AuthorAgatha Christie
NarratorRichard Attenborough
Duration1h 46m
CategoriesAdult Non-Fiction, Biography and Autobiography
PublisherBBC Audio
VersionUnabridged
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.
Author: Agatha Christie
Author Agatha Christie
Narrator Hugh Fraser
Duration 7h 15m
Tommy and Tuppence Beresford have just become the proud owners of an old house in an English village. Along with the property, they have inherited some worthless bric-a-brac, including a collection of antique books. While rustling through a copy of The Black Arrow, Tuppence comes upon a series of apparently random underlinings. However, when she wr...
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Author: Agatha Christie
Author Agatha Christie
Narrator Hugh Fraser
Duration 6h 45m
Late one night, two teachers investigate a mysterious flashing light in the sports pavilion, while the rest of the school sleeps. There, among the lacrosse sticks, they stumble upon the body of the unpopular games mistress, shot through the heart from point blank range. The school is thrown into chaos when the "cat" strikes again. Unfortunately, sc...
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Author: Agatha Christie
Author Agatha Christie
Narrator Joan Hickson
Duration 6h 20m
A handful of grain is found in the pocket of a murdered businessman.Rex Fortescue, king of a financial empire, was sipping tea in his 'counting house' when he suffered an agonising and sudden death. On later inspection, the pockets of the deceased were found to contain traces of cereals. Yet, it was the incident in the parlour which confirmed Jane...
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Author: Agatha Christie
Author Agatha Christie
Narrator David Suchet
Duration 7h 15m
The tranquillity of a cruise along the Nile was shattered by the discovery that Linnet Ridgeway had been shot through the head. She was young, stylish, and beautiful. A girl who had everything...until she lost her life. Hercule Poirot recalled an earlier outburst by a fellow passenger: "I'd like to put my dear little pistol against her head and jus...
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Author: Agatha Christie
Author Agatha Christie
Narrator Emilia Fox
Duration 9h 3m
In utter disbelief, Miss Marple read the letter addressed to her from the recently deceased Mr Rafiel, an acquaintance she had met briefly on her travels. Recognising in Miss Marple a natural flair for justice, Mr Rafiel had left instructions for her to investigate a crime after his death. The only problem was, he had failed to tell her who was inv...
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Author: Agatha Christie
Author Agatha Christie
Narrator Kenneth Branagh
Duration 6h 14m
Just after midnight, a snowdrift stopped the Orient Express in its tracks. The luxurious train was surprisingly full for the time of the year. But by the morning there was one passenger fewer. An American lay dead in his compartment, stabbed a dozen times, his door locked from the inside.
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Author: Agatha Christie
Author Agatha Christie
Narrator Emilia Fox
Duration 6h 39m
As Jane Marple sat basking in the Caribbean sunshine, she felt mildly discontented with life. True, the warmth eased her rheumatism, but here in paradise, nothing ever happened. Eventually, her interest was aroused by an old soldier's yarn about a strange coincidence. Infuriatingly, just as he was about to show her an astonishing photograph, the Ma...
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Author: Agatha Christie
Author Agatha Christie
Narrator Richard E. Grant
Duration 8h 13m
"Anyone who murdered Colonel Protheroe," declared the parson, brandishing a carving knife above a joint of roast beef, "would be doing the world at large a service!" It was a careless remark for a man of the cloth. And one which was to come back and haunt the clergyman just a few hours later. From seven potential murderers, Miss Marple must seek ou...
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Author: Agatha Christie
Author Agatha Christie
Narrator Joan Hickson
Duration 7h 8m
For an instant the two trains ran together, side by side. In that frozen moment, Elspeth witnessed a murder. Helplessly, she stared out of her carriage window as a man remorselessly tightened his grip around a woman's throat. The body crumpled. Then the other train drew away. But who, apart from Miss Marple, would take her story seriously? After al...
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Author: Agatha Christie
Author Agatha Christie
Narrator Dan Stevens
Duration 6h 3m
Ten strangers, apparently with little in common, are lured to an island mansion off the coast of Devon by the mysterious U.N.Owen. Over dinner, a record begins to play, and the voice of an unseen host accuses each person of hiding a guilty secret. That evening, former reckless driver Tony Marston is found murdered by a deadly dose of cyanide. The t...
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