Thursday, August 2, 2018

Author Agatha Christie and The Winner Is

Getting Back To Business

Source


I'm back to business today after celebrating three years of blogging in my last post. But first, I want to thank all of you who read my celebration post and those of you who left such sweet comments. It made me happy to read your kind words and inspired me to keep on blogging! After all, a blog needs readers and my readers are the very best! I know you want to know who won the giveaway from my celebration blog post. So, without further ado....drum roll please....the winner from the drawing for the necklace and earring set is.....Mary Lou! Congratulations, Mary Lou, on winning and I will be in touch to confirm your address for mailing the jewelry to you. 


I'm sharing another favorite author with you today and it's one that everyone has heard of-Dame Agatha Christie. She was a prolific writer who published over 78 books in her lifetime along with 19 plays and over 100 short stories. Although she wrote mysteries that focused on different types of characters, my favorite of her books are the Hercule Poirot mysteries. I own many of these books and also own several of the DVD's of the Poirot mysteries. I watch them over and over again and they never fail to please. 


In my opinion, there will never be another actor who plays Poirot as well as David Suchet. In my mind, whenever I read a Poirot mystery, Suchet's face is the one I picture as the quirky detective. I also like the particular mysteries that include Poirot's sidekick, Captain Hastings. In the videos, Hastings is portrayed as more of a humorous character than in the novels. But, both character types appeal to me whether reading or watching. 


To be honest, I didn't know much about the history of Agatha Christie until I did some research to write this post. Agatha lived from 1890-1976, passing away one year before I graduated from high school. She was married twice and had one child only, a daughter named Rosalind. Her first marriage, to Archibald Christie, ended unhappily with tales of his infidelity. Her second marriage, to Max Mallowan, was said to be happy and lasted until her death. The image seen above was made of Christie during a trip to Greece in 1958. According to accounts I read, Agatha also had a mysterious disappearance of her own in 1926 when she went missing for 10 days. This happened right after her first husband asked for a divorce because he had fallen in love with another woman. Her disappearance sparked a public outcry which included pressuring of the police by the Home Secretary and a reward being offered by a newspaper. After being missing for 10 days, she was found at a hotel in Yorkshire registered under the surname of her husband's mistress. She appeared to have no memory of why she was there. Much speculation, both at the time and in later years, was given to why this mysterious disappearance occurred and ideas ranged from amnesia to depression to wanting to frame her first husband for murder to a publicity stunt. Christie, herself, made no mention of the incident in her own autobiography. Christie had a lifelong interest in archeology. Her second husband was an archeologist and she accompanied him on many of his archaeological trips. Her archaeological interest found its way into many of her books including, Death on the Nile. 

Are you an Agatha Christie fan like me? Do you prefer the books or the DVD's? Which of her characters are your favorites? I do hope you will take a moment to leave a comment. I enjoy hearing from you!

Until Next Time,
Debbie

*Images of Agatha Christie and David Suchet are taken from Wikimedia Commons sites here, here and here






4 comments:

Karen said...

This background on Agatha Christie is so interesting. I have never seen photos of her as a younger woman, and I found that interesting too. I love her books and have read so many! It's good to know that she found happiness in her second marriage.

And congratulations to Mary Lou!!

Debbie Styles Life said...

I'm glad you found the info on Agatha Christie interesting, Karen. Thanks for your support of my blog through reading and leaving great comments!! Hope you have a restful and happy weekend!

Sharon said...

Believe it or not, I have never read Agatha Christie. I find myself enjoying the books you recommend so I have a new (to me) author to try.

Debbie Styles Life said...

I think you'll enjoy these books, Sharon. Let me know if you read some!