Masterpieces of Mystery and the Unknown


Book Description

Agatha Christie is the world's most popular fiction writer; her works have been outsold only by the Bible and Shakespeare. Best remembered for her classic crime novels such as Murder on the Orient Express and And Then There Were None, her works have been cherished by generations of readers. Christie, however, was also a master of the short story and this volume collects some of her finest short pieces. With such masterpieces as 'Witness for the Prosecution' (the basis for the classic film) and 'Three Blind Mice' (the basis for her Mousetrap, the longest-running play in history), as well as some of her lesser known works, including all of her supernatural suspense tales, this collection of twenty-eight ingenious tales displays Agatha Christie's full range as an author.




The Mystery of the Spanish Shawl


Book Description

A classic Agatha Christie short story from the collection The Witness for the Prosecution and Other Stories. Mystery writer Anthony Eastwood is lured to the crime scene of a faked murder, where two individuals masquerading as police officers arrest him and charge him for murder. As the phony police officers escort Mr. Eastwood home, the true goal of the masquerade becomes apparent.










The Complete Christie


Book Description

Painstakingly researched, this illustrated reference captures the spirited imagination of Dame Agatha and the intriguing atmosphere of her tales. Includes a comprehensive Christie biography, cross-referenced with plot synopses and character listings. Photos throughout.




The Listerdale Mystery


Book Description

A bankrupt upper-class family rents a wonderful mansion for a ridiculously low price. The house belongs to Lord Listerdale, who has supposedly gone on a trip but no one knows where. Rupert, the son of Mrs. San Vicente, the tenant, believes that the man is dead and that his body is hidden somewhere in the house. A series of coincidences will help the young man discover the mystery behind the former owner.




The Shawl


Book Description

From the winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award comes a story about the Holocaust that "burns itself into the reader's imagination with almost surreal powers" (The New York Times). "Read this great little book of Cynthia Ozick's: It contains dazzling staggering pages filled with sadness and truth." —Elie Wiesel, Chicago Tribune A devastating vision of the Holocaust and the unfillable emptiness it left in the lives of those who passed through it.




Agatha Christie


Book Description

The undisputed "Queen of Crime," Dame Agatha Christie (1890-1976) is the bestselling novelist of all time. As the creator of immortal detectives Hercule Poirot and Jane Marple, she continues to enthrall readers around the world and is drawing increasing attention from scholars, historians, and critics. But Christie wrote far beyond Poirot and Marple. A varied life including war work, archaeology, and two very different marriages provided the backdrop to a diverse body of work. This encyclopedic companion summarizes and explores Christie's entire literary output, including the detective fiction, plays, radio dramas, adaptations, and her little-studied non-crime writing. It details all published works and key themes and characters, as well as the people and places that inspired them, and identifies a trove of uncollected interviews, articles, and unpublished material, including details that have never appeared in print. For the casual reader looking for background information on their favorite mystery to the dedicated scholar tracking down elusive new angles, this companion will provide the most comprehensive and up-to-date information.




Understanding Agatha Christie


Book Description

Explores seven startling paradoxes behind the bestselling novelist's lasting popularity Agatha Christie stands as the bestselling novelist of all time and, in terms of total sales in all genres, places only behind the Christian Bible and Shakespeare. Since the publication of The Mysterious Affair at Styles in 1920, Christie's fiction has withstood the envy of her peers and the snipes of critics, while garnering the admiration of countless readers. From her puzzling persona (notably in her eleven-day disappearance in 1926) and status as "Queen of the Cozies" to her tragicomic themes and critiques of Englishness, Christie built a lasting literary legacy that perplexes and pleases her hordes of readers. In Understanding Agatha Christie, Tison Pugh takes a fresh look at the contemporary world's most popular author, investigating seven notable paradoxes behind her lasting success, thereby illuminating the literary innovations that have contributed to her uncannily timeless appeal.




The Agatha Christie Companion


Book Description

Russell H. Fitzgibbon presents a short history of Dame Agatha's life, criticism of her works, and a summary of how critics and reviewers view her work. Includes a bibliography of all the works of Christie published in either Great Britain or the United States, classified according to the detectives involved; an alphabetical list of Christie detective and mystery book and short-story titles; a short-story finder for Christie collections; and an index of all but the least important of the thousands of characters introduced by the author in the detective and mystery short stories and novels.