Julius Green has written a comprehensive history of Agatha Christie’s life as a playwright. To people like myself, Christie was best known for her crime novels. But to others, she was well known as a playwright, as is evidenced by the contents of CURTAIN UP.

Green has not written a biography of Christie’s life, as he says there are already a number of goods ones out there. Rather, his intent is to set the record straight on her contributions to live theatre.He contends (and rightly so based on what he has written) that Christie was never given the recognition she deserved as a playwright. She was the first woman ever to have three plays running simultaneously in London’s popular West End theatre district. One of them, “The Mousetrap,” opened in 1952 and is still going strong, starting its 64th year of production. It is the longest-running play --- and show --- of all time.

"Many thanks to Julius Green for giving me a whole new perspective on the life of one of my favorite writers."

In the process of detailing Christie’s theatrical accomplishments, Green puts them into historical perspective, listing other plays that were being done at the same time as hers. This is not only a history of Christie’s work, but also somewhat of a history of the theatrical goings-on of the West End.

Green, a theatrical producer who has been responsible for some of Christie’s plays, tackles a heavy subject. Although he writes with some humor, most of the book is rather matter-of-fact. Still, he adds lots of interesting and fascinating material, including many never-before-published personal letters between Christie and others in the theatre business, giving the reader a different insight into her thoughts and ideas at the time.

I have been a fan of Agatha Christie for many decades, having read a great deal of her short stories and novels. Until I read CURTAIN UP, I wasn’t fully aware of the role she played in the history of theatre. Many thanks to Julius Green for giving me a whole new perspective on the life of one of my favorite writers.