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‘A study of a shy, emotional nature, verging on the pathological… worth reading.' New York Times
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A newly reissued edition of Agatha Christie’s ‘Mary Westmacott’ novel, a Crime of the Heart novel about a woman on the verge of suicide.
'In Celia we have more nearly than anywhere else a portrait of Agatha.' Max Mallowan
Bereft of the three people she has held most dear - her mother, her husband and her daughter - Celia is on the verge of suicide. Then one night on an exotic island she meets Larraby, a successful portrait painter, and through a long night of talk reveals how she is afraid to commit herself to a second chance of happiness with another person, yet is not brave enough to face life alone. Can Larraby help Celia come to terms with the past or will they part, her outcome still uncertain?
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Of course there are many differences - Christie was not, I think, as close to her mother, and closer, I hope, to her daughter. (Maybe she flipped them, for dramatic purposes.) But much of the childhood - the Victorian grandmother, the trip to France - are in cinque.
The above-mentioned autobiographical parts (especially about the agony of the divorce, and the writing) were extremely interesting and worth reading the book for. The rest, unfortunately, drags, because, without the imposed discipline and contrast of a whodunnit plotframe, Mrs. Christie is just too sweet and gentle. She goes on too long about her character's childhood, for instance. But it is a must for real Christie fans. Read it, perhaps, after reading her legitimate (and actually, less revealing) "Autobiography." (And don't forget her other autobiography, about her life with her second husband, the archeologist Max Mallowan: "Come, Tell Me How You Live.")
We first meet Celia when she is a child, unsure of herself, longing for attributes she may never have, and deeply attached to her mother. With the deft characterization she is famous for, the author weaves an enchanting tale of a young girl growing into womanhood and facing numerous challenges. Because Celia is beautiful, she has no lack of suitors or marriage proposals. It is only when she does marry that her life begins to tear apart. The reader is privy to her many mistakes and misconceptions about her husband and may be saddened when Celia finds herself without the support of the three people she most deeply loves---her mother, her husband, and her only child.
The story is told by a portrait painter who meets Celia one night. He thinks he may have unwittingly rescued her from a suicide attempt. He is mesmerized by the story she tells and writes it all down and sends it to a friend. Readers of women's fiction will enjoy the many twists and turns that make Celia's life memorable.
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