Agatha Christie Research - ITV Documentary

The Mystery of Agatha Christie - ITV Perspectives (2013)

I watched a documentary about Agatha Christie to try and learn more about her as a person rather than just as a writer. The documentary was fronted by David Suchet who is famous for playing the role of Hercule Poirot. I made notes in my notebook as I was watching. 

I found it really interesting to see how events in her childhood and early adult life could so easily have affected what the choices she made with the story lines of her novels. For example, the recurring nightmare of the gunman was probably one of the most violent things she encountered at this young age because she described her childhood as very happy and rather sheltered. Also the fact that the gunman usually appeared at special occasions or parties is relevant to her novels as a lot of the time, the murder takes place in conjunction with a social event or on a journey. 

I was surprised to learn that Agatha Christie never had a proper education and that she taught herself to read and write. She seems like a very intelligent woman and I presumed that she would have has a good quality education as a child. 

I think her experiences during the war also played a part in her writing, especially the knowledge she received when training as a pharmacy assistant. Her books have been commended by professionals at the levels of accuracy she writes with about drugs and poisons. She was a very knowledgable lady and this showed in the particular attention she payed to the details in her writing. Also the people she met in the war inspired the kind of characters she created.

The disappearance of Agatha in 1926 after she found out about her husband’s affair is a point in her life which remains very much a mystery. I can understand why people claimed this was a publicity stunt for her crime novels but I think the reasons are much deeper than that and that it was an escape for her. I am hoping to read some of her books under the name of Mary Westmacott because I think this might reveal more about what she was thinking in this period of her life. 

She was more than just a traditional English lady, there was something different about her as she craved adventure. 

I feel embarrassed to admit I had never heard of ‘The Mousetrap’ which is apparently the longest running play and has broken so many records. This documentary has made me really intrigued by Agatha Christie’s life. There is so much more to her than her writing and she has experienced a lot. I am in agreement with the title of this documentary as I think as a person, she is still a mystery but I think this might allow me to build up a picture of her using the information I have - almost like piecing together individual clues in a crime case.