Unfinished Portrait

Description

Unfinished Portrait is a semi-autobiographical novel written by the famous mystery novelist Agatha Christie. The novel was published in 1934 under her pseudonym, Mary Westmacott. In many ways, perhaps this introspective novel gives some insight into Christie’s personal life and the emotional turmoil as she went through trying times in her own marriage.

The novel tells the story of Celia, a woman who, after a series of emotional trauma and personal crises, contemplates taking one’s life. The story then unfolds in flashbacks: her childhood, relationships, marriage, and experiences that led to her state of emotional collapse. It presents her feelings of abandonment, loneliness, and unfulfilled desires, hence the values Celia goes through to understand how her past defined her current plight.

While not exactly a mystery in the mold of Agatha Christie, in Unfinished Portrait much psychological probing into the guises of identity, heartbreak, and resilience is done by the author. Indeed, the novel enables Christie to pursue some musings on love, loss, and human feeling as had started with Celia. It is the introspection and intensity of the novel that separates it from the detective stories Christie was best known for.

Unfinished Portrait is a very raw and emotional work, unearthing some of the personal turmoil that this world-famous author went through.