Unfinished Portrait (novel)
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| Unfinished Portrait | |
| Author | Mary Westmacott (pseudonym of Agatha Christie) |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Tragedy |
| Publisher | Collins |
| Publication date | March 1934 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover & Paperback) |
| Pages | 320 pp (first edition, hardcover) |
| ISBN | NA |
| Preceded by | Murder on the Orient Express |
| Followed by | The Listerdale Mystery |
Unfinished Portrait is a semi-autobiographical novel written by Agatha Christie and first published in the UK by William Collins & Sons in March 1934 and in the US by Doubleday later in the same year. The British edition retailed for seven shillings and sixpence (7/6) and the US edition at $2.00. It is the second of six novels Christie wrote under the nom-de-plume Mary Westmacott.
Contents |
[edit] Plot summary
In the midst of divorce, bereft of the only people in her life she cares for, Celia considers taking her life. But, while on an exotic island, Celia meets a successful portrait painter Larraby, who spends a night talking with her, and learning her deepest fears, leaving Celia with the hope that he may be the one to help her come to terms with her past.
[edit] Literary significance and reception
The Times Literary Supplement review of April 12, 1934 outlined the plot and stated that, "The artist who re-tells Celia's story ends several sentences in every paragraph with dots, a mannerism that irritates; but we must forgive him, since, in the final chapter, he heals Celia's soul in one unpredictable instant."[1]
The New York Times Book Review of December 9, 1934 said of the plot construction of Celia telling Larraby her life history that, "This literary device seems artificial and unnecessary at first, but is effectively used in the ending." They concluded, "As a study of a shy, emotional nature, verging on the pathological, Unfinished Portrait is moderately well done. It is worth reading for its sympathetic – and sometimes very amusing – account of Celia's childhood. An in Celia's Grannie it introduces a grand old lady – an indomitable Victorian with a keen love of life, a fine hand for managing 'the men', and a gruesome interest in the final takings-off of the many friends and relatives whom she survived."[2]
[edit] Publication history
- 1934, William Collins & Sons (London), March 1934, Hardcover, 320 pp
- 1934, Doubleday (New York), 1934, Hardcover, 323 pp
- 1964, Dell Books (New York), Paperback, 284 pp
- 1972, Arbor House (New York), Hardcover, 284 pp
- 1986, Fontana Books (Imprint of HarperCollins), Paperback, ISBN 0-00-617373-X
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Unfinished Portrait at the official Agatha Christie website
