Agatha Christies life & career told through the decades from the never-before-published original ending to her first book to the unused ideas for her last complete with two unpublished Agatha Christie stories
- including a lost Miss Marple. In this follow-up volume to the acclaimed Agatha Christies Secret Notebooks Christie archivist & expert John Curran leads the reader through the six decades of Agatha Christies writing career unearthing some remarkable clues to her success & a number of never-before-published excerpts & stories from her archives. Starting his investigation in the 1920s John Curran examines the conventions of detective novels as they existed then & how Agatha Christies publisher talked her into changing the ending of her very first book The Mysterious Affair at Styles a move that almost certainly changed the fortunes of not only her career but the future of the whole crime writing genre. For the very first time this book prints Agathas original ending painstakingly transcribed from her notebooks. Every decade saw Agatha Christies success grow to new heights. The emergence of the world-famous Collins Crime Club in 1930 brought with it the very first Miss Marple mystery the austerity of the 1940s had Agatha Christie preparing to kill off Hercule Poirot & the 1950s saw her experiment increasingly with formats influenced by more modern thrillers. Focusing on the detail of more than 20 Christie novels to illustrate this John Curran shows the evolution of Agathas writing through the decades including the influence of the swinging sixties & seventies concluding the book with a look at Agathas last notebook using his Christie knowledge to speculate about what she had in mind based on her brief notes for an unwritten final book. Also

Includes:: a number of short stories from the archives reproduced in full including the unpublished The Man Who Knew How I Created Hercule Poirot & an early draft for a Miss Marple story The Case of the Caretakers Wife.


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A fascinating exploration of the contents of Agatha Christies 73 recently discovered notebooks including illustrations deleted extracts & two unpublished Poirot stories. When Agatha Christie died in 1976 aged 85 she had become the worlds most popular author. With sales of more than two billion copies worldwide she had achieved the impossible
- more than one book every year since the 1920s every one a bestseller. So prolific was her output it was even claimed that Agatha must have a photographic memory. Was this true? Or did she resort over those 55 years to more mundane methods of planning her ingenious crimes? Following the death of Agathas daughter Rosalind at the end of 2004 a remarkable legacy was revealed. Unearthed among her affairs at the family home of Greenway were Agatha Christies private notebooks 73 handwritten volumes which though known about for years had been largely ignored probably because Agathas unmistakable handwriting was so hard to read. But when archivist John Curran began deciphering the notebooks the extent of this treasure trove became apparent... This book lifts the lid on Agatha Christies biggest secret
- how her pencilled notes lists & drafts led to her many successful books plays & stories. Alternative plots titles & characters deleted scenes even her plans for the books she didnt get to write
- John Currans investigation reveals a wealth of unpublished material including two complete Hercule Poirot short stories never before published: The Incident of the Dogs Ball & the unseen thirteenth Labour of Hercules!


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With World War II at an end Charles Hayward is finally free to marry the woman he loves Sophia Leonides. However she refuses
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Hiya! What would you do if your smelly brother started getting emails from a mystery girl? Ha ha! OK I admit is was my fault. My friend Martha had got into trouble with her mum & I was helping out but things went a bit wrong especially when the mystery girl started sending James loads of LOVE & KISSES like this XXXXX. Woo-hoo! Agatha Parrot ...

Hiya! One night me & my friends had to look after some baby chickens but one of them disappeared. Eeek eeek panic panic
- where
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Agatha Raisin's detective agency has become so successful that she decides to take time off for rest & relaxation. But as soon as she does she remembers that when she does have time on her hands she doesn't know what to do with it. So it doesn't take much for the vicar of a nearby village to persuade her to help publicize the church fete
- especially when the event organizer George Selby turns out to be a handsome widower. Agatha brings out the crowds for the fete all right but there's more going on than innocent village fun. Several of the offerings in the jam-tasting booth turn out to be poisoned & the festive entertainment becomes the scene of two murders. Along with her young assistant Toni Agatha must lift the lid on the jam tampering see to the safety of the church funds & root out the nasty secrets lurking in the village. Quite a tall order while she is attempting to flirt with gorgeous George who probably has a few secrets of his own! Praise for The Agatha Raisin Series": 'M.C. Beaton's imperfect heroine is an absolute gem'
- " Publishers Weekly". ' Clever red herrings & some wicked unfinished business guarantees that the listener will pant for a sequel'
- " The Times Audio Review"."


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Yuletide over-indulgence on the poison front... During the dark grey days of early December Agatha is obsessed by two things
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Agatha Raisin has never been one for enforced holiday cheer but her friendly little village of Carsely has always prided itself on its traditional Christmas festivities. But this year the bells will not be ringing out Silent Night" as Mr. John Sunday an officer with the Cotswold Health & Safety Board has chosen Christmas as the time to crack down what he sees as gross misconduct by every man woman & child in the vicinity. The village shop is told it can no longer have wooden shelves which have been there since the time of Queen Victoria 'in case someone is inflicted with a splinter.' The village school is ordered to leave lights on at night 'to prevent unauthorized intruders from tripping in the dark.' & children are warned to not play with 'counterfeit banknotes' after passing around toy money in the playground. But finally Mr. Sunday goes too far when he rules that there cannot be a Christmas tree atop the church tower this year. Soon after the decree & just before Christmas Agatha is sipping a cup of tea & trying to stay awake as minute by minute of the Carsely Ladies Society meeting at the vicarage drones on when a sudden scream wakes her from her stupor. The ladies rush out of the building & into the garden to find Sunday lying face down in the petunias very much dead. Agatha is instantly on the case but with so many people having threatened the life of the victim it's almost impossible to know where to start! Praise for the Agatha Raisin series: 'M.C Beaton has created a national treasure... Agatha Raisin is the strongest link'
- Anne Robinson. 'M.C Beaton's imperfect heroine is an absolute gem'
- " Publishers Weekly." ' Clever red herrings & some wicked unfinished business guarantees that the listener will pant for a sequel'
- " The Times audiobook review." ' The Miss Marple-like Agatha is a refreshingly sensible wonderfully eccentric thoroughly likeable heroine'
- " Booklist.""



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He was a vicar to die for
- & he did! Agatha is going through a man-hating phase & so is unmoved by news of the captivating new
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Drowned brides are like buses: nothing for ages then two come along at the same time.. .! Abandoned by husband James Agatha hops on a plane to the South Pacific hoping to mend her broken heart. But there she meets a happy honeymooning couple for whom disaster strikes when tragically the bride drowns. Back home alarm bells start ringing for Agatha when a woman dressed in a wedding gown is swept down river. The police say suicide but Agatha spurred on by recent memories particularly her own disastrous marriage sets out to prove them wrong. Praise for the Agatha Raisin" series: ' Sharp witty hugely intelligent unfailingly entertaining delightfully intolerant & oh so magnificently non-PC M.C. Beaton has created a national treasure'
- Anne Robinson. 'M.C. Beaton's imperfect heroine is an absolute gem'
- " Publishers Weekly". ' The Miss Marple-like Raisin is a refreshing sensible wonderfully eccentric thoroughly likeable heroine'
- " Booklist". ' Once started you'll have a job to put it down until you've finished'
- Amazon reader Kent. ' Another wonderful tale about Agatha & her chums.. . Long live Aggie!'
- Bookworm Essex."




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