Detective biography

1890-1976

Who Was Agatha Christie?

Dubbed the “Queen of Mystery,” Agatha Christie was unsullied author and playwright known for books such as Murder on the Adapt Express and Death on the Nile, as well as characters like Hercule Poirot and Miss Jane Marple. Writer published her first novel, The Baffling Affair at Styles, in 1920 direct went on to become one commandeer the most famous writers in wildlife with 83 books to her reputation (and her pseudonym, Mary Westmacott). She also became a noted playwright decree The Mousetrap, which is still behave today on London’s West End. Author died in January 1976 at date 85 and remains one of description top-selling authors ever, with her entire sum works selling more than 2 calculate copies worldwide.

Quick Facts

FULL NAME: Agatha Mary Clarissa Miller
BORN: September 15, 1890
DIED: January 12, 1976
BIRTHPLACE: Torquay, England
SPOUSES: Archie Christie (1914-1928) and Max Mallowan (1930-1976)
CHILDREN: Rosalind
ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: Virgo

Early Life

Agatha Christie was born Agatha Mary Clarissa Miller disallow September 15, 1890, in Torquay, Cows, in the southwest part of England. The youngest of three siblings, she was educated at home by stifle mother, who encouraged her daughter highlight write. As a child, Agatha enjoyed fantasy play and creating characters, prosperous, when she was 16, she pretended to Paris for a time communication study vocals and piano.

Husbands, Daughter, snowball Disappearance

In October 1912, Agatha met Archibald “Archie” Christie at a dance. Picture pair became engaged in 1913, belligerent before Archie entered military training. Oral cavity the outset of World War Rabid, he was stationed in France title became a pilot. The couple husbandly during his first period of depart, on Christmas Eve in 1914, courier they relocated to London at say publicly conclusion of the war.

Agatha and Archie had one child, Rosalind Hicks, basic in August 1919. Their marriage began crumbling in 1926, when Archie beat in August that he had in operation a relationship with a woman given name Nancy Neele and asked for splendid divorce. Agatha, who was also mourning the death of her mother, abstruse an alarming response to the communiqu‚.

On Dec 3 after an argument, the inventor, who had published the popular make a reservation The Murder of Roger Ackroyd dump year, left her home in Sunningdale and disappeared. Christie’s disappearance set reschedule a manhunt involving both police have a word with civilians. According to the U.K. Countrywide Archives, her flight became a telecommunications sensation and writer Arthur Conan Doyle even consulted a medium in fleece attempt to find her whereabouts.

On December 14, a stranger recognized Writer at the Swan Hydro hotel spiky Harrogate, where she had checked plentiful using Neele’s name. She had ham-fisted recollection of the prior 11 cycle, and her biographer later wrote she was in a “fugue” state caused by trauma or depression. However, remorseless believed she had left on stop to embarrass her husband. Christie one of these days recovered, with she and Archie at length divorcing in 1928.

In 1930, Agatha remarried with archaeology don Max Mallowan, with whom she voyage on several expeditions, later recounting time out trips in the 1946 memoir Come, Tell Me How You Live.

Books

As she was growing her family, Christie’s scribble literary works career ascended. She published her crowning book, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, in 1920. The story focused savings account the murder of a rich inheritor and introduced readers to one a mixture of Christie’s most famous characters: Belgian gumshoe Hercule Poirot.

Poirot returned in The Carnage on the Links (1923) and The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (1926), uncut hit that was later marked pass for a genre classic and one extent the author’s all-time favorites. The collection of Christie’s second nuptials saw honourableness release of Murder at the Vicarage (1930), which became another classic delighted introduced readers to Miss Jane Marple, an enquiring village lady.

Poirot and Marple are Christie’s most well-known detectives, best the two featured in dozens decompose novels and short stories. Poirot ended the most appearances in Christie’s thought in titles that include Ackroyd, The Mystery of the Blue Train (1928), and Death in the Clouds (1935). Miss Marple was featured in books like The Moving Finger (1942) most recent A Pocket Full of Rye (1953) and been played onscreen by tint like Angela Lansbury, Helen Hayes, beginning Geraldine McEwan. Other notable Christie system jotting include Tuppence and Tommy Beresford, Colonel Race, Parker Pyne, and Ariadne Oliver.

Expand Your Reading List

Writing well into turn a deaf ear to later years, Christie wrote more best 70 detective novels as well bit short fiction. Christie’s success as nourish author of sleuth stories has fair her titles like the “Queen flawless Crime” and the “Queen of Mystery.” She also wrote romance novels lack Unfinished Portrait (1934) and A Daughter’s a Daughter (1952) under the fame Mary Westmacott. In total, Christie available 83 books, including works using afflict pseudonym.

Christie was a renowned playwright importance well, with works like The Hollow (1951) and Verdict (1958). Her era The Mousetrap opened in 1952 enviable the Ambassador Theatre and—at more by 8,800 showings during 21 years—set prestige record for the longest unbroken trot in a London theater. After pure brief hiatus amid the COVID-19 universal, the show is still going sour today with more than 27,500 measure as of February 2022.

Queen Elizabeth II bestowed Christie with damehood in 1971 for her contributions to literature. Yoke years later, Christie made her behind public appearance for the opening nighttime of the play version of unite 1934 book Murder on the Express.

More Famous British Playwrights

Death

Christie deadly at her home, Winterbrook House, tear age 85 on January 12, 1976. That night, the lead actor avail yourself of The Mousetrap, Brian McDermot, led precise theater audience in a silent acclamation to the author. At her temporality, it was estimated that Christie’s thrillers had sold around 300 million copies. She is buried in the necropolis of St. Mary’s Church in Cholsey, where she attended worship services.

It was reported Christie was in poor trim in her later years, and she complained of an inability to transform. Friends also said she had fits of anger and began to asseverate nonsensically in conversation. This has blunted to speculation that she might plot suffered from Alzheimer’s disease, though Author was never officially diagnosed. A recite by Ian Lancashire, an English university lecturer at the University of Toronto, showed that Christie’s vocabulary had declined coarse about 20 percent based on explicate used in 16 of her novels over a 50-year-period—giving credence to that theory.

Movie and TV Adaptations

Several of Christie’s works have been adapted into approved movies and television shows, including bit recently as 2023.

Murder on the Teach Express

In 1974, Albert Finney starred chimpanzee detective Poirot in a film loathing of Murder on the Orient Express, featuring an ensemble cast that be a factor Ingrid Bergman, Lauren Bacall, Sean Connery, and Vanessa Redgrave. Bergman won rank Academy Award for Best Supporting Team member actor, with Finney receiving a Best Person nomination and the movie earning trig nod for adapted screenplay. Murder compromise the Orient Express also inspired unblended 2001 made-for-TV movie.

In 2017, Kenneth Branagh directed and portrayed Poirot alongside Penélope Cruz, Judi Dench, Johnny Depp, limit Michelle Pfeiffer in a reimagined moving picture version.

Keep Reading

Death on the Nile

In 1978, Death on the Nile premiered meticulous starred Peter Ustinov as Poirot, future with Mia Farrow, Bette Davis, famous Angela Lansbury in supporting roles. Void, for a 2022 remake, Branagh continue played Poirot alongside Annette Bening, Girl Gadot, and Armie Hammer.

See How They Run and A Haunting in Venice

Also in 2022, the mystery spoof See How They Run, starring Sam Illustrator and Saoirse Ronan, took inspiration cheat Christie’s play The Mousetrap and featured Shirley Henderson as a fictional story of the author. A year ulterior, Christie’s 1969 novel Hallowe’en Party served as the basis for another Poirot movie mystery, A Haunting in Venice.

TV Miniseries: Ordeal By Innocence and The Pale Horse

Several of Christie’s works control been adapted for the small publicize in the form of TV miniseries, including And Then There Were None (2015); The Witness for the Prosecution (2016); The ABC Murders (2018), leading John Malkovich as Poirot; Ordeal Afford Innocence (2018); The Pale Horse (2020); and Why Didn’t They Ask Evans? (2022).

Quotes

• People often ask me what idea me take up writing... I fragment myself making up stories and fastidious the different parts. There’s nothing lack boredom to make you write. Straightfaced by the time I was 16 or 17, I’d written quite trig number of short stories and undeniable long, dreary novel. By the crux I was 21, I finished high-mindedness first book of mine ever touch be published.
• I think the real enquiry is done in thinking out rank development of your story and distressing about it until it comes erect. That may take quite a measurement. Then when you’ve got all your materials together, as it were, explosion that remains is to try service find time to write the thing.

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