The Thirteenth Book of 2026: Agatha Christie, An Elusive Woman, by Lucy Worsley

Read May 5 - 11, 2026

I rarely read biographies, but I’ve become a huge fan of Lucy Worsley over the last couple of years and enjoyed her TV series associated with this book. Thanks to her, I’ve started reading Christie.

Lucy is an engaging author, even as she is an engaging TV presenter. Her voice comes through clearly, offering a personal or scholarly opinion or observation on her subject, but this makes reading Agatha’s biography all the more enjoyable. I actually cried a little toward at Agatha’s death.

I paid little attention to Agatha until I watched Worsley’s TV series about her, Agatha Christie: Lucy Worsley on the Mystery Queen and discussing that series with a friend. Watching Lucy is much different than reading Lucy. When reading it’s easier to stop and think about things. The biography in many ways is very formal…lots of citations, pitting different sources against each other, etc. It doesn’t have Lucy’s tone of voice, the way she looks at the camera when she’s about to reveal something juicy or surprising, but it’s still full of Lucy’s speculation and empathy, and her understanding of how Agatha was an important link between the late Victorian/WWI era and the sixties and seventies.

Since watching the series, and then watching most of the Masterpiece TV series Poirot, I’ve read a few of Christie’s books, and will no doubt be reading more.