All language subtitles for Inside.the.Mind.of.Agatha.Christie.2019.WEBRip.x264-ION10

Viewers like you make
this program possible.

Support your local PBS station.

NARRATOR: AGATHA CHRISTIE IS

THE BEST-SELLING NOVELIST
OF ALL TIME.

THE QUEEN OF CRIME WROTE
66 MURDER MYSTERIES

AND DOZENS MORE PLAYS
AND SHORT STORIES.

WE ALL KNOW AGATHA,
DON'T WE?

WOMAN: THE NICE OLD LADY
HAVING TEA WITH THE VICAR,

ARSENIC IN THE CRUMPETS.

NARRATOR:
BUT DO WE REALLY KNOW

WHAT WAS GOING ON
INSIDE HER BRILLIANT MIND?

AGATHA ON TAPE:
YOU SIT DOWN TO START A BOOK

THAT HAS LIVED IN YOUR MIND.

ALL YOU HAVE TO DO
IS TO WRITE IT.

NARRATOR: TONIGHT, WE'LL DELVE
DEEPER INTO THE GENIUS

OF AGATHA CHRISTIE
THAN EVER BEFORE.

WE'LL HEAR FROM THE PEOPLE
WHO KNEW HER BEST...

MAN: SHE LISTENED
TO WHAT ANYBODY SAID,

WATCHED WHAT THEY DID,

AND THEN SHE MADE
HER OWN USE OF IT.

NARRATOR:
AND UNCOVER THE SECRETS

OF HER RARELY SEEN ARCHIVE...

MAN 2: I WENT TO A ROOM
IN WHICH THE ENTIRE HISTORY

OF AGATHA CHRISTIE'S
LITERARY CAREER WAS TO BE FOUND.

NARRATOR:
TO DISCOVER THE MOMENTS

THAT CHANGED
AGATHA'S PSYCHE FOREVER.

SHE WATCHES
THE CENTURY GROW UP

AND SHE DOESN'T WATCH IT
GET ANY BETTER.

NARRATOR:
THIS IS THE UNTOLD STORY

OF WHAT MADE
AGATHA CHRISTIE TICK.

WOMAN: SHE SAW BLOOD,
SHE SAW GORE,

SHE SAW DEATH, AND SHE
WASN'T AFRAID TO USE IT.

MAN 3: I THINK SHE HAD
THE MOST EXTRAORDINARY MIND.

[TYPEWRITER BELL DINGS]

[FILM PROJECTOR WHIRRING]

NARRATOR: AGATHA WAS BORN
IN TORQUAY IN DEVON

ON THE 15TH OF SEPTEMBER, 1890.

MAN: AGATHA CHRISTIE WAS
MY GREAT-GRANDMOTHER.

WE ALL REFERRED TO HER
AS "NIMA," WHICH WAS

MY FATHER'S ATTEMPT
AT "GRANDMA."

MAN: NIMA AND I WERE
CLOSER THAN SHE WAS

EVEN WITH MY MOTHER.

SHE WAS THE CEMENT
IN THE FAMILY.

I'VE ALWAYS TOLD EVERYBODY,
INCLUDING MY GRANDCHILDREN,

THAT NIMA WAS THE BEST LISTENER
I EVER MET IN MY LIFE.

SHE LISTENED TO WHAT
ANYBODY SAID,

SHE WATCHED WHAT THEY DID,

AND THEN SHE MADE
HER OWN USE OF IT.

NARRATOR: AGATHA WATCHED,

SHE LISTENED, AND SHE ALSO DID
SOMETHING REMARKABLE--

SHE RECORDED EVERYTHING.

NARRATOR: AGATHA'S FAMILY
HAVE GRANTED US ACCESS

TO THIS RARELY SEEN
TREASURE TROVE

OF MANUSCRIPTS, LETTERS,
AND DIARIES.

THEY ARE THE KEY

TO UNDERSTANDING EXACTLY
HOW HER MIND WORKED.

HIDDEN WITHIN ARE 73 OF AGATHA'S
RARELY SEEN NOTEBOOKS.

FOR DECADES, THE SIGNIFICANCE
OF THE NOTEBOOKS

REMAINED AN ENIGMA.

DR. JOHN CURRAN: I WENT TO A
ROOM IN WHICH THE ENTIRE HISTORY

OF AGATHA CHRISTIE'S
LITERARY CAREER WAS TO BE FOUND.

NARRATOR: BUT NOW,
THEY'VE BEEN DECODED

BY DR. JOHN CURRAN.

CURRAN: THE HAPHAZARDNESS
IS THE CLUE

TO AGATHA CHRISTIE'S
PHENOMENAL SUCCESS.

NARRATOR: THESE SCRIBBLINGS
MAY LOOK INDECIPHERABLE,

BUT TO JOHN, THE PRIVILEGE
OF GETTING HANDS-ON

WITH THE NOTEBOOKS HAS GIVEN HIM
A TANTALIZING WINDOW

INTO AGATHA'S MIND.

HER BRAIN TEEMED WITH IDEAS.

ESSENTIALLY, HER NOTEBOOKS
WERE HER SOUNDING BOARD.

THAT'S WHERE SHE
BRAINSTORMED ON PAPER.

NARRATOR: NEXT TO
SHOPPING LISTS AND TRAIN TIMES

IS A FASCINATING DISCOVERY--

THE SECRET WAY AGATHA
CONSTRUCTED HER PLOTS.

CURRAN: WELL, ONE METHOD
THAT SHE DID USE FREQUENTLY

WAS THIS IDEA
OF ALLOCATING LETTERS

TO SHORT SCENES AND THEN
RE-ORDERING THOSE LETTERS.

GOOD EXAMPLE OF THIS
IS THE BOOK "TOWARDS ZERO."

SHE'S ALLOCATED A-B-C-D-E-F-G

UP AS FAR AS "H"

TO A SERIES OF LITTLE SCENES.

THEN SHE GOES BACK
AND DOES A-D-C-B,

AND THEN, AFTER "B," SHE HAD
WRITTEN G-H,

AND SHE SCRATCHED THEM OUT
AND WROTE G-H

AT THE VERY BEGINNING
OF ALL THIS, SO SHE'S

COMPLETELY JUMBLED UP
THE ALPHABETICAL SEQUENCE

TILL SHE GOT TO THE PLOT THAT
SHE EVENTUALLY WAS HAPPY WITH.

NARRATOR: OVER THE YEARS,
AGATHA STORED

THE WORKINGS OF HER MIND
WITH ENCYCLOPEDIC PRECISION.

BUT TO TRULY UNDERSTAND
HOW THIS INSPIRED HER WRITING,

WE NEED TO RETURN
TO HER EARLY YEARS.

[TYPEWRITER BELL DINGS]

AGATHA ON TAPE: PEOPLE OFTEN ASK
ME WHAT MADE ME TAKE UP WRITING.

YOU SEE, I PUT IT ALL
DOWN TO THE FACT

THAT I NEVER HAD ANY EDUCATION.

MATHEW: SHE COULD ONLY
EDUCATE HERSELF,

AND THAT LEFT FAR MORE ROOM
FOR THE IMAGINATION.

JAMES: SHE HAD A LOT
OF TIME ON HER OWN,

INVENTING STORIES,
INVENTING GAMES.

CURRAN: SHE WASN'T TAUGHT
HOW TO THINK,

SO SHE THOUGHT DIFFERENTLY, SHE
THOUGHT IN A VERY LATERAL WAY.

AGATHA ON TAPE:
I FOUND MYSELF MAKING UP STORIES

AND ACTING THE DIFFERENT PARTS,

AND THERE'S NOTHING
LIKE BOREDOM TO MAKE YOU WRITE.

NARRATOR: AGATHA'S
IMAGINATION WAS SHAPED

BY HER UNCONVENTIONAL FAMILY.

SHE KIND OF GREW UP
IN A MATRIARCHY, I WOULD SAY.

HER FATHER, HE JUST WENT
AROUND BEING LOVELY,

AND HER BROTHER, HE ENDED UP
SORT OF TAKING DRUGS

AND HE ACTUALLY DIED
QUITE YOUNG,

SO THE FORCE OF THE FAMILY
WAS IN THE WOMEN:

THE MOTHER,

THE CLEVER SISTER,
AND THE GRANDMOTHERS,

BOTH OF WHOM KIND OF APPEAR
IN "MISS MARPLE," I WOULD SAY.

THAT INNATE WISDOM REALLY
PERMEATES THE DETECTIVE FICTION.

NARRATOR: AGATHA CHANNELED WHAT
SHE LEARNT ABOUT FEMALE

INTUITION INTO ONE OF
HER MOST ICONIC CHARACTERS,

MISS MARPLE.

IT WAS THEIR TREATMENT
OF THE NOTE

BY THE BODY
THAT SURPRISED ME.

THE HANDWRITING EXPERT
SEEMED TO KNOW HIS ONIONS.

OH, YES, IT WAS
OBVIOUSLY A FORGERY,

BUT WE DIDN'T NEED
AN EXPERT TO TELL US THAT.

[TRAIN WHISTLE BLOWS]

NARRATOR: AGATHA'S CHILDHOOD
MAY HAVE BEEN LONELY,

BUT SHE GREW UP
IN A CHOCOLATE-BOX WORLD

THAT WOULD LATER BECOME THE
BACKDROP TO MANY OF HER NOVELS.

THIS SETTING MAY EXPLAIN
WHY PEOPLE SOMETIMES DISMISS

AGATHA'S WRITING
AS SO-CALLED "COZY CRIME."

THE TRUTH IS THEY HAVE
MISUNDERSTOOD

WHAT REALLY MADE HER TICK.

WOMAN: I THINK THERE IS A HUGE
AMOUNT OF INTELLECTUAL SNOBBERY

ABOUT POPULIST LITERATURE.

IT'S THE KIND OF BELIEF
THAT THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO WAY

ON GOD'S GREEN EARTH THAT THERE
COULD BE ANYTHING CONTAINED

WITHIN IT OTHER THAN
SILLY FROTH.

IT WAS THE POKER IN THE LIBRARY

AND THERE'S A BODY ON THE FLOOR,
AND SOMEBODY DISCOVERS IT

AFTER THEY'VE BEEN
PLAYING LAWN TENNIS,

BUT IT DOESN'T REALLY MATTER;
SOMEBODY COMES IN

AND SORTS IT OUT
AND EVERYONE HAS A SANDWICH,

AND IT'S ENDLESSLY,
WILDLY POPULAR.

NARRATOR: BUT THERE IS
A DARKER AND MORE

INTRICATE SIDE
TO AGATHA'S WRITING.

JAMES: I DON'T THINK THERE IS
ANYTHING "COZY" ABOUT HER WORKS.

PHELPS: SHE'S INFINITELY
MORE COMPLEX THAN THAT.

SHE'S INFINITELY MORE SUBTLE,
AND SHE IS INFINITELY

MORE OF A TRICKSY BITCH.

IT'S JUST "ARE YOU PAYING
ATTENTION TO HER?"

IF YOU'RE NOT, THAT'S FINE.
READ IT AND HAVE FUN,

AND THEN SEND IT BACK TO
THE LENDING LIBRARY.

IF YOU'RE PAYING ATTENTION,
YOU GET A WHOLE LOT MORE.

LITTLE DETAILS. WHAT'S THAT
LITTLE DETAIL OVER THERE?

PAY ATTENTION TO THAT
AND THINK ABOUT IT,

AND THE WHOLE BOOK SKEWS
ON DETAILS AND CLUES.

NARRATOR: SARAH PHELPS HAS
ADAPTED 5 OF AGATHA'S WORKS.

PORTER: NEED TICKETS, PLEASE.
NEED TICKETS.

NARRATOR:
IN "THE ABC MURDERS,"

LITTLE DETAILS
AND CLUES DRIVE

AGATHA'S SOPHISTICATED PLOT.

JAMES: "THE ABC MURDERS" IS
ACTUALLY AN EXTRAORDINARY STORY.

IT'S ONE OF THE FEW BOOKS,
ACTUALLY, WHERE TO SOME EXTENT,

THE POTENTIAL MURDERER
IS LIMITLESS.

NARRATOR: A SERIAL KILLER
IS ON THE LOOSE.

THE MOOD IS DISTURBING

AND THE MURDERS BRUTAL.

IT'S NOT THE TRADITIONAL KIND
OF LOCKED-ROOM MYSTERY

OR COUNTRY-HOUSE MURDER,
WHERE, YOU KNOW,

THERE IS A LIMITED GROUP
OF SUSPECTS.

[DOG WHINES]

[CLANG]

VERY DEFINITELY NOT COZY.

NARRATOR: NEXT,

AGATHA'S IMAGINATION
GETS DARKER.

WOMAN: SHE SAW BLOOD,
SHE SAW GORE,

SHE SAW DEATH, AND SHE WASN'T
AFRAID TO USE IT.

NARRATOR: AND HER LIFE HAS
ITS OWN PLOT TWIST.

THOMPSON: WITHOUT
THE DISAPPEARANCE, WOULD SHE

HAVE BECOME THE AGATHA CHRISTIE
THAT WE NOW HAVE?

[TYPEWRITER BELL DINGS]

NARRATOR: IN 1914,

AS BRITAIN'S TROOPS
MARCHED INTO BATTLE...

AGATHA CHRISTIE TOOK
HER FIRST STEPS INTO ADULT LIFE.

MATHEW: IT'S A VERY
POIGNANT PICTURE FOR ME

BECAUSE, OF COURSE,
I NEVER KNEW NIMA

IN THOSE YOUNGER DAYS,

AND I THINK
IT DISPLAYS A PERSON

WHO PERHAPS HAD A DEGREE
MORE INNOCENCE

AND JOIE DE VIVRE AT A VERY
IMPORTANT STAGE OF HER LIFE.

PHELPS: WHAT IS
FASCINATING TO ME IS

HOW HER VIEW OF THE WORLD IS
SHAPED BY THE FIRST WORLD WAR.

[TYPEWRITER BELL DINGS]

NARRATOR: THE FIRST WORLD WAR
WAS AN OPPORTUNITY

FOR AGATHA TO EXPLORE
THE POWER OF MEDICINE.

IN OCTOBER 1914,

SHE VOLUNTEERED TO BE A NURSE
AT HER LOCAL HOSPITAL

IN TORQUAY.

PHELPS: SHE IS WATCHING
MEDICINE CHANGE

SO RADICALLY AND SO FAST.

WE START THE FIRST WORLD WAR

AND WITH HAVING
NO REAL IDEA AT ALL

ABOUT WHAT HEAVY ARTILLERY
IS GOING TO DO TO

THE HUMAN BODY AND ALSO
TO THE HUMAN MIND.

NARRATOR: BY EXPOSING HERSELF
TO THE DARK REALITY OF WARFARE,

AGATHA BUILT A MIND BANK
OF CHILLING EXPERIENCES.

IN 1917,

SHE QUALIFIED
AS A DISPENSER,

AND HER MIND TURNED TO

THE POSSIBILITIES OF POISON.

PHELPS: I ALWAYS IMAGINE
THAT EVERYTHING

FOR HER IS A GRAIN.

IN A GRAIN OF MORPHINE,
WHICH IS THE DIFFERENCE

BETWEEN PAIN RELIEF AND DEATH,
AND BALANCING EVERYTHING

ON THOSE TINY, TINY SCALES,

ONE GRAIN THIS WAY

IS PAIN RELIEF
AND POSSIBLE LIFE;

ONE GRAIN TOO FAR IS DEATH.

NARRATOR: CARLA VALENTINE
IS INVESTIGATING

HOW AGATHA CONCOCTED
HER DARK METHODS OF MURDER.

SHE SAW BLOOD,
SHE SAW GORE,

SHE SAW DEATH, AND SHE WASN'T
AFRAID TO USE IT.

SHE IS VERY ACCURATE
IN HER FORENSIC DESCRIPTIONS.

SHE TALKS ABOUT GUNS
AND SILENCERS.

SHE KNOWS ABOUT BLOOD
SPATTER ANALYSIS,

SHE KNEW ABOUT TRAJECTORIES,

SHE KNEW ABOUT ENTRY WOUNDS
AND EXIT WOUNDS,

AND SO SHE USES THAT
IN A LOT OF HER BOOKS.

NARRATOR: AGATHA'S
FORENSIC ATTENTION TO DETAIL

PLAYS OUT MOST CLEARLY
IN "DEATH ON THE NILE."

POIROT IS CRUISING
THROUGH EGYPT

AND GETS EMBROILED
IN A MURDEROUS LOVE TRIANGLE.

[KNOCK ON DOOR]
POIROT: ENTRER.

AH, MY DEAR COLONEL.

WHAT A BEAUTIFUL MORNING,
N'EST-CE PAS?

I'M AFRAID
SOMEONE'S BEEN SHOT.

WHO?

LINNET DOYLE, LAST NIGHT.

SHOT THROUGH THE HEAD.

IN "DEATH ON THE NILE,"
FOR EXAMPLE,

THE VICTIM HAS A SPECIFIC
GUNSHOT WOUND.

MAN: THE PISTOL WAS HELD
CLOSE AGAINST HER HEAD.

SEE, WHERE THE SKIN
IS SQUASHED?

POIROT: OUI.

THERE WAS NO STRUGGLE.
SHE WAS SHOT IN HER SLEEP.

THESE ARE SOME REALLY FANTASTIC
EXAMPLES OF GUNSHOT WOUNDS,

AND YOU CAN SEE THERE'S
A HUGE DIFFERENCE.

AN ENTRY WOUND TENDS
TO BE QUITE SMALL,

AND THEN THE EXIT WILL BE
A LOT BIGGER.

THERE'S ALSO A DIFFERENCE
BETWEEN THE GUN BEING AWAY

FROM THE SKIN AND THE GUN
BEING PLACED ON THE SKIN.

POIROT: BUT THE BULLET WOUND
SHOWED SIGNS OF SCORCHING, AND

THAT IS TO SAY THE REVOLVER HAD
BEEN PLACED AGAINST HER HEAD.

VALENTINE: AND AGATHA'S
KNOWLEDGE OF THIS IS

THE THING THAT REALLY
PUSHES THE PLOT FORWARD.

NARRATOR: AGATHA FOUND
INSPIRATION FOR HER MURDERS

IN THE WORK OF
A HOME OFFICE PATHOLOGIST

KNOWN AS THE FATHER
OF FORENSICS.

IN THE EARLY 20TH CENTURY,

SIR BERNARD SPILSBURY WAS
A MEDIA CELEBRITY

WHOSE DISCOVERIES WERE SPLASHED

ACROSS THE NEWSPAPERS.

THIS IS A REALLY FANTASTIC
FORENSIC SPECIMEN.

WHAT WE'VE GOT HERE
IS A STOMACH,

AND THE LINING HERE,
YOU CAN SEE HEMORRHAGES,

AND THAT'S BECAUSE THIS PERSON
HAS BEEN POISONED.

BUT THE SPECIMEN ITSELF
HAS BEEN PREPARED

BY SIR BERNARD SPILSBURY.

HE WAS A REALLY FAMOUS
GOLDEN-ERA PATHOLOGIST.

SHE WOULD HAVE LOVED THE FACT

THAT HE WAS A REAL-LIFE
SHERLOCK HOLMES.

HE WAS INVOLVED IN ALL
THE FAMOUS CASES OF THE TIME:

THE BRIDES IN THE BATH,
DR. CRIPPEN,

THE BRIGHTON TRUNK MURDERS,
SO IT'S A NICE MARRIAGE

OF FACT AND FICTION.

NARRATOR: AGATHA STARTED
WRITING IN 1916.

AFTER "THE MYSTERIOUS AFFAIR
AT STYLES,"

AN AGATHA CHRISTIE
MURDER MYSTERY

WAS PUBLISHED EVERY YEAR.

OUR ACCESS TO AGATHA'S ARCHIVE

IS A RARE OPPORTUNITY TO HEAR

HER INSIGHTS IN HER WORDS.

AGATHA ON TAPE: HOW AWFUL
THE FIRST DAY IS ALWAYS,

WHEN YOU REALLY SIT DOWN
TO START WRITING THE BOOK

THAT HAS LIVED IN YOUR MIND,

THAT'S HAD NOTES MADE FOR IT
AND A SKELETON...

AND THE WHOLE THING IS THERE,
LAID OUT, READY.

NARRATOR: BUT,
ON DECEMBER THE 4TH, 1926,

AGATHA'S LIFE TOOK
AN UNEXPECTED TWIST.

HER CAR WAS ABANDONED
IN THE SURREY COUNTRYSIDE.

THE BEST-SELLING NOVELIST
OF ALL TIME

HAD DISAPPEARED.

THOMPSON: IT STARTED
QUITE SMALL IN THE PAPERS,

AND THEN IT SUDDENLY
WENT MAMMOTH.

THE PAPERS WERE JUST
COVERED IN IT.

IS SHE DISGUISED AS A MAN?
IS SHE THIS? IS SHE DEAD?

IT WAS...A MASSIVE,
MASSIVE SENSATION.

NARRATOR: FOR 11 DAYS,

NOBODY KNEW WHERE
AGATHA CHRISTIE HAD GONE.

WHAT WAS REALLY GOING ON
IN AGATHA'S MIND?

[TYPEWRITER BELL DINGS]

[BELLS PEALING]

NARRATOR:
ON CHRISTMAS EVE, 1914,

AGATHA MILLER

BECAME AGATHA CHRISTIE.

MATHEW: SHE MET ARCHIE
RIGHT AT THE BEGINNING

OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR.

SHE DECIDED SHE LOVED ARCHIE,
SO, DESPITE THE FACT

THAT A WAR WAS STARTING,
THEY GOT MARRIED,

AND HE WENT AWAY AND DID
HIS BIT IN THE WAR.

THEN HE RETURNED,

AND THEY HADN'T GOT
A LOT OF MONEY,

BUT THEY DID THE BEST
THEY COULD.

UNTIL THAT STAGE, I THINK
THEY WERE QUITE HAPPY.

AGATHA ON TAPE:
I DON'T THINK THAT I REALLY

CONSIDERED MYSELF
AS A BONA FIDE AUTHOR.

MARRIED WOMAN WAS
A PROFESSION IN ITSELF,

AND IT WAS MY PROFESSION.

THAT WAS MY STATUS.
THAT WAS MY OCCUPATION.

AS A SIDE LINE, I WROTE BOOKS.

NARRATOR: IN 1926,

AGATHA PUBLISHED A BOOK
THAT WOULD TURN HER

INTO A HOUSEHOLD NAME.

MATHEW: THE LITERARY WORLD WAS
READY TO RECEIVE HER.

SHE HAD WRITTEN
THIS WONDERFUL BOOK

CALLED "THE MURDER
OF ROGER ACKROYD."

THE WORLD WAS HER OYSTER THEN,

AS FAR AS A CRIME WRITER

WAS CONCERNED, AND THIS WAS

THE PRECURSOR TO THE YEARS

WHICH WERE UNQUESTIONABLY
THE UNHAPPIEST OF NIMA'S LIFE.

SO, IN APRIL 1926,
HER MOTHER DIED.

WHAT SHE WAS CLINGING TO WAS
THE THOUGHT THAT ARCHIE WOULD

COME TO THE HOUSE, AND THEY WERE
GOING TO GO ON HOLIDAY TOGETHER.

AND WHAT HAPPENED WAS
THAT ARCHIE CAME TO THE HOUSE

IN AUGUST 1926 AND SAID,
"I'VE FALLEN IN LOVE

WITH ANOTHER WOMAN
AND I'D LIKE A DIVORCE."

NARRATOR:
ARCHIE HAD FALLEN IN LOVE

WITH A LADY CALLED
NANCY NEELE.

SHE'S AGATHA CHRISTIE,
SO WHAT DOES SHE DO?

SHE MAKES UP A PLOT.

IN HER PLOT, THERE'S A KIND
OF DEVIOUS INNOCENCE

TO THIS DISAPPEARANCE THAT I
THINK IS VERY TYPICAL OF HER.

SHE ARRIVED AT WHAT WAS THEN
CALLED A HYDRO.

IT WAS LIKE A SPA

AND IS NOW
THE OLD SWAN HOTEL.

SHE TURNED UP AT ABOUT 7:00
ON THE EVENING

OF SATURDAY,
THE 4TH OF DECEMBER

AND THAT SHE SIGNED
THE REGISTER,

CALLING HERSELF "TERESA NEELE,"

I.E. THE SURNAME
OF HER HUSBAND'S GIRLFRIEND,

NANCY NEELE, AND THAT
SHE TOOK A ROOM

FOR 5 GUINEAS A WEEK.

HARROGATE'S, YOU KNOW, IT'S
A VERY LOVELY PLACE.

IT'S THE SORT OF PLACE

THAT AGATHA CHRISTIE
WOULD DISAPPEAR TO--

YOU KNOW, CLOISTERED,
PROTECTED.

IT'S LIKE THE TORQUAY
OF THE NORTH.

SHE WOULD HAVE FELT
COMFORTABLE THERE.

NARRATOR:
AS THE POLICE CONTINUED

THEIR NATIONWIDE SEARCH,
NOBODY KNEW AGATHA

HAD FLED TO A SPA
IN HARROGATE.

THOMPSON: I THINK,

WITHOUT THE DISAPPEARANCE,
WOULD SHE

HAVE BECOME THE AGATHA CHRISTIE
THAT WE NOW HAVE?

THIS IS THE GREAT
IMPONDERABLE.

WOULD SHE HAVE WRITTEN
THE BOOKS THAT SHE WROTE?

NARRATOR:
NEARLY A CENTURY LATER,

THE MYSTERY BEHIND
AGATHA'S DISAPPEARANCE

IS STILL HOTLY DEBATED.

MATHEW: SOMETHING DID
HAPPEN IN HER MIND.

SHE WASN'T TRYING
TO PUBLICIZE THE BOOK

"THE MURDER OF ROGER ACKROYD,"
WHICH WAS

WHAT WAS GOING ON AT THE TIME.

IT WAS JUST THAT SHE
WAS DESPERATE.

I THINK SHE WANTED TO SEE
WHAT PEOPLE WOULD DO

AND WHAT PEOPLE WOULD SAY
IN THE PRESENCE OF ABSENCE;

HER ABSENCE, MOST SPECIFICALLY.

ALL OF HER BOOKS ARE
ABOUT WHAT PEOPLE DO

WHEN CONFRONTED
WITH AN ABSENCE OF LIFE.

THEY'RE MURDER MYSTERIES.

THOMPSON: IT WAS ALL
ABOUT ARCHIE.

SHE WANTED TO GET
HER HUSBAND BACK,

AND SHE TRIED
EVERYTHING, PLEADING.

NOTHING HAD WORKED.
HE WAS COMPLETELY OBDURATE.

NARRATOR: AFTER 11 DAYS,

AGATHA WAS FINALLY DISCOVERED.

SHE HAD MASTERED THE ART
OF DECEPTION,

AND THE DISAPPEARANCE
WOULD INFLUENCE THE WAY

SHE WORKED UP HER PLOTS
FOR YEARS TO COME.

AGATHA ON TAPE: YES,
I DO FIND THAT ONE'S FRIENDS

ARE CURIOUS ABOUT
THE WAY ONE WORKS.

"WHAT IS YOUR METHOD?"
THEY WANT TO KNOW.

I THINK THE REAL WORK IS DONE
IN THINKING OUT THE DEVELOPMENT

OF YOUR STORY AND WORRYING
ABOUT IT UNTIL IT COMES RIGHT.

THAT MAY TAKE QUITE A WHILE.

NARRATOR: AS SHE WEAVED TWISTS
AND TURNS THROUGH HER PLOTS,

AGATHA ADDED THE MYSTERY
TO HER MURDERS.

WOMAN:
SHE ENJOYS THE TWISTS,

TWISTED PEOPLE,

TWISTED STORIES,

THEN FINALLY GIVES YOU
A SERIES OF TWISTS

THAT YOU CAN'T BELIEVE,
BUT YOU DO BELIEVE.

[FOOTSTEPS]

NARRATOR: "WITNESS
FOR THE PROSECUTION"

IS A PERFECT EXAMPLE OF
THE WAY AGATHA

USES LIES TO KEEP
AN AUDIENCE GUESSING.

MAN: LEONARD VOLE,
YOU ARE CHARGED

ON INDICTMENT THAT YOU,
ON THE 14TH DAY OF OCTOBER,

KILLED EMILY JANE FRENCH.

ARE YOU GUILTY OR NOT GUILTY?

NOT GUILTY.

THERE'S A SURFACE LEVEL

OF BRILLIANT PLOT-MAKING,

BUT FOR THE MOST PART,
SHE'S TALKING ABOUT,

YOU KNOW, LAYERS
AND LAYERS OF MENDACITY

AND BRILLIANT,
BRILLIANT LYING.

BARRISTER: YOU SAID THERE
WAS BLOOD ON BOTH CUFFS?

WOMAN: YES.
BOTH CUFFS?

I TOLD YOU, AS THAT
IS WHAT LEONARD SAID.

NO, MRS. HARVEY,
YOU SAID, "HE TOLD ME

TO WASH THE CUFFS.
THEY HAD BLOOD ON THEM."

DID YOU WASH BOTH CUFFS?
I REMEMBER NOW.

IT WAS ONLY
ONE CUFF I WASHED.

ANOTHER LIE, THEN?

SHE LOVES THE DISTURBING,

SHE LOVES TO PLAY SOMETHING
THAT, UH, YOU THINK IS

ONE THING AND THEN IS
REVEALED TO BE NOT.

PERHAPS YOUR MEMORY
AS TO OTHER PARTS

OF YOUR STORY IS
EQUALLY UNTRUSTWORTHY.

YOU ORIGINALLY TOLD
THE POLICE THAT THE BLOOD

ON THE JACKET CAME
FROM A CUT CAUSED

BY A SLIP
WHEN CARVING HAM!

I SAID SO, YES,
BUT IT WAS NOT TRUE.

MORE LIES.

BAILEY: IT'S THE ART OF MAKING
US FALL IN LOVE WITH THE LIAR

AND NOT REALIZING THEY'RE LYING
AND FEEL COMPLETELY BETRAYED

WHEN YOU DO DISCOVER
THAT THEY ARE LYING,

THEY'RE SORT OF DAMAGED.

THE QUESTION THE JURY
MUST ASK THEMSELVES

IS WERE YOU LYING THEN,
OR ARE YOU LYING NOW?!

BAILEY: AND I THINK
THAT'S WHAT KEEPS US,

FOR THE MOST PART,
SORT OF SO INTRIGUED

BY HER NOVELS,
'CAUSE WE LOVE A GOOD LIAR.

NARRATOR: COMING UP...

THOMPSON: I THINK HER MIND
SHIFTED FUNDAMENTALLY

INTO THAT OF, IF YOU LIKE,
THE ONLOOKER.

NARRATOR: AGATHA'S CURIOSITY
TAKES HER TO THE MIDDLE EAST.

THOMPSON: SHE SAID,
"THAT'S WHEN I BECAME A WRITER."

NARRATOR: AND SHE DISCOVERS
THE DARKEST CORNERS

OF THE HUMAN PSYCHE.

PHELPS: YOU ARE GOING
TO TWIST ON THE PIN

THAT YOU'RE IMPALED UPON,
BUT THERE'S NOTHING YOU CAN DO

BECAUSE HERE IT COMES.

[TYPEWRITER BELL DINGS]

NARRATOR: IN 1928,

AGATHA CHRISTIE'S INQUIRING MIND

BEGAN TO EXPLORE A PLACE

THAT WOULD INSPIRE SOME
OF HER BEST WRITING,

THE MIDDLE EAST.

MATHEW: WHAT LIT THE BLUE
TOUCH PAPER, SO TO SPEAK,

WAS HER ABILITY

TO FIND A NEW LIFE,

WHICH STARTED
WITH A TRIP TO IRAQ.

AGATHA ON TAPE: I FELT,
WELL, IT IS MY RISK,

BUT I BELIEVE IT IS
WORTH TAKING A RISK.

I HAD HAD SO MUCH PUBLICITY

AND HAVE BEEN CAUSED
SO MUCH MISERY BY IT

THAT I WANTED THINGS KEPT
AS QUIETLY AS POSSIBLE.

[TYPEWRITER BELL DINGS]

NARRATOR:
AFTER THE DISAPPEARANCE,

AGATHA'S CRIME FICTION DRIED UP.

TO DISTRACT HERSELF
FROM THE DEATH OF HER MOTHER

AND A DEVASTATING DIVORCE,

AGATHA TRAVELED THE WORLD.

MATHEW: SHE NOW FOUND
HERSELF INVOLVED

IN AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL WORLD
FAR AWAY FROM ENGLAND.

I THINK THEN,
FOR THE FIRST TIME,

SHE FOUND PEOPLE
WHO WERE KIND TO HER

AND INTERESTED IN HER
AS A PERSON.

NARRATOR: AGATHA LOST HER HEART
TO THE ANCIENT SITES

AND ARCHAEOLOGIST
MAX MALLOWAN.

AGATHA ON TAPE:
I WAS VERY HAPPY.

WE HAD BECOME INSTANT
AND CLOSER FRIENDS THAN,

IT SEEMED TO ME, ANY FRIEND
I HAD EVER HAD BEFORE.

I REALIZED HOW CLOSE
OUR COMPANIONSHIP HAD BEEN,

HOW WE SEEMED
TO UNDERSTAND EACH OTHER

ALMOST BEFORE WE SPOKE.

MATHEW: HE WASN'T THE LIKELIEST
CANDIDATE FOR MARRIAGE,

AS FAR AS NIMA WAS
CONCERNED, BUT I THINK

IT WAS BORN OF PROBABLY
BOTH THEIR NEEDS

TO HAVE SOMEONE WHO THEY
COULD TRUST AROUND THEM

WHILST THEY PURSUED CAREERS

THAT WERE
IN NEITHER CASE ORTHODOX,

AND SHE BEGAN TO REGAIN
HER CONFIDENCE.

AGATHA ON TAPE: IT HAD
NEVER OCCURRED TO ME

THAT MAX AND I WOULD BE
OR EVER COULD BE ON THOSE TERMS.

WE WERE FRIENDS.

QUITE SUDDENLY,

I FELT THAT NOTHING
IN THE WORLD

WOULD BE AS HAPPY

AND DELIGHTFUL
AS BEING MARRIED TO HIM.

I FELT IT WAS APPROPRIATE
THAT HER SECOND HUSBAND WAS

AN ARCHAEOLOGIST BECAUSE
IT WAS LIKE AN EXCAVATION,

GETTING TO GRIPS WITH THIS LADY
AND HER EXTRAORDINARY MIND.

NARRATOR: SURROUNDED
BY ARABIAN WONDERS,

AGATHA CHANGED THE WAY SHE
OBSERVED THE WORLD AROUND HER.

MATHEW: SHE BECAME
AN EXPERT PHOTOGRAPHER

AND HELPED WITH
THE PHOTOGRAPHING OF THE FINDS.

NARRATOR:
FILMED BY AGATHA,

THIS FOOTAGE IS
A RARE OPPORTUNITY

TO SEE THE WORLD
THROUGH HER EYES.

THOMPSON: I THINK HER MIND
SHIFTED FUNDAMENTALLY

INTO THAT OF, IF YOU LIKE,
THE ONLOOKER.

JAMES: SHE WAS OBVIOUSLY
INSPIRED BY ALL

OF HER SURROUNDINGS;
I MEAN, YOU KNOW, A LOT

OF THE BOOKS ARE BASED
AROUND HER TRAVELS.

THOMPSON:
HER HUNGER FOR TRAVEL,

WHICH WASN'T JUST
"LET ME GO FIRST-CLASS

AND SIT IN A HOTEL
AND HAVE A COCKTAIL."

IT WAS GETTING STUCK
IN THERE AND BEING

REALLY, REALLY INTERESTED
IN THE COUNTRY SHE WENT TO,

AND I THINK THAT
WAS VERY MUCH

KEY TO THE WAY HER MIND WORKED

AND HER SUBSEQUENT SUCCESS.

NARRATOR: AS AGATHA
BROADENED HER HORIZONS,

HER SPIRIT WAS RENEWED

AND HER MIND AWOKEN.

THOMPSON: SHE SAID,
"THAT'S WHEN I BECAME A WRITER."

NARRATOR: AGATHA'S IMAGINATION
WAS NOW UNSTOPPABLE,

SO MUCH SO THAT HER EXPERIENCE

OF A TRIVIAL TRAIN DELAY
WOULD BECOME IMMORTALIZED

IN ONE OF HER MOST
POPULAR BOOKS.

AGATHA ON TAPE:
I SUMMONED THE HOTEL CLERK

AND MADE HIM BOOK ME

A SEAT ON
THE ORIENT EXPRESS

FOR 3 DAYS' TIME.

NARRATOR: IN 1931,

AGATHA TRAVELED FROM ISTANBUL

ON WHAT SHE DESCRIBED
AS "THE TRAIN OF MY DREAMS"...

THE ORIENT EXPRESS.

AGATHA RECALLED THE JOURNEY
IN A LETTER SHE SENT TO MAX:

"MY DARLING, WHAT A JOURNEY!

"STARTED OUT FROM ISTANBUL
IN A VIOLENT THUNDERSTORM.

"WE WENT VERY SLOWLY
DURING THE NIGHT,

AND ABOUT 3 A.M.
STOPPED ALTOGETHER."

AFTER THE RAIN TURNED TO SNOW,

SHE WAS STRANDED FOR TWO DAYS.

IN 2017, AGATHA'S
MOST FAMOUS BOOK

WAS FURTHER CELEBRATED
ON THE SILVER SCREEN.

"MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS"

IS REMARKABLY SIMILAR
TO AGATHA'S

OWN TROUBLED JOURNEY.

JAMES: THERE IS A TRAIN STUCK
IN A SNOWDRIFT WITH THESE

13 CHARACTERS ON IT.

NARRATOR: BUT AGATHA GIVES
THE STORY A PLOT TWIST.

JAMES: ONE OF THESE CHARACTERS
ENDS UP DEAD,

AND POIROT IS OBVIOUSLY
ON HAND TO DETECT IT.

POIROT: AS WE ARE SNOWBOUND,
I HAVE ELECTED TO TAKE THE CASE

AND FIND FOR MY FRIEND,
MONSIEUR BOUC, THE CRIMINAL.

AND WHY YOU?

MY NAME IS HERCULE POIROT,

AND I AM PROBABLY THE GREATEST
DETECTIVE IN THE WORLD.

AGATHA CHRISTIE DEFINITELY HAD
A VIEW OF RIGHT AND WRONG.

JAMES: INTERESTINGLY, I THINK
SHE FELT THAT HUMAN NATURE

WAS SUCH THAT NEARLY
ALL OF US

ACTUALLY COULD TURN
OUR HANDS TO MURDER.

I THINK YOU SEE THAT
IN THE BOOKS.

"MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS,"
YOU KNOW, IS

THE PERFECT EXAMPLE,
WHERE, TO SOME EXTENT,

ALL THE PARTICIPANTS ARE EQUALS,
SO THE LIKELIHOOD IS THAT IT IS

ONE OF THESE 12 OR 13 CHARACTERS
WHO'VE COMMITTED THE CRIME.

POIROT: IF THERE WAS A MURDER,

THEN THERE WAS A MURDERER.

THE MURDERER IS WITH US

ON THE TRAIN, NOW.

JAMES: IT IS EXTRAORDINARY
HOW WELL SHE TRAVELS

AND HOW WELL SHE TRANSLATES THAT
ALL BACK TO THESE STORIES.

SHE JUST HAD THE MOST
WONDERFUL IMAGINATION.

NARRATOR: AGATHA'S WANDERLUST
HELPED HER TO BUILD A NEW LIFE,

AND BY THE LATE 1930S,

ONCE AGAIN, HER DARK MIND
WAS THRIVING.

DESPITE TRAVELING THE WORLD,

AGATHA'S MOST CHILLING
MASTERPIECE

WAS INSPIRED
BY BURGH ISLAND IN DEVON.

PHELPS: "AND THEN THERE
WERE NONE" IS PUBLISHED

IN THE SUMMER OF 1939,
A FEW SHORT WEEKS AWAY

FROM THE SECOND WORLD WAR BEING
DECLARED, WHERE WE WERE GOING

TO BE PITCHED CATACLYSMICALLY
INTO ANOTHER BLOODBATH.

NARRATOR: IN THE BOOK,
8 STRANGERS

HAVE BEEN INVITED TO STAY

ON AN ISOLATED ISLAND.

ACTION BEGETS ACTION
BEGETS ACTION.

THERE'S A TERRIBLE FATE,
AND IT'S COMING FOR YOU,

AND THERE IS NO MITIGATION.

YOU'RE GOING TO TWIST ON THE PIN
THAT YOU'RE IMPALED UPON,

BUT THERE'S NOTHING YOU CAN DO
BECAUSE HERE IT COMES.

GET UP!

GET UP!

PHELPS: IT'S LIKE BEING HELD
IN THE WHITE EYE OF GOD.

IT IS CRUEL,
IT IS UNFLINCHING,

IT IS BRUTAL,
AND I LOVED IT.

LET'S JUST QUICKLY
BREAK IT DOWN AS A PLOT.

IT LOOKS LIKE A PARLOR GAME:

THE MERCENARY, THE GENERAL,

THE JUDGE, THE SPINSTER,
SCHOOLTEACHER, BUTLER.

BIT BY BIT,
THE VENEERS ARE

STRIPPED AWAY FROM
THESE PEOPLE, AND THEY'RE

CONFRONTED WITH THE TERRIBLE
THING THAT THEY'VE DONE.

MAN ON GRAMOPHONE:
YOU ARE CHARGED WITH

THE FOLLOWING INDICTMENTS:

EDWARD GEORGE ARMSTRONG,

THAT YOU MURDERED LOUISA...

WHO IS THIS?
I DON'T KNOW, SIR.

MAN ON GRAMOPHONE:
EMILY CAROLINE BRENT,

THAT YOU MURDERED
BEATRICE TAYLOR.

WHO IS THIS?
WHAT'S THE MEANING OF THIS?

MAN ON GRAMOPHONE:
WILLIAM HENRY BLORE,

THAT YOU DID MURDER
JAMES STEVEN LANDOR...

NARRATOR:
EACH OF THE STRANGERS

HAVE COMMITTED A MURDER

AND ESCAPED JUSTICE.

PHELPS: YOU'D THINK TO YOURSELF
THAT IF YOU KILLED SOMEBODY,

YOU'D EXPECT, YOU KNOW,
THAT YOU'RE HAUNTED BY THIS.

MAN ON GRAMOPHONE:
...THAT YOU DID MURDER 21 MEN.

PHELPS: BUT NO, ALL THESE PEOPLE
HAVE CARRIED ON FUNCTIONING

IN SOCIETY; THEY'VE GONE ON WITH
LIVING, THEY'RE NOT BOTHERED.

NARRATOR: AGATHA WROTE
PART OF THE NOVEL

WHEN SHE STAYED
ON BURGH ISLAND.

[GATE CREAKING]

PHELPS: ON A WIND-SCOURED ROCK,

WHERE NOBODY CAN SEE THEM AND
NO--AND THEY CAN'T SEE ANYBODY,

WHERE THEY'RE ENTIRELY ISOLATED,

AND THEY'RE DYING ONE BY ONE
AND THEY KNOW THAT THEY

ARE GOING TO BE PICKED OFF, AND
THERE IS NOTHING THEY CAN DO.

"AND THEN THERE WERE NONE,"
IN LOTS OF WAYS,

IS THE DARKEST
OF ALL HER NOVELS,

AND THE MORE YOU GET INTO IT,
THE DARKER IT BECOMES.

IT IS A STORY OF WHAT LIES
BEHIND GUILT, WHAT AMOUNTS

TO A CRIME, AND, YOU KNOW,
WHAT IS JUSTICE.

I THINK THAT THERE IS JUSTICE
AND THAT THERE IS

OBLITERATION FOR
THE SHEER HELL OF IT.

NARRATOR: AS AGATHA REACHED
THE PEAK OF HER DARK POWERS,

THE OUTBREAK OF THE SECOND
WORLD WAR THREATENED HER OUTPUT.

[AIR RAID SIREN]

[CLICK]

AGATHA ON TAPE: THE WAR YEARS
DID NOT SEEM LIKE YEARS.

THEY WERE A NIGHTMARE,

A BAD DREAM

IN WHICH REALITY STOPPED

AND THE NIGHTMARE
TOOK OVER.

[TYPEWRITER BELL DINGS]

NARRATOR:
AS BOMBS BATTERED LONDON,

AGATHA RETREATED TO A SAFE HAVEN

IN THE NORTH OF THE CITY.

THOMPSON: IN 1941,
SHE ENDED UP

AT REALLY QUITE
AN UNLIKELY PLACE--

THIS MODERNIST BLOCK,
THE ISOKON.

SHE REALLY LOVED IT.

SHE SAID TO MAX,
"IT'S NOT BEAUTIFUL,

"BUT WHENEVER I PASS
THAT FUNNY OLD BLOCK

LIKE A WHITE SHIP, I THINK,
OH, I WAS SO HAPPY THERE."

ON THE FACE OF IT,
IT'S A SURPRISING BUILDING

FOR AGATHA CHRISTIE
TO HAVE LIVED IN.

YOU KNOW, COZY, CHINTZY AGATHA,
YOU'D THINK, OH,

SHE'D HAVE A BIG ROOM
WITH BIG, PLUSH CHAIRS

AND ALL THAT KIND OF THING,
BUT, OF COURSE,

AGATHA WAS MUCH MORE
COMPLICATED THAN THAT.

NARRATOR:
AGATHA'S WARTIME LETTERS

ARE A UNIQUE INSIGHT

INTO THE WORKINGS OF HER MIND.

THOMPSON: SO THESE ARE A FEW
LETTERS FROM HER TIME HERE.

THIS ONE THAT IS UNDATED
WHEN SHE SAYS,

"I SHOULD HAVE THE GREATEST
OBJECTION TO SIGNING

"THE ENCLOSED AGREEMENT, AS IT
SEEMS TO BE FOR THE RENT OF AN

UNFURNISHED FLAT, THEREFORE
NOT APPLICABLE TO ME AT ALL."

SO THE FACT THAT SHE'S
GETTING THE RIGHT FLAT

AND GETTING IT FURNISHED
THE WAY SHE WANTS IT,

AND THERE'S SOMETHING HERE
ABOUT CARPET CLEANING

AND THAT KIND OF THING.

SHE'S GOT THIS ABILITY
TO COMPARTMENTALIZE.

IT SHOWS HOW SHE COULD
DIVIDE HER ATTENTION

WITHOUT ANY TROUBLE
WHATSOEVER.

SHE COULD BE ON TOP
OF SOMETHING DOMESTIC

AND THEN WRITE THESE
RIDICULOUS AMOUNT OF BOOKS.

JAMES: YOU KNOW, AT TIMES, SHE
WAS WRITING 3 OR 4 BOOKS A YEAR.

I MEAN, THAT IS A PRETTY
EXTRAORDINARY OUTPUT.

YOU TALK TO ANY WRITER
ABOUT TRYING TO COME UP

WITH THAT MUCH MATERIAL
AND TO KEEP IT ORIGINAL,

KEEP IT FRESH,
AND, YOU KNOW, THEY WOULD--

THEY WOULD TAKE
THEIR HAT OFF TO HER.

THOMPSON: IT'S ALMOST
AS THOUGH THE WAR,

THE PRESSURE, THE FEAR
OF DEATH IN THE AIR--

WHICH IT ABSOLUTELY WAS--
FOCUSED HER.

IT'S INSANE.

AGATHA ON TAPE:
I DO REALIZE NOW, LOOKING BACK

OVER MY WAR OUTPUT,
THAT I REALLY PRODUCED

AN INCREDIBLE AMOUNT OF STUFF
DURING THOSE YEARS OF WAR.

THIS WAS IN ANTICIPATION

OF MY BEING KILLED
IN THE RAIDS,

WHICH SEEMED TO ME,
IN THE HIGHEST DEGREE,

LIKELY.

NARRATOR:
DURING WORLD WAR II,

AGATHA'S POPULARITY SOARED.

PHELPS: SHE GOT A LARGER READING
PUBLIC WHO WANTED SOMETHING;

SOMETHING FROM HER, WANTED
SOMETHING FROM HER THAT WAS

GOING TO GIVE THEM
A FEELING OF SECURITY,

STABILITY, CLOSURE.

NARRATOR: AGATHA'S TALES
OF CRIME AND PUNISHMENT

ALLOWED BLITZ-WEARY BRITONS
TO LOSE THEMSELVES

IN THE TWISTS AND TURNS
OF HER PLOTS.

PHELPS: SHE WAS
VERY AWARE OF AUDIENCES

WANTING SOMETHING DIFFERENT
IN THIS NEW LANDSCAPE.

NARRATOR: COMING UP...

JAMES: SHE HERSELF
WAS INCREDIBLY SHY.

NARRATOR: AGATHA'S RETREAT
FROM THE LIMELIGHT...

SHE DIDN'T LOVE
THE PUBLIC ATTENTION AT ALL.

NARRATOR: REVEALS THE WOMAN
BEHIND THE POPULAR MYTH.

SHE SHIELDED HERSELF
WITH THAT IMAGE,

YOU KNOW, THE NICE OLD LADY

HAVING TEA WITH THE VICAR

AND ARSENIC IN THE CRUMPETS.

[TYPEWRITER BELL DINGS]

NARRATOR:
AGATHA CHRISTIE IS

THE BEST-SELLING
NOVELIST OF ALL TIME.

HER 66 CLASSIC
MURDER MYSTERIES

STILL LIVE ON TODAY.

SHE IS FAMOUSLY ONLY OUTSOLD
BY SHAKESPEARE AND THE BIBLE.

I MEAN, WHEN YOU THINK
ABOUT THAT,

IT'S AN EXTRAORDINARY THING.

NARRATOR: BY THE 1950S,

AS "THE MOUSETRAP" EMBARKED

ON ITS RECORD-BREAKING
WEST END RUN,

AGATHA HAD ALREADY SOLD

MILLIONS OF BOOKS.

SHE IS A LITERARY SENSATION.

BUT ON RARE PUBLIC APPEARANCES,

AGATHA REVEALED SHE WAS
UNCOMFORTABLE

IN THE LIMELIGHT.

[TYPEWRITER BELL DINGS]

JAMES: SHE HERSELF WAS
INCREDIBLY SHY.

SHE DIDN'T LOVE
THE PUBLIC ATTENTION AT ALL.

MRS. CHRISTIE,
MAY I CONGRATULATE YOU

ON THE RECORD PERFORMANCE
PUT ON BY "THE MOUSETRAP"?

DO YOU THINK IT THE BEST
PLAY YOU'VE WRITTEN?

I DON'T KNOW. OTHER PEOPLE
SEEM TO, AT ANY RATE.

I WAS WONDERING WHY
"THE MOUSETRAP," RATHER

THAN YOUR OTHER PLAYS,
ACHIEVED THIS RECORD.

I DON'T KNOW.
[ECHOES]

MATHEW: I THINK THE SHYNESS
PROBABLY EMANATED

FROM THE UNHAPPY PERIOD
OF HER LIFE

WHEN SHE FELT SHE WAS

HOUNDED BY THE MEDIA.

JAMES: I ALWAYS THINK THERE ARE
TWO AGATHA CHRISTIES.

THERE IS THE WORLD-FAMOUS ICON,
THE NOVELIST, THE PLAYWRIGHT,

THEN THERE IS
AGATHA CHRISTIE THE WOMAN.

THOMPSON:
SHE DID START TO BECOME

THIS FAR MORE GUARDED PERSON
IN MANY, MANY WAYS,

AND SHE ALLOWED THE PERSONA

OF AGATHA CHRISTIE
TO SORT OF DEVELOP.

SHE USED IT TO PROTECT
HER OWN PRIVATE LIFE,

AS IT WERE, BUT I THINK SHE
ALSO RECOGNIZED ITS VALUE

AS A SELLING POINT;
YOU KNOW, THE NICE OLD LADY

HAVING TEA WITH THE VICAR
AND ARSENIC IN THE CRUMPETS.

I THINK SHE SHIELDED HERSELF
WITH THAT IMAGE.

NARRATOR:
IN HER LATER YEARS,

AGATHA PLOTTED HER OWN ESCAPE
AND RETREATED TO GREENWAY,

HER PRIVATE HOLIDAY HOME
IN DEVON.

[BIRDS CHIRP]

AGATHA ON TAPE:
HOW BEAUTIFUL GREENWAY LOOKED

IN ITS TANGLED BEAUTY.

WE WERE THANKFUL
TO BE TOGETHER

AND, AS IT WERE,
GENTLY TRYING OUT LIFE,

TO START AGAIN.

JAMES:
SHE WAS PROBABLY HAPPIEST

DOWN HERE AT GREENWAY IN,

AMONGST HER FRIENDS
AND FAMILY.

SHE WAS A VERY PRIVATE PERSON,

AND THIS WAS THE PLACE
SHE CAME TO RELAX.

MATHEW: I THINK GREENWAY
WAS SO IMPORTANT TO HER

BECAUSE IT WAS FUN TIMES,

TIME TO ENJOY YOURSELF
WITH YOUR FAMILY

AND CLOSE FRIENDS AT A PLACE
WHICH SHE DESCRIBED

AS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL PLACE
IN THE WORLD.

NARRATOR: AS HER PACE
OF LIFE SLOWED,

AGATHA'S THOUGHTS BEGAN
TO TURN TO HER OWN MORTALITY.

AGATHA ON TAPE:
SUN OR WIND

OR EVEN A NICE, HOT BREAKFAST
AND THE SMELL OF COFFEE.

YOU CAN'T WANT TO DIE
WHEN YOU FEEL LIKE THAT.

BUT I KNOW, OR BELIEVE,

THAT IT IS A GOOD AGE
AT WHICH TO PASS FROM LIFE

TO WHATEVER COMES NEXT.

NARRATOR:
WHILST AGATHA'S NOVELS FOCUSED

ON THE COMPLEXITY
OF DEATH, TO HER,

THE ENDING OF LIFE
WAS SIMPLER.

AGATHA ON TAPE: PEOPLE ALWAYS
SEEM VERY EMBARRASSED

BY HAVING TO DISCUSS
ANYTHING TO DO WITH DEATH.

THE QUESTION OF DEATH NOWADAYS
IS VERY IMPORTANT TO TALK ABOUT.

NARRATOR:
AGATHA DIED PEACEFULLY

ON THE 12TH OF JANUARY, 1976,

AGED 85.

BUT, THROUGH HER NOVELS,

SHORT STORIES, PLAYS,

AND THE EXTRAORDINARY
TREASURES OF HER ARCHIVE,

HER LEGACY IS ENDLESS.

THOMPSON: YOU CAN'T IMAGINE
THE WORLD WITHOUT HER BOOKS.

NARRATOR:
HER UNORTHODOX CHILDHOOD

UNLEASHED HER IMAGINATION.

THOMPSON: THE SIMPLICITY MEANS
THAT A CHILD CAN READ THEM,

BUT THE SIMPLICITY IS DECEPTIVE.

THERE'S AN AWFUL LOT MORE
BENEATH THE SURFACE.

NARRATOR: SHE JOURNEYED

INTO THE DARKEST CORNERS

OF THE HUMAN PSYCHE.

JAMES: SHE STARTED WRITING
DURING THE FIRST WORLD WAR.

SHE FINISHED WRITING
IN THE EARLY 1970S.

AND MOST OF THOSE BOOKS
ARE SET

IN THE TIME
THAT THEY WERE WRITTEN.

NARRATOR:
THE BLOODY 20TH CENTURY,

FILTERED THROUGH
AGATHA'S POISON PEN

ONTO THE PAGE.

PHELPS: SHE WATCHES
THE CENTURY GROW UP

AND TOLD STORIES

ABOUT THE TUMULTUOUS
20TH CENTURY

AND ABOUT BRITAIN
AND ABOUT WHO

WE WERE THEN
AND WHO WE ARE NOW.

NARRATOR: EVEN TODAY,

AGATHA'S DARK MIND LIVES ON.

JAMES: I FEAR IT MIGHT RUN
IN THE CHRISTIE BLOOD

TO THINK ABOUT DEATH,
TO THINK ABOUT MURDER.

I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY
OTHER PEOPLE THINK THIS.

MAYBE IT'S A UNIQUE TRAIT
TO MY FAMILY.

HOW WOULD YOU,

IF YOU WERE SO MINDED, COMMIT
THE PERFECT MURDER?

♪ ♪

[TYPEWRITER KEYS TAPPING]

[TYPEWRITER BELL DINGS]

[TYPEWRITER KEYS TAPPING]

[TYPEWRITER BELL DINGING]

[TYPEWRITER KEYS TAPPING]

TYPEWRITER BELL DINGING]

[TYPEWRITER KEYS TAPPING]

[TYPEWRITER BELL DINGING]

♪ ♪

[TYPEWRITER KEYS TAPPING]

[TYPEWRITER BELL DINGING]

TYPEWRITER KEYS TAPPING]

[TYPEWRITER BELL DINGING]

[TYPEWRITER BELL DINGING]