father would probably not be approved of. He was a lazy man.......I don't know what the quality was he had...he had no outstanding characteristics. I think that he had a simple and loving heart, and he really cared for his fellow man."

A family game, when Agatha is older and courting
"We use to have a family game, invented by my sister and a friend of hers- it was called 'Agatha's Husband'. The idea was that they picked two or three of the most repellent strangers in a room, and it was then up to me that I had to choose one of them as my husband, on pain of death or slow torture by the Chinese.

'Now then, Agatha, which will you have-the fat young one with pimples, and the scurfy head, or that black one like a gorilla with the bulging eyes?'
'Oh, I can't-they're so awful.'
'You must-it's got to be one of them. Or else red hot needles nad water torture.'
'Oh dear, then the gorilla.'
In the end we got into the habit of labelling any physically hideous individual as 'an Agatha's husband':"Oh! Look! That's a REALLY ugly man-a real Agatha's husband."

Many funny family stories are recounted in this book, as well as some painful life experiences in Agatha's adult life. Yet, she still manages to keep a cheerfullness, and a somewhat balanced attitude, which is refreshing.

I heartily recommend this book.

Rating:
Summary: A window to another life
Review: I randomly picked this book in a library - I was looking for something to read and this seemed interesting enough. I had no idea how captive this would be. Agatha Christie doesn't write, she paints beautiful portraits with her words. From the moment I picked up this book it was impossible to put down. The way she talks of her life (and of course, her life itself) is truly enchanting. I don't think I could ever do this book justice, but I assure you - time spent on reading this book will be time well spent.

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Summary: Her life story is her most exciting story of all!
Review: I recommend this book to everyone. Agatha's life was action packed and interested. No wonder she writes such interesting mysteries!

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Summary: In my top ten
Review: I reread this book often. It's entertaining, funny and full of insights. For example: you are who you are, no matter who you pretend to be, and it's better to stick to what you're good at. The only part of her life she skips over is her disappearance and the man-hunt that followed, during the breakup of her marriage. She refers to it obliquely by explaining that she went travelling to avoid the intrusive press. She had a fascinating life, a lot of it spent on archaeological digs in the Middle East with her second husband, Max Mallowan. That story is told in her book Come Tell Me How You Live. If you haven't read it yet, now read on!

Rating:
Summary: Great life story adds insights to her famous novels
Review: I'm an avid reader and this is one of my very favorite, treasured books. It's quite long, yet I take joy in re-reading it and look forward to the next time I enjoy it. A rare, candid, unpretentious insight into a life. After reading it recently, I re-read some of her mysteries and understood which parts she took from her own life. For example, the character of Ariadne Oliver is a version of herself. Ariadne relates stories that really happened to Agatha. If you love biographies, I recommend it, even if you are not a mystery fan. An interesting aside: since much of her life was spent in Iraq and other parts of the middle East, and also in dealing with war (WWI and WWII), this is an interesting read from our modern perspective.

Rating:
Summary: Great life story adds insights to her famous novels
Review: I'm an avid reader and this is one of my very favorite, treasured books. It's quite long, yet I take joy in re-reading it and look forward to the next time I enjoy it. A rare, candid, unpretentious insight into a life. After reading it recently, I re-read some of her mysteries and understood which parts she took from her own life. For example, the character of Ariadne Oliver is a version of herself. Ariadne relates stories that really happened to Agatha. If you love biographies, I recommend it, even if you are not a mystery fan. An interesting aside: since much of her life was spent in Iraq and other parts of the middle East, and also in dealing with war (WWI and WWII), this is an interesting read from our modern perspective.

Rating:
Summary: A Joyous Discovery
Review: In her autobiograpy, Agatha Cristie lets us in on the mystery of her most insightful, fearless, honest, adventurous, human, open character - herself. I first read her autobiography when I was 9 years old and an avid reader of her prolific work. Since then, I entered her world more times than I can remember, each time a joyous discovery. I am truly thankful that such a talented woman has shared her vision of life, her version of reality.

Rating:
Summary: Agatha Christie : An Autobiography
Review: That book was great I loved that book because it told everything about her life in it, it told about when she was growing up and what happened in her life, while she was growing up. Life is great when you make somthing out of it. When Agatha Christie started getting sick she just didn't care she still just kept on writing and when she died somebody wrote the rest of it to say thats all the writing she has left for anyone because she had died. She was a great author because when she wrote her books she made them interesting to people to pick up her next book that she wrote.