Understanding Agatha Christie (Understanding Contemporary British Literature) - Hardcover

Pugh, Tison

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1643364405 ISBN 13: 9781643364407

Publisher: University of South Carolina Press, 2023

Synopsis

Explores seven startling paradoxes behind the bestselling novelist's lasting popularity

Agatha Christie stands as the bestselling novelist of all time and, in terms of total sales in all genres, places only behind the Christian Bible and Shakespeare. Since the publication of The Mysterious Affair at Styles in 1920, Christie's fiction has withstood the envy of her peers and the snipes of critics, while garnering the admiration of countless readers.

From her puzzling persona (notably in her eleven-day disappearance in 1926) and status as "Queen of the Cozies" to her tragicomic themes and critiques of Englishness, Christie built a lasting literary legacy that perplexes and pleases her hordes of readers. In Understanding Agatha Christie, Tison Pugh takes a fresh look at the contemporary world's most popular author, investigating seven notable paradoxes behind her lasting success, thereby illuminating the literary innovations that have contributed to her uncannily timeless appeal.

About this title

About the Author

Tison Pugh is author or editor of over twenty-five books, including The Queer Fantasies of the American Family Sitcom and Harry Potter and Beyond: On J. K. Rowling's Fantasies and Other Fictions. He is Pegasus Professor in the Department of English, University of Central Florida.

Edition details

• Publisher: University of South Carolina Press
• Publication date: 2023
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1643364405
• ISBN 13: 9781643364407
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 156