This is a novel written by Agatha Christie under the Pseudonym Mary Westmacott and is my January read for readchristie2025 with the theme of an artist

It was published in 1934 and tells the story of Larraby, a portrait painter, who meets Celia one night. She is considering taking her own life, he talks to her through the night and we hear her story and her fears and Larraby leaves her with the hope of helping her come to terms with her past.

I listened to this on audio and I found it to be a really wonderful story, it’s pretty sad but I was absolutely addicted. I loved the character of Celia, especially when she was a girl. It’s semi autobiographical and having read quite a bit about Christie, it does seem to stay pretty close to happenings in her life. Dermot was my least favourite, he is feckless, selfish and basically gaslights Celia through their relationship. I found myself shouting at him whilst sat in a traffic jam on Streatham High Road, probably much to the shock of a few pedestrians!

It is a snapshot of the life of an  early 20th century woman. I could hear Celia’s voice very clearly and I think this is probably because Christie was writing about things so close to herself as the story mirrored her own life. It is at times funny, sad, hopeful and it honestly surprised me. I had felt put off from reading any of her work that wasn’t traditional murder based but I have seen the light and I am going to read a few more Westmacott’s now. I think it just goes to show what a fabulous writer she was.