Agatha Christie Close Up: A radio investigation into the Queen of Crime

Agatha Christie

Nov 2016 · BBC Digital Audio · Narrated by Agatha Christie, Margaret Lockwood, and Richard Attenborough

About this audiobook

A fascinating collection of archive radio programmes focusing on the life and work of crime fiction's grande dame and featuring Agatha Christie in her own words.

Dame Agatha Christie published 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections in her lifetime, but to the public she remained an enigmatic figure. This quartet of BBC radio programmes looks at the woman behind the books, and explores the career of one of Britain's most famous mystery writers.

Agatha Christie in Close-Up (1955) tells the story of the celebrated author, with contributions from Richard Attenborough, Allen Lane, Margaret Lockwood and Peter Saunders; while in The Mysterious Dame Agatha (1975), Cliff Michelmore presents an 85th birthday tribute with Peter Saunders, Nigel Stock and Julian Symons. Women of Mystery: Queen of Crime (1982) sees Jessica Mann investigating women crime writers and Christie in particular; and in Agatha Christie: Speaking Her Own Words (2015), we hear specially selected excerpts from the initial, dictated version of Christie's autobiography. Recorded in 1965, these unedited personal tapes were discovered by her grandson Matthew Prichard, who introduces the programme.

Featuring the voices of fellow writers, friends, family and the Queen of Crime herself, this wide-ranging collection sheds new light on the bestselling novelist of all time. Duration: 2 hours approx.

Ratings and reviews

Very helpful and informative.

About the author

Famous for more than sixty film performances, beginning in wartime with In Which We Serve and continuing with such classics as Brighton Rock, The Angry Silence, 10 Rillington Place, The Great Escape, Miracle on 34th Street and Spielberg's Jurassic Park, Richard Attenborough has always fought tenaciously for the survival of British cinema. As a producer/director he has also been the driving force behind Gandhi, Oh! What a Lovely War, A Bridge Too Far, Cry Freedom and Shadowlands. He was knighted in 1976, appointed a Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF in 1987 and became a life peer in 1993. He has chaired numerous professional organisations including Channel 4 Television and the British Film Institute and, over the years, has worked tirelessly for a wide range charities.Diana Hawkins, formerly a broadcaster and latterly a film producer, wrote the storyline for Chaplin and, as Diana Carter, three novels and a children's book. She is currently an executive director of Dragon International Studios, a company chaired by Richard Attenborough, which is building a new film making facility in South Wales.