In December 1926, Agatha Christie goes missing. Investigators find her empty car on the edge of a deep, gloomy pond, the only clues some tire tracks nearby and a fur coat left in the car - strange for a frigid night. Her husband and daughter have no knowledge of her whereabouts, and England unleashes an unprecedented manhunt to find the up-and-coming mystery author. 11 days later, she reappears, just as mysteriously as she disappeared, claiming amnesia...

Roald Dahl is one of the most famous children's book authors ever. Now in this Who Was-- ? biography, children will learn of his real-life adventures. A flying ace for the British Air Force, he was married to an Academy Award-winning actress. He also wrote books and screenplays for adults. Entertaining and readable, this biography has 80 black-and-white illustrations.

Nancy Mitford was, in the words of her sister Lady Diana Mosley, "very complex." Her highly autobiographical early work, the biographies and novels of her more mature French period, her journalism, and the vast body of letters to her family, to friends such as Evelyn Waugh, and to the great love of her life, Gaston Palewski, all tell an intriguing story. Drawing from these, as well as conversations with Mitford's two surviving sisters, acquaintances,...

This new biography explores the forces that shaped the interior life of one of the most beloved novelists in the English language. Each chapter begins by evoking an object that conjures up a key moment or theme in Austen's life and work. The woman who emerges is far tougher, more socially and politically aware, and altogether more modern that the conventional picture. The book looks at the biographical influences on her work, as well as her boundless...

She is the most popular novelist in history, yet the drama and torment of Agatha Christie's private life remains a mystery even to her most ardent fans. She made no secret of her disdain for the press and for those who wished to intrude on her private life. Nonetheless, in this immensely readable and intimate biography, best-selling author Richard Hack reveals the romance, scandal, and betrayal that drove one of the 20th century's most celebrated...

Anna is a writer, author of one very successful novel, who now keeps four notebooks. In one, with a black cover, she reviews the African experience of her earlier years. In a red one she records her political life, her disillusionment with communism. In a yellow one she writes a novel in which the heroine relives part of her own experience. And in a blue one she keeps a personal diary. Finally, in love with an American writer and threatened with insanity,...

In this Edgar-nominated cozy series opener, a second-rate British crime novelist and his quirky agent investigate his devious ex-wife's murder. A mediocre mystery-writer (and thus a purveyor of red herrings), Ethelred Tressider has even less interest in writing his books than his (dwindling) fan base has in reading them, and his agent-the pesky, nosy, vulgar, chocolate-chomping Elsie-has no interest in them at all. But with a name like Ethelred,...

A Memoir of Jane Austen is the Austen family's memoir of the beloved 19th century English novelist. Written and compiled by Austen's nephew, James Edward Austen-Leigh, A Memoir of Jane Austen reveals the author as her family knew her, while at the same time protecting the author's privacy in keeping with the Victorian conventions of the time. A Memoir of Jane Austen did, however, reveal for the first time Austen's authorship of such classic stories...

After a particularly bad streak of luck in Vegas, Charlie has retreated to Venice, having vowed to give up a life of crime to write crime fiction full time. But inspiration has yet to strike. And to make matters worse, Charlie's agent Victoria shows up at his door just as his prized first edition of The Maltese Falcon flies out the window with a femme fatale burglar. Blackmailed into committing a dastardly crime in order to get his book back, Charlie...

Charlie Howard-globe-trotting mystery writer, professional thief, and poor decision maker-is in Paris. Flush with the success of his latest book reading, Charlie agrees to show a complete novice how to break into an apartment in the Marais. Fast-forward twenty-four hours and Charlie's hired to steal an ordinary-looking oil painting-from the exact same address. Mere coincidence? Charlie figures there's no harm in finding out-until a dead body turns...