Agatha Christie: An Autobiography

By: Agatha Christie

Narrated by: Agatha Christie

Length: 1 hr and 19 mins

Publisher's Summary

Back in print in an all-new edition is the engaging and illuminating chronicle of the life of the "Queen of Mystery". Fans of Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple and readers of John Curran’s fascinating biographies Agatha Christie’s Secret Notebooks and Murder in the Making will be spellbound by the compelling, authoritative account of one of the world’s most influential and fascinating novelists, told in her own words and inimitable style - and here in her own voice. These audio excerpts were dictated by Agatha Christie herself. 

The New York Times Book Review called Christie’s autobiography a "joyful adventure," saying, "she brings the sense of wonder... to her extraordinary career."

Please note: This is a historical recording, and the audio quality is reflective of the time in which it was recorded.

©1977 Agatha Christie Limited (P)2010 Agatha Christie Archive Trust

Authentic recording

This recording was an authentic recording from Agatha Christie, and if you focus on that fact, you will enjoy her. Yes, the hissing and bad recording are a bit annoying, so the quality and comfort are not polished, but knowing it was directly from Agatha Christie should count for something, without the editing and polishing. I enjoyed hearing from her in her own words though, so the performance from her was very valuable to me.

Love Christie, but . . .

Thank you, Audible, for providing this bit of oral history. However, unless you are a true fan, this may be a challenge. The recording is of poor quality. It scores points for authenticity because it was performed by the Queen of Mystery herself. But it's not an enjoyable listen, the story skips around, the sound quality is distracting, and it's a struggle to follow.

The author explains her process!

This is not your typical autobiography. It's more of a history on when and why she wrote her different books and plays. The unique thing for this is she reads it herself.

You can tell she is a very private person because there is little on her personal life in this story. It's really a textbook on how to write a book and how it worked for her.

For anyone who is a fan of Mrs. Christie's this is a fun book. Miss Marple is NOT her grandmother although a lot of characteristics they share, including a second sense that something is going to happen.

She also talks about her favorite books she's written: Absent in the Spring by Mary Westmacott (her pseudonym). That particular book she wrote the first chapter, than the last chapter and continued to write it in one day with no sleep. She than slept for 24 hours straight and the next day she read and made very few changes. She said she loved that experience but didn't know she could survive another one.

This is a good short listen and well worth your time if you are an admirer of her work.

free...because the audio quality it terrible

Is there anything you would change about this book?

As a writer I found this to be quite fascinating; however, I would like to have been able to hear it clearly. I couldn't make it all the way through but I appreciate that it was free; just a heads-up to potential downloaders.

Its Free

Any additional comments?

This Autobiography is the sames as it was when recorded. There is a lot of recording sounds in the back ground through out the recording. Agatha Christie is telling just what it took for her to write her mysteries. Her thoughts do not seem to be organized during the hour long biography, but after play the whole recording her biography was told just like she writes all over the place.
Over all the Autobiography was a pretty good lessen.

LOVE AGATHA CHRISTIE

Any additional comments?

Was very hard to under stand as the sound quality was awful. She is also difficult to understand but glad I listened. LOVE EVERYTHING SHE HAS WRITTEN WOW!
My favorite of all time is ........oh goodness way too many to list.!!!!!!!

A charming time-capsule

I very much enjoyed hearing Agatha Christie's voice. I've read both Come, Tell Me How You Live, and her written Autobiography, so this audio autobiography is a satisfying addition to the others.

The sound quality of this piece isn't up to the level we expect today, but being a vintage recording, I found that the non-recording studio quality allowed me to imagine her sitting in a drawing room for the interview.

I would recommend this selection to anyone who has an interest in the life of Agatha Christie.

Bad recording

What would have made Agatha Christie: An Autobiography better?

Could hardly make out what she was saying. It was badly recorded and hard to listen to at high volumes.

Hard to understand

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

The audio was very scratchy. It was hard to understand.

Would you ever listen to anything by Agatha Christie again?

Absolutely. I love Christie!

Would you be willing to try another one of Agatha Christie’s performances?

Yes

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Disappointment that is was hard to hear well.

Authentic Agatha Christie

Any additional comments?

This is brilliant! I read Christie's autobiography 30 years ago when I was young and it made a profound impact on me. Not only did she live in one of the most dynamic periods of history (1890-1970s), but her insights into life and the production of her books was enlightening. I have been meaning to reread it, but, of course, I don't have time to read a book with my eyes. I understand that 16 or 17 hours of recording were found just a few years ago and I hope Audible elects to release them all. As it is, this recording seems to be a pretty good selection, offering insight into many of her inspirations.