Sunday, Dec. 3, 2023 at 9:30 p.m. on KPBS TV / Stream now with KPBS Passport!
Surpassed only by the Bible and Shakespeare, Agatha Christie is the most successful writer of all time; her books have sold over a billion copies in English and a billion in translation. She wrote an astounding 66 murder mysteries, several plays including “The Mousetrap” — the longest-running play of all time — and her classic works continue to be adapted for film and television. But how did a refined, upper-class British girl evolve into the queen of crime, poison, and murder?
Two new specials — “Inside The Mind Of Agatha Christie” and “Agatha Christie’s England” (Premiered January 24) — attempt to solve this mystery, exploring the life and times of the woman who transformed crime fiction and continues to win loyal readers across the globe.
Narrated by Samantha Bond, both programs are filled with clips from movies and television series based on Agatha Christie novels, as well as home movies and audio recordings of Christie.
With rare access to family members, scholars and her personal archive, “Inside The Mind Of Agatha Christie” explores what made the world’s most successful crime writer tick. Millions of readers worldwide know Agatha Christie’s indelible characters and plot twists, but what do we know about the author herself?
Dr. John Curran has spent years poring over her personal archive, a treasure trove containing letters, manuscripts and 73 meticulously kept notebooks in which she documented everything she saw and heard. He and others explain how the author used her experiences to weave together formidable plots and how, despite being known as the queen of “cozy” crime, Agatha’s mind was, in the words of screenwriter Sarah Phelps, “incredibly dark.”
While she may have outwardly resembled a tweedy, Marple-esque figure, Agatha Christie was infinitely more complex. Insights into her life reveal that her isolated childhood sparked her imagination, and her time as a nurse during World War I gave her a knowledge of medicine — and poison, blood and gore.
Biographer Laura Thompson reveals how the heartbreaking breakdown of her first marriage gave her a starring role in her own mystery — a disappearance that transfixed the nation. Ultimately, wanderlust healed her broken heart as she traveled the world and transformed her writing from a hobby into a profession.
World War II brought a sense of her own mortality and an urgency to her writing, resulting in a staggering three to four books each year. Towards the end of her life, the increasingly famous Christie retreated from the public eye to her beloved holiday home, Greenway.
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Credits:
Produced and directed by Matt Cottingham. Executive Producers are Basi Akpabio, Jonathan Stadlen and Natalie von Hurter. Filmed, produced and directed by Toby Roebuck. Executive Producers are Jonathan Stadlen and Natalie von Hurter.
