Agatha Christie

by Laura Thompson

  Macartney, Robin (‘Mac’) 315

  McBean, Angus 362

  McDowell, Superintendent 215, 238

  McLeod, Peggy 369

  McLeod, Peter 369

  MacPherson, Mrs (housekeeper) 424–5

  Mallowan, Agatha see Christie

  Mallowan, Barbara (second wife of Max) see Parker

  Mallowan, Cecil (brother of Max) 289, 319

  Mallowan, Frederick (father of Max) 289

  Mallowan, John (nephew of Max) 257, 288, 414, 427, 436, 445, 448, 465

  Mallowan, Marguerite (née Duvivier, mother of Max) 289, 326–7

  Mallowan, Max: background 289–91; meets AC 284–5; companion to AC 287–8, 291; Ur excavation 284–5; assistant to Woolley 291, 298, 299; and Katherine Woolley 285, 287, 291, 296; character 288–9; appearance 288; health 284, 464; relationship with AC 288, 293–8, 327, 413–14; relationship with mother 289; relationship with Esme Howard 290; religion 290–91; proposes to AC 292, 293; engagement to AC 293–8; wedding to AC 295; and AC’s food poisoning 298–9; Nineveh excavation 301–2; Arpachiyah excavation 304; war service 319–20; wartime correspondence with AC 309–10, 319–31, 334–5, 340–41, 343–5, 349–51; knighthood 312; excavations in Syria 313–16; and AC’s writing 323–5; and AC’s friendship with Stephen Glanville 331, 334; and stepdaughter Rosalind 337–8, 341–3, 416; Nimrud excavation 414–15, 417–20, 442, 445–8; career 415–16; alleged affairs with students 448–9; relationships with other women 449–50, 451–2; relationship with Barbara Parker 443–4, 446–8, 450–51, 454–6; in AC’s last days 483; marriage to Barbara 453; death 453–4, 464

  Mallowan, Max (grandfather of Max) 289

  Mallowan, Peter (nephew of Max) 427

  Mallowan, Philip (brother of Max) 289

  Man in the Brown Suit, The (Christie) 125, 129, 131, 132–4, 135–6, 150, 155, 160

  ‘Man From The Sea, The’ (Christie) 55–6, 404–5

  Marcel, Gabriel 401

  Marcelle (governess) 165

  Maritain, Jacques 401

  Marple, Miss Jane (fictional character) 278, 281–4, 316, 406–7, 430

  Marsh, Ngaio 374

  Maxwell-Hyslop, Rachel 416, 417, 444–5, 447, 452–3

  Mesopotamia see Iraq Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) 430–33, 438–9

  Miller, Agatha see Christie

  Miller, Clarissa (née Boehmer, Clara, mother of AC) 31, 155; early life 9–11; character 18; appearance 8, 13; marriage 12–14, 35; relationship with own mother 10–11; relationsliip with AC 8–9, 11–12, 28, 35–6, 57, 58–9, 139–40, 162–3; and AC’s education 18–19; and Ashfield 16, 39–41, 128; writing 13, 15; mementoes 28–32, 170–72; husband’s death 33, 35, 36–7, 40; marginalised after husband’s death 58; relationship with aunt Margaret 37; relationship with daughter Madge 45, 5007 ; finances 40, 58, 81, 4977 ; opposition to AC’s marriage to Archie 81–2, 89–90; and AC’s other marriage proposals 75, 76, 77, 79; advises AC on marriage 121; relationship with Archie Christie 140–41, 162–3; relationship with granddaughter Rosalind 163; deteriorating health 166–8; death 168; in AC’s writing see Unfinished Portrait

  Milier, Frederick (father of AC) 8, 12–18; character 14–16; appearance 14; marriage 12–14, 35; writing 15–16, 386; financial problems 16–17, 33–5; in Torquay 16–18; letter to AC 29–30; Album of Confessions entry 31,.35; death 33, 35

  Miller, Louis Montant (Monty, brother of AC) 18, 49–56, 131, 162; birth 8, 16; character 49, 50, 51–4; military career 49, 50; Album of Confessions entry 51; writing 54–5; death 50, 284

  Miller, Margaret (Madge, sister of AC) see Watts

  Miller, Margaret (née West, great-aunt of AC) 31, 81, 95, 171; and Clara 10, 11, 36–7; marriage 10, 12; influence on AC 24–5; death 128, 497,

  Miller, Nathaniel Frary (grandfather of AC) 10, 12, 16, 39, 464

  Mirror Crack’d from Side to Side, Tlse (Christie) 11, 279, 384, 430, 461–2, 463

  Mitchell-Hedges, Mr (explorer) 241, 255

  Montant, Auguste 39

  Morris, Eileen 85–6, 102–3

  Mostel, Zero 431

  Mountbatten, Lord Louis 155 , 476, 49431

  Mousetrap, The (Christie) 11, 360,427, 459, 482–3

  Moving Finger, The (Christie) 18, 123, 278, 280, 323, 344, 348, 378, 401

  Mrs. McGinty’s Dead (Christie) 11–12, 14, 363*, 371, 380; film (Murder Most Foul) 431

  Murder Ahoy! (film) 431, 432

  Murder at the Gallop (film) 430–31

  Murder at the Vicarage, The (Christie) 278, 281, 324, 377; play 357; television 406–7

  murder cases (real-life) 266–7, 279–80, 356, 377–81

  Murder in Mesopotamia (Christie) 286–7

  Murder is Announced, A (Christie) 151, 278, 279, 356, 370

  Murder is Easy (Christie) 278, 280–81, 317

  Murder Most Foul (film) 431

  Murder of Roger Ackroyd, The (Christie) 44, 155–7, 160; play (Alibi) 277

  Murder on the Links (Christie) 130, 152

  Murder on the Orient Express (Christie) 303 , 391, 5 1 46 ; film 476, 482

  Murder, She Said (film) 430

  Mysterious Affair at Styles, The (Christie) 40, 102–8, 111–12, 119–20, 128

  Mysterious Mr. Quin, The (Christie) 55, 153, 404

  Mystery of the Blue Train, The (Christie) 129, 165, 269–71, 277

  N or M? (Christie) 344

  Neele, Nancy (married name Christie) 174–8, 180–81, 184, 253–4; and AC’s disappearance 231, 243–4, 253; marriage to Archie 263, 264–5; death 264, 411–12

  Nemesis (Christie) 53, 85, 472–3, 485* New Statesman (magazine) 246–7

  New Zealand 131, 136, 138

  Newlands Comer 190–94, 224–5, 234, 248–50

  newspapers see press coverage Nimrud 414–15, 417–20, 442, 445–8

  Nimrud and Its Remains (Mallowan) 414–15

  Nineveh 301–2

  North, Dorothy 321, 338, 339

  North, Susan 339

  Nursie (nurse) 17, 21, 25, 26

  Oates, David 414

  Oates, Joan 481 ; on AC’s disappearance 257; on the Woolleys 285, 286, 298, 299; on AC in the East 299, 313–14, 315, 419–20, 421; on AC’s marriage to Max 324, 414; on AC’s hatred of publicity 421; on Barbara Parker 444, 446, 447–8

  Ober, Harold 346–8, 461, see also Harold Ober agency

  Olding, Dorodiy 461–2, 464–5, 476, 478

  Oliver, Ariadne (fictional character) 363

  One, Two, Buckle My Shoe (Christie) 151, 317, 389, 394, 402

  Orchard, Jeffrey 414

  Ordeal by Innocence (Christie) 11, 53, 125–6, 267, 372, 380

  Orient Express 272, 274, 293

  Orwell, George 377–8

  Pale Horse, The (Christie) 103, 278, 323, 372

  Parker, Barbara (married name Mallowan): background 444–5; appearance 445–6; relationship with AC 447; relationship with Max Mallowan 443–4, 446–8, 450–51, 454–6; marriage to Max 453

  Parker Pyne Investigates (Christie) 303, 363

  Parker Pyne, Mr (fictional character) 303

  Partners in Crime (Christie) 277, 278

  Passenger to Frankfurt (Christie) 3–4, 61, 462, 468–9, 472, 476

  Pemberton, Max 212

  Peril at End House (Christie) 124, 303

  Peter (dog) 169, 171–2, 183, 207, 308

  Pettelson, Alexander 205, 209, 214, 239–40, 252

  ‘Philomel Cottage’ (Christie) 161

  Philpottt, Eden 69, 87–8, 131, 155–6, 401, 49638

  Pirie, Wilfred 76–8

  plays 357–8, 359–60, 458–61, 473–4, see also individual plays

  ‘Plymouth Express, The’ (Christie) 269

  Pocket Full of Rye, A (Christie) 22, 157–8, 370, 372, 417, 461

  Poirot, Hercule (fictional character) 105–7, 282, 372, 374, 431, 480–81

  Poirot Investigates (Christie) 153, 49822 , 5023

  Poirot (television series) 49822

  Poirot’s Early Cases (Christie) 480, 49822


  politics 23, 151, 352–3

  Pollock, Hugo 112

  Pollock, Nan see Kon

  Postern of Fate (Christie) 7, 129, 477–9

  Power, Tyrone 358

  press coverage: AC’s disappearance 199, 201–1, 205, 207–9,212,213, 221–37; AC’s discovery in Harrogate 215–18; hostility to Christies after AC’s discovery 219–20, 237–45; poor reviews of AC’s plays 458–61, 473–4

  Prichard, Hubert 340–11, 349, 350

  Prichard, Mathew 340–41, 345, 427, 430, 435–6, 460, 465

  Prichard, Rosalind see Hicks ‘Progression’ (Christie) 114, 128*, 143*, 146*, 175

  Puttnam, David 50213

  ‘Racial Musings’ (Christie) 386, 388

  Randall, Tony 431

  Reade, Julian 444, 449

  Redgrave, Vanessa 50213

  Reinheimer, Howard E. 346

  Rendell, Ruth 375, 384

  Richards, Mr (reported sighting of AC) 226–7

  Rinehart (publishers) 51214

  Road of Dreams, The (Christie) 114, 152

  Rose and the Yew Tree, The (Westmacott) 7–8, 48, 101–2, 118–19, 144, 312, 352–5

  Rowe, Jane (cook) 21, 40

  Rowse, A. L. 258, 260, 265, 276, 277, 289, 302, 307, 309, 401, 433, 475

  Rudy (early romance of AC) 60

  Rule of Three (Christie) 460

  Rutherford, Margaret 430, 431

  Sabatini, Rafael 346

  Sad Cypress (Christie) 65*, 80*, 180–81, 210*, 266, 316–17, 51218

  St Mary Mead (fictional village) 278–9 ‘Sanctuary’ (Christie) 427

  Saunders, Sir Peter 357, 360, 460, 473, 482–3

  Sayers, Dorothy L. 234, 324, 373, 374, 375, 381, 38 7, 50647

  Scoop, The (play collaboration) 50647

  Scot (dog) 29

  Secret Adversary, The (Christie) 111, 127, 128–9, 130, 140, 160, 273; film 277

  Secret of Chimneys, The (Christie) 143–4, 145–6, 152; play 301

  Seven Dials Mystery, The (Christie) 277–8

  Shakespeare, William 321–3

  Shubert, Lee 357

  Sijé, Marie 34, 49217

  Sinclair, May 78

  Sittaford Mystery, The (Christie) 26, 78, 303

  Sketch magazine 130–31

  Sleeping Murder (Christie) 344, 519,20

  Smith, George Joseph 379, 498,21

  Smith, Mary 321, 401

  Smith, Sidney 280, 321, 330, 401, 416, 444

  Snow Upon the Desert (Miller) 67–71, 86

  Snowdon, Lord 475–6, 49637 South Africa 131, 132, 136, 137–8, 140

  Sparkling Cyanide (Christie) 349

  Sparrow, John 400-401

  Speaight, Robert 401

  Spider’s Web (Christie) 420

  Styles (house) 158, 164–5

  Suchet, David 50416

  Sullivan, Danae 349

  Sullivan, Francis ‘Larry’ 301, 344, 349, 357

  Sunday Chronicle (newspaper) 266–7

  Sunday Telegraph (newspaper) 460

  Sunningdale 154–5, 158, 163–4

  Surrey Advertiser (newspaper) 222, 224–5, 226, 242, 244–5, 254

  Sutherland, John 480

  Swannell, Jessie 119, 148

  Symons, Julian 383, 51333

  Syria 313–16

  Taken at the Flood (Christie) 52–3, 101–2, 323, 351–2, 370

  Tappin, Bob 236

  Taylor, Mr (Hydro manager) 238–9

  Taylor, Mrs (Hydro manageress) 198, 237

  Taylor, Mrs (Monty’s housekeeper) 50

  Tell Brak 313

  Ten Little Niggers (Christie) see And Then There Were None

  ‘There Where My Lover Lies’ (Christie) 256*

  They Came to Baghdad (Christie) 468

  They Do It with Mirrors (Christie) 43–4, 54, 323, 370, 427

  Third Girl (Christie) 85, 370, 372, 403–4, 466

  Thirteen for Luck (Christie) 463

  Thirteen Problems, The (Cliristie) 282, 283, 301

  Thompson, Edith 230, 378, 380–81

  Three Act Tragedy (Christie) 76

  Times, The (newspaper): AC’s advertisement 206, 251, 252; reports on AC’s disappearance 202, 204, 228, 234, 242–3

  Torquay 1–4, 16–18

  Towards Zero (Christie) 144–5, 344, 391–2, 405; play 349 ‘Traitor Hands’ (Christie) 357

  Treacle (dog) 431, 475, 51210

  Triangle at Rhodes (Christie) 67*, 69

  Tynan, Kathleen 257, 502I3

  Unexpected Guest, The (Christie) 458

  Unfinished Portrait (Westmacott) 37–8*, 134, 303–4; failure to engage with adult life 4–5, 118, 159–60; parents’ marriage 14; ‘Gun Man’ nightmare 32; family’s removal to France 34—5;

  Unfinished Portrait (cant’d) father’s death 34–5, 36–7; music and staging 61; relationship with Clara 8–9, 57, 58; absence of Madge character 46; other suitors and lovers 76, 78, 80, 292; attraction to Archie 88, 99; World War One 91–2, 95; Archie’s war service 91–2; happiness with Archie 110–11; Clara’s view of AC’s marriage to Archie 89, 115, 121, 163, 167; Archie during AC’s pregnancy 116–17; Rosalind 120–21, 158–9*, 268; deteriorating relationship with Archie 127, 153–4, 159, 178, 180*, 183; Clara’s determination to keep Ashfieid 128; Clara’s death 168; disappearance 257; divorce from Archie 262, 263; Max Mallowan 304

  Ur 275, 284–5

  Ustinov, Peter 50416

  Vance, Charles 257, 258

  Venne, Lottie 47–8

  Verdict (Christie) 360, 454–6

  ‘Vision’ (Christie) 499,

  Watts, Jack (son of Madge) 46, 295

  Watts, Sir James (father of James) 44

  Watts, James (husband of Madge) 43–5, 155, 162, 217, 263, 5007

  Watts, Margaret (née Miller, Madge) 167, 173, 301; birth 8, 16; education 18, 19; character 42–3, 45–8; writing 42, 43, 46–9, 161–2; relationship with AC 43, 45–6, 48, 102, 131, 161–2, 166; marriage to James 43–5; relationship with mother 45, 4977 ; Album of Confessions entry 46; and AC’s marriages 97, 295; and AC’s disappearance 217, 246, 255

  Watts, Nan (sister of James) see Kon Waugh, Evelyn 290

  West, Margaret see Miller West, Mary Ann (married name Boclimer) 9–11, 24, 31, 128

  Westmacott, Mary (pen-name) 366–7; works see individual headings Westminster Gazette (newspaper): AC’s disappearance 227, 233, 234, 235; after AC’s discovery 239, 240, 241, 244

  Wheeler, Mortimer 416

  White, Miss (‘Site’, nanny) 165

  Why Didn’t They Ask Evans? (Christie) 303, 50932

  ‘Why Jenkins Gave a Dinner’ (Miller) 15–16

  Wilder, Billy 358

  Wilson, Edmund 382

  Wilson, Henry 242

  Winterbrook House 309, 424, 453–4, 483

  ‘Witness for the Prosecution’ (Christie) 53; play 357–8; film 358, 427

  Wodehouse, P. G. 398

  women: influence on AC 23–6; role 26–7, 83–7

  Woods, Mrs (caretaker) 111, 116

  Woolley, Katherine (formerly Keeling) 285–6, 344; relationship with AC 276, 284, 285–6, 301; and Max Mallowan 285, 287, 291, 296; and AC’s marriage to Max Mallowan 296, 298, 299

  Woolley, Leonard 284, 285, 301, 344; excavations 275, 276, 287; and Max Mallowan 291, 298, 299

  World War One 91–102

  World War Two 316, 319–21, 343–4

  Wyndham, Francis 376, 382

  Yorke, Margaret 51757

  Yorkshire Post (newspaper) 215–16

  Young, Filson 379

  youth: AC’s attitude to 467–9, see also children

  Acknowledgements

  This book could not have written without the infinitely generous support of Mathew Prichard, Agatha’s grandson. He has given every possible assistance, and my gratitude is boundless. I also met Agatha’s daughter, Rosalind Hicks, on several occasions before she died. I talked to her and her husband, Anthony, at Greenway House; I shall always remember those meetings with great pleas
ure.

  I met Sue Dawson and Sheila Alexander on my subsequent visits to Greenway, and they could not have been kinder or more helpful.

  I was deeply appreciative of Janet Morgan’s willingness to talk to me. I had much enjoyed her biography when it was published, and frankly admit that it was a wonderful source book. I also loved our stimulating and thought-provoking chats. Henrietta McCall, the biographer of Max Mallowan, was extremely charming and generous towards me.

  Further thanks go to Mr and Mrs Archibald Christie; John Mallowan; Dr Joan Oates; the Reverend and Mrs Christopher Turner; Baroness James; Professor Harry Smith; Rachel Maxwell-Hyslop; Dr Julian Reade; Diana Gunn; Julia Camoys Stonor; Anne Sykes; Diana Howland; Lady Saunders; Brian Stone; Charles Vance; John Curran; Tony Medawar; Margaret Moore; John Neate; the owners of Winterbrook House, who took the time to show me round their home and garden; Tessa Milne and her colleagues in the Books and Manuscripts department at Sotheby’s, who most kindly accommodated me while I read much of Agatha’s correspondence; Dr Jessica Gardner at Exeter University, always so friendly and helpful; the Bodleian Library, which tracked down the relevant Bradshaw Railway Guides; Meg Rich at Princeton University; Els Boonen at the BBC Written Archives Centre at Caversham; Jonathan Harrison at St John’s College, Cambridge; Bridget Gillies at UEA; the Public Records Office at Kew; the Newspaper Library; the London Library; the Surrey History Centre; the Surrey Constabulary; Torquay Library; and the writer Margaret Yorke, who was a wonderful friend to this book.

  Finally I thank Val Hudson and Jo Roberts-Miller at Headline; David Godwin; my friend Dena Arstall, with whom I had some terrific talks about Agatha; my mother, as always; and my late father, who loved Agatha Christie, and who would have enjoyed this book.

  AGATHA CHRISTIE

  Pegasus Books, Ltd.

  148 West 37th Street, 13th Floor

  New York, NY 10018

  Copyright © 2018 by Laura Thompson

  First Pegasus Books hardcover edition March 2018

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in whole or in part without

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