Agatha Christie
Author, Playwright (1890–1976)
Quotes
“People often ask me what made me take up writing ... I found myself making up
stories and acting the different parts. There's nothing like boredom to make you write.
So by the time I was 16 or 17, I'd written quite a number of short stories and one long,
dreary novel. By the time I was 21, I finished the first book of mine ever to be
published.”
—Agatha Christie
Synopsis
Born on September 15, 1890, in Torquay, England, Agatha Christie published her first
novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, in 1920, and went on to become one of the most
famous writers in history, with mysteries like Murder at the Vicarage, Partners in Crime
and Sad Cypress. She sold billions of copies of her work, and was also a noted
playwright and romance author. She died on January 12, 1976.
Background
Best-selling author Agatha Christie was born Agatha Mary Clarissa Miller on September
15, 1890, in Torquay, Devon, in the southwest part of England. The youngest of three
siblings, she was educated at home by her mother, who encouraged her daughter to
write. As a child, Christie enjoyed fantasy play and creating characters, and, when she
was 16, moved to Paris for a time to study vocals and piano.
In 1914, she wed Colonel Archibald Christie, a Royal Flying Corps pilot, and took up
nursing during World War I. She published her first book, The Mysterious Affair at
Styles, in 1920; the story focused on the murder of a rich heiress and introduced
readers to one of Christie's most famous characters—Belgian detective Hercule Poirot.
Fame and Tumult
In 1926, Christie released The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, a hit which was later marked
as a genre classic and one of the author's all-time favorites. She dealt with tumult that
same year, however, as her mother died and her husband revealed that he was in a
relationship with another woman. Traumatized by the revelation, Christie disappeared
only to be discovered by authorities several days later at a Harrogate hotel, registered
under the name of her husband's mistress.
Christie would recover, with her and Archibald divorcing in 1928. In 1930, she married
archaeology professor Max Mallowan, with whom she travelled on several expeditions,
later recounting her trips in the 1946 memoir Come, Tell Me How You Live. The year of
her new nuptials also saw the release of Murder at the Vicarage, which became
another classic and introduced readers to Miss Jane Marple, an enquiring village lady.
Cast of Characters
Poirot and Marple are Christie's most well-known detectives, with the two featured in
dozens of novels and short stories. Poirot made the most appearances in Christie's
work in titles that included Ackroyd, The Mystery of the Blue Train (1928) and Death in
the Clouds (1935). Miss Marple has been featured in books like The Moving Finger
(1942) and A Pocket Full of Rye (1953), and been played on screen by actresses like
Angela Lansbury, Helen Hayes and Geraldine McEwan. Other notable Christie
characters include Tuppence and Tommy Beresford, Colonel Race, Parker Pyne and
Ariadne Oliver.
Sold More Than Two Billion Copies
Writing well into her later years, Christie wrote more than 70 detective novels as well
as short fiction. Though she also wrote romance novels like Unfinished Portrait (1934)
and A Daughter's a Daughter (1952) under the name Mary Westmacott, Christie's
success as an author of sleuth stories has earned her titles like the "Queen of Crime"
and the "Queen of Mystery." Christie can also be considered a queen of all publishing
genres as she is one of the top-selling authors in history, with her combined works
selling more than 2 billion copies worldwide.
Christie was a renowned playwright as well, with works like The Hollow (1951) and
Verdict (1958). Her play The Mousetrap opened in 1952 at the Ambassador Theatre
and—at more than 8,800 showings during 21 years—holds the record for the longest
unbroken run in a London theater. Additionally, several of Christie's works have
become popular movies, including Murder on the Orient Express (1974) and Death on
the Nile (1978).
Christie was made a dame in 1971. In 1974, she made her last public appearance for
the opening night of the play version of Murder on the Orient Express. Christie died on
January 12, 1976.
