Agatha Christie: Lucy Worsley on the Mystery Queen

Lucy explores Agatha Christie's early life and the origins of her talent for murder mysteries, unearthing the inspiration for some of her greatest characters and the secrets that the enigmatic Christie kept carefully hidden from public view.

Lucy's investigation follows the trail of pivotal moments in Christie's life and the nation's experience to weave a picture of a woman who was both of her time, and thoroughly ahead of it. She explores how, far from being cosy whodunnits, Christie's early books tap into and capture the social upheavals of one of the most tumultuous periods of the 20th century.

Lucy Worsley investigates Agatha Christie's shocking disappearance in 1926, her subsequent discovery and memory loss, and reveals the profound influence this experience had on her writing.

Lucy delves into this traumatic, watershed moment in Agatha's life, visiting key locations from the chalk pit where Agatha crashed her car to Abney Hall, the grand house where she took refuge and which would go on to inspire several of her books. Lucy reveals connections between Agatha's real-life experiences and her novels and uncovers new evidence about Agatha's mental health and the cutting-edge psychiatric treatment she received.

Lucy Worsley examines Agatha Christie's later life, and discovers how, amid the turbulent social and political change of the 1930s and 40s, newfound personal happiness ushered in a golden age for her writing.

In 1930, recovering from a personal crisis, Agatha Christie fell in love with and married Max Mallowan. This relationship, and the security it brought, saw Agatha enter the most prolific and successful chapter of her career. This would be the period in which Agatha penned some of her most famous and enduring bestsellers, including Murder on the Orient Express.

Lucy follows in Agatha's footsteps to discover the roots of these works and explores how, in later life, Agatha achieved global celebrity – but remained very much the anonymous observer, hiding in plain sight.