A passionate and accomplished writer, Laura Thompson now turns her highly acclaimed biographical skills to Agatha Christie—arguably the greatest crime writer in the world. Thompson describes the Edwardian world in which Christie grew up; explores the relationships she had, including those with her two husbands and daughter; and investigates the mysteries still surrounding Christie's life—including her disappearance in 1926. For the first time, Christie’s six Mary Westmacott romance novels—written under a pseudonym and highly revelatory about her hidden inner life—are fully studied in a biography. Agatha Christie is a mystery and writing about her is a detection job in itself. But, with access to all of Christie's letters, papers, and writing notebooks, as well as interviews with her grandson, daughter, son-in-law, and their living relations, Thompson is able to unravel not only the detailed workings of Christies detective fiction, but the truth behind her private life as well.