THE CHRISTIE AFFAIR
BY: NINA DE GRAMONT
About a 4.5 stars.
This was a book that I was so excited to read because I love books about famous Author's. This wasn't in the book but, I am adding it because it was a fact that I didn't know until recently; It is that Agatha Christie has sold more books than any other Author. Back to this book. Agatha Christie and Archie Christie both share the same initials and called each other A.C. It is based on the eleven day disappearance of Agatha Christie in December of 1926. Agatha is just in the midst of grieving her mother's death when her husband Archie tells her he wants a divorce.
When I first started this I thought that this was going to be a Five star read. It drew me in right away and the writing is engaging. What was disappointing was that most of the book is about Archie's mistress the fictional one called Nan O'Dea. I understood why the author chose to do what she did by the end of the book. I have to be honest though, I was hoping it was going to be more about the Christie's and less about his mistress's back story. It was disappointing because I didn't really seem interested in the mistress's back story. I did give this 4.5 stars, but it was more like a four star reading experience for most of it--but it is worthy of 4.5 after finishing it. It is entertaining when Agatha is involved in the various scenes and that was in the very beginning and towards the last section. In all fairness to Nina de Gramont I can't blame her for choosing to have more Nan than Agatha. It is an excellent book and I am so grateful to have read it. It is my fault for expecting something and assuming it was more Agatha oriented. Any way maybe I can say that Agatha did turn out to be more successful based on her book sales being as being the most sold. Maybe I have issues with cheating or a woman stealing someone else's husband. But most likely if there is a mistress it isn't just her fault. The husband should be held more accountable for lying and sneaking because we all know that they all have the same story to excuse what they do if they do it. So it definitely wasn't all Nan's fault why I was less engaged. I just didn't find her life as interesting. But it was overall a great reading experience when I reflect on all of the book as a whole rather than what I was hoping it would be. I usually enjoy a book the less I know about it. So I take full responsibility for my rating.
I might have liked it more if the mistress's back story was more interesting, but for me it just wasn't. I realize that this is historical fiction, but I like to learn things when I read it. Agatha seemed like such a nice person and it is so unfortunate that she had that done to her and I mean a husband whom you love cheat on you while you are living together thinking you are in a happy marriage. In this narrative Agatha is only thirty-six and I suppose if the husband you love is going to cheat it is better to be young and still beautiful. In this story she is ten years older than Nan.
This isn't spoiler territory to reveal that Nan was present when Agatha announces to Archie with Nan in the room and she tells him to that there is a lunch planned with her new literary agent. Archie tells Agatha that he can't attend because he has a mountain of work to do. Agatha being the good person that she is and also polite invites Nan to go. Agatha says that they will make it a girls' luncheon. And off they go.
This was a very clever endeavor and if it wasn't I wouldn't have been so excited to read it. The last part of the book made me understand why it was formatted and plotted the way it was. I did enjoy it very much and recommend it to mystery lovers. There is a murder and Agatha isn't as well known during this time frame. It seemed that everybody was searching for her all over England. It was well written and I would be interested in reading whatever this Author chooses to write about next.
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From the Publisher
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| The Other Einstein | Carnegie’s Maid | The Only Woman in the Room | Lady Clementine | Her Hidden Genius | The Mitford Affair | |
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Reviews with images
Masterful writing on a well-documented mystery
And just when I thought I couldn't despise Archie Christie any more than I already did, I was delightfully proven wrong...Last year, I stumbled upon the infamy of Agatha Christie's 11-day disappearance and was so intrigued how a seemingly stable woman on the cusp of fame somehow disappeared, only to resurface later at a hotel under an alias, without knowledge of how she got there.This set my mind to entertaining wild theories on what happened to her, but I must say, this rendition by Benedict is the most plausible imagining I've ever run across.Mrs. Christie's interesting rise from young, impressionable girl with hearts in her eyes to famous madam of mystery is perfectly encapsulated within the interwoven (and at times) painful memories of the past with the suspenseful events of the current investigation into Mrs. Christie's disappearance. A legend is humanized and made real within the pages of this timeless account of how AC's climb to the top of literary success was not without struggle and heartache.I'm not a huge HF fan, but I could definitely see myself weaving more into my reading time if they are this interesting. My first book by Marie Benedict raised the bar for her books and HF high! What a masterful approach to storytelling <3KU readers: this was available in KU at the time of this review (how I obtained a copy). DEFINITELY worth a read if you like your historical fiction interwoven with scintillating scandal ;)
Top reviews from other countries
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