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Book Review of An Autobiography

An Autobiography
jjares avatar reviewed on + 3413 more book reviews


Agatha Christie's books have been by my side for so long that I've read all of them several times. I still remember my shock at the conclusion of my first reading of AND THEN THERE WERE NONE (also titled as TEN LITTLE INDIANS). I was absolutely flabbergasted by her innovation and cleverness in that book.

From time to time, I've seen various documentaries about the Grand Dame of Mystery, particularly about the several days she was missing. There has always been interest in Agatha Christie. She seemed to live such a charmed life.

My favorite parts of the book swirled around the insights she offered about why and how she wrote some of her books. I was surprised to see that she disparaged about paying taxes and that it was hardly worth her time to write more than one book per year because the taxman got everything else. Another surprise was the fact that she gave the royalties to some of her books and plays to relatives or friends, etc. Boy, talk about a gift that just keeps giving! This book is one that would be a 'must-read' for a fan of this gifted author.

As I've aged, and continued to reread this author, I've come to feel that she was an absolute marvel at plotlines but really not all that great with character development. I thought she did so much better with character development with Tommy and Tuppence (than any of her other characters).