1: The Thing in the House

Historian Lucy Worsley reads her account of the extraordinary life of the 'Queen of Crime', Agatha Christie.

Born in 1890, into a world that had its own rules about what women could and couldn’t do, Agatha Christie became the most prolific detective novelist during the Golden Age of detective fiction, and went on to become the best-selling author of all time.

From her idyllic Victorian childhood, to her rocky marriage, to her great literary successes with Poirot and Marple, to her mysterious and infamous disappearance at Harrogate, Worsley presents a life fascinating for its mysteries and passions.

We start with Christie's blissful early years in Torquay - until family life is shattered.

Abridged in five parts by Richard Hamilton.

Read and written by BBC TV's Lucy Worsley, OBE.

Producer: Justine Willett

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2022.