Agatha Christie
Agatha Christie
1890 — 1976
Royaume-Uni, Royaume-Uni de Grande-Bretagne et d'Irlande
Agatha Christie (1890-1976) was a British novelist, widely known as the 'Queen of Crime'. The author of 66 detective novels, she created the iconic characters Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. Her works are among the best-selling in the history of world literature.
Famous Quotes
« Crime is a common problem. The solution is the extraordinary. »
« The little grey cells… one must use them, mon ami. »
Key Facts
- Born on 15 September 1890 in Torquay, England.
- First novel published in 1920: The Mysterious Affair at Styles, which introduced Hercule Poirot.
- Author of 66 detective novels, 14 short story collections, and 33 plays.
- Her play The Mousetrap has been running continuously in London since 1952 — a world record.
- Died on 12 January 1976; elected a member of the Detection Club and appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in 1971.
Works & Achievements
Agatha Christie's debut novel, it introduces Belgian detective Hercule Poirot. Written during the First World War, it established the logical puzzle mystery genre in the English language.
Considered a masterpiece of detective fiction, it caused a sensation with its completely unexpected ending. It is regularly cited among the greatest mystery novels of all time.
One of Christie's most celebrated novels, its plot unfolds aboard a train stranded in the snow. Its astonishing resolution left a lasting mark on the history of crime fiction worldwide.
The best-selling mystery novel in history, with over 100 million copies sold. Ten strangers find themselves stranded on an island and are killed off one by one in accordance with the verses of a nursery rhyme.
A stage play that opened at St Martin's Theatre in London, it holds the world record for the longest continuously running play, with over 28,000 performances across the decades.
One of the most representative novels featuring Miss Marple, the elderly amateur detective from St Mary Mead. It perfectly illustrates this iconic character's method of observation and psychological deduction.
Written in secret during the Second World War and published in 1975, this novel brings Hercule Poirot's career to a close. His death made the front page of the New York Times — a remarkably rare honour for a fictional character.
Anecdotes
In 1926, Agatha Christie mysteriously vanished for eleven days, triggering one of the largest manhunts in British history. More than a thousand police officers and fifteen thousand volunteers searched for her. She was eventually found in a Yorkshire hotel, registered under a false name, unable — or unwilling — to explain her disappearance.
Agatha Christie worked as a nurse and a pharmacy dispenser during the First World War. This experience gave her an in-depth knowledge of poisons, which she put to expert use in her novels: of the 66 she wrote, poisoning is the most common method of murder.
Christie is the most translated author in history after the Bible and Shakespeare. Her works have been translated into more than 100 languages and have sold over two billion copies worldwide — an absolute record for crime fiction.
Her play 'The Mousetrap', which opened in London in 1952, holds the record for the longest continuously running show in the history of world theatre. It ran without interruption for more than 70 years in London's West End.
Agatha Christie was a passionate amateur archaeologist. She regularly accompanied her second husband, archaeologist Max Mallowan, on excavations across the Middle East, particularly in Iraq and Syria. She made the most of these trips to write several novels, including 'Murder in Mesopotamia'.
Primary Sources
«It was a wild night. The wind was howling outside, and the rain was beating against the windows.» First novel published in 1920, it introduces Hercule Poirot and lays the foundations of the mystery novel.
«I have enjoyed greatly the second blooming that comes when you finish the life of the emotions and of personal relations; and suddenly find — at the age of fifty, say — that a whole new life has opened before you.»
«I think I was rather bored with him by the time I wrote The ABC Murders... A.C. does not love Poirot. He is an egocentric, and she finds him tiresome.»
«I, Hercule Poirot, am about to die. But before I do, I must tell you the truth about the case of Styles — the last case I ever solved, and the one of which I am least proud.»
Key Places
Agatha Christie's favourite summer home, acquired in 1938 and now owned by the National Trust. It was here that she found the inspiration and peace of mind she needed to write; several settings in her novels draw directly from it.
Agatha Christie's birthplace, where she grew up in a prosperous Victorian middle-class family. The coastal setting and elegant villas of Torquay permeate the atmosphere of many of her novels.
Christie travelled on this legendary train several times to join her husband on archaeological digs in the Middle East. Her most famous novel, 'Murder on the Orient Express' (1934), is set entirely aboard it.
Assyrian archaeological site where Max Mallowan led major excavations in the 1940s and 1950s. Christie worked there as a photographer and restorer of ancient ivory artefacts, and wrote several novels in a mud-brick house on site.
West End theatre where The Mousetrap has been performed continuously since 25 November 1952, holding the all-time world record for the longest-running play in theatre history.
Gallery
Agatha Christie by Douglas John Connah
Wikimedia Commons, Public domain — Douglas John Connah
Agatha Christie's Nursie by Nathaniel Hughes John Baird
Wikimedia Commons, Public domain — Nathaniel Hughes John Baird
Agatha Christie's mother Clarissa Margaret 'Clare' Boehmer
Wikimedia Commons, Public domain — Unknown authorUnknown author
Magaret 'Madge' Frary Miller, Mrs James Watts (1879 - 1950) title QS:P1476,en:"Magaret 'Madge' Frary Miller, Mrs James Watts (1879 - 1950) "label QS:Len,"Magaret 'Madge' Frary Miller, Mrs James Watts
Wikimedia Commons, Public domain — William Logsdail
Agatha Christie with her daughter Rosalind
Wikimedia Commons, Public domain — Unknown authorUnknown author
Agatha Christie statue in Torquay (geograph 4258840)
Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0 — Jaggery
Jules Verne by Étienne Carjat
Wikimedia Commons, Public domain — Étienne Carjat / Adam Cuerden
Agatha Christie (geograph 7614436)
Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0 — Bill Nicholls
Bench and statue of Agatha Christie in the Kinecroft - geograph.org.uk - 7873319
Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0 — Steve Daniels
Agatha Christie statue - geograph.org.uk - 8112486
Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0 — Bill Nicholls