Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

Preview
  • Come, Tell Me How You Live: An Archaeological Memoir

  • By: Agatha Christie
  • Narrated by: Judith Boyd
  • Length: 7 hrs and 52 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (48 ratings)

£0.00 for first 30 days

Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Come, Tell Me How You Live: An Archaeological Memoir

By: Agatha Christie
Narrated by: Judith Boyd
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Summary

Agatha Christie’s personal memoirs about her travels to Syria and Iraq in the 1930s with her archaeologist husband Max Mallowan, where she worked on the digs and wrote some of her most evocative novels.

Think you know Agatha Christie? Think again!

To the world she was Agatha Christie, legendary author of bestselling whodunits. But in the 1930s she wore a different hat, travelling with her husband, renowned archaeologist Max Mallowan, as he investigated the buried ruins and ancient wonders of Syria and Iraq. When friends asked what this strange ‘other life’ was like, she decided to answer their questions by writing down her adventures in this eye-opening book.

Described by the author as a ‘meandering chronicle of life on an archaeological dig’, Come, Tell Me How You Live is Agatha Christie's very personal memoir of her time spent in this breathtaking corner of the globe, living among the working men in tents in the desert where recorded human history began. Acclaimed as ‘a pure pleasure to read’, it is an altogether remarkable and increasingly poignant narrative, a fascinating, vibrant and vivid portrait of everyday life in a world now long since vanished.

©2015 Agatha Christie (P)2015 HarperCollins Publishers Limited
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Listeners also enjoyed...

The Mysterious Affair at Styles cover art
More from Marple's Casebook cover art
The Secret of Chimneys cover art
Poirot and Me cover art
The Wintringham Mystery cover art
Sun in the Morning cover art
The Noel Coward BBC Radio Drama Collection cover art
Agatha Christie’s Poirot cover art
The Stratton Story cover art
The Frenchman and the Lady cover art
The Murder of Mr. Wickham cover art
A Man Lay Dead cover art
Thursday's Child cover art
Mrs. Tim of the Regiment cover art
Cocaine Blues cover art
Staying On cover art

Critic reviews

‘Perfectly delightful… colourful, lively and occasionally touching and thought-provoking’
Charles Osborne, Books & Bookmen

‘Good and enjoyable… she has a delightfully light touch’
Marghanita Laski, Country Life

What listeners say about Come, Tell Me How You Live: An Archaeological Memoir

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    36
  • 4 Stars
    9
  • 3 Stars
    2
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    1
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    38
  • 4 Stars
    4
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    1
Story
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    34
  • 4 Stars
    9
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A wonderful surprise

This book transported me to a Syria that is a tad more attractive to the one displayed on the news.

I have never quite got on with Agatha Christies fiction as the plots usually annoy me. Consequently I was happy to discover she has a brilliant sense of humour. The way she captures the essence of the people she encounters on this adventure is brilliant. It has a flavour of Casablanca and Indian Jones but fun.

I have ordered her autobiography and am considering giving her fiction another go.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Another fantastic book from Christe Mallowan

After having listened to Agatha's autobiography and loving it, I was delighted to discover that Judith Boyd had also read this book, based in the Middle East. To one who's interest in the Middle East is limited, this book may not have quite the same appeal as the autobiography, although the author's compelling ability to shine light and humour on any situation never ceases to amaze me.

I however, having just previously struggled through A line in the Sand, enjoyed the context of Syria the Levant at the time and found it incredibly interesting that the Mallowans seemed to have few issues (although they were in Syria around the time when there were significant events happening nearby.

Regardless, I enjoyed the book thoroughly and the characters are described beautifully so as to make you feel as though you know them.

A great read, one not to be missed (although I recommend Agatha's autobiography first) 🥰

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Highly recommend-lovely story

I savoured & enjoyed this wonderful audiobook, it is funny & interesting & I totally lost myself in it.
I realise what a clever writer Agatha Christie was, in her 'whodunnits' I always follow the plot & don't pay too much attention to the writing-probably a mark of an accomplished writer.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Unexpectedly Brilliant!

With the tagline, "an archaeological memoir", this book doesn't seem promising, but having seen so many favourable reviews, I decided to give it a try, and was pleasantly surprised. It's a fascinating glimpse into a different world. Read very well by the narrator, and written with humour and vivid descriptions.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!