# Agatha Christie

> A Torquay-born novelist who created Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple and, according to Guinness World Records, is the best-selling fiction writer of all time.

- Crime novelist and playwright · Murder on the Orient Express · The Mousetrap
- Known for: Sixty-six detective novels, many featuring Hercule Poirot or Miss Marple, and *The Mousetrap*, the longest-running play in theatre history.[2][5]
- Born: September 15, 1890
- Died: January 12, 1976
- Last updated: 2026-11-14
- Editorial review: approved 2026-11-14
- Web page: https://authorbackstories.com/classic/agatha-christie/
- Reading list (PDF): https://authorbackstories.com/classic/agatha-christie/reading-list.pdf

## Featured book: Best known

*Murder on the Orient Express* (1934). A Hercule Poirot novel from 1934; Christie's travels with her second husband, the archaeologist Max Mallowan, gave her the backdrops for it and for *Death on the Nile*.[14][1]

## At a glance

- Born: Agatha Mary Clarissa Miller, September 15, 1890, in Torquay, Devon[7][9]
- Education: Mostly at home[8]
- First World War: Volunteer (VAD) nurse in a Red Cross hospital in Torquay[8]
- Married: Archie Christie, 1914 (divorced 1928); Max Mallowan, 1930[8][6][10]
- Other pen name: Mary Westmacott, for six romance novels[2]
- Honors: Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire, 1971[15]
- Died: January 12, 1976, aged 85[18][15]

## Agatha Christie's Backstory

### Early life

Agatha Mary Clarissa Miller was born in Torquay, Devon, on September 15, 1890, the youngest of three children; her father was American-born.[7][11] She was educated mostly at home and was a shy child who loved inventing stories.[8] On Christmas Eve 1914 she married Archie Christie, an officer in the Royal Flying Corps, and during the First World War she worked as a volunteer nurse in a Red Cross hospital in Torquay.[8][12]

### Poirot and the disappearance

Her first novel, *The Mysterious Affair at Styles*, appeared in 1920 and introduced the Belgian detective Hercule Poirot.[3][1] *The Murder of Roger Ackroyd* followed in 1926, the year her mother died and her husband told her he loved another woman.[19][10] That December she vanished for eleven days, and the search for her became international news until she was found at a hotel in Harrogate; the couple divorced in 1928.[6][12]

### Mallowan and the middle years

On a trip to the archaeological site of Ur in Iraq she met Max Mallowan, and they married in 1930; for years afterward she spent part of each year on his digs, which supplied the settings of several novels.[8][10][13][14] The same year *The Murder at the Vicarage* introduced Miss Marple.[1] Over the following decades she published steadily, including *Murder on the Orient Express* (1934), *Death on the Nile* (1937) and *And Then There Were None* (1939).[1]

### The stage

She also wrote plays; *The Mousetrap*, first staged in 1952, became the longest-running play in theatre history.[5][4]

### Later years

She was made a Dame in 1971, and her husband was knighted for his archaeological work.[15][4] *Curtain*, Poirot's last case, appeared in 1975; she died on January 12, 1976, aged 85, and *Sleeping Murder*, Miss Marple's last case, followed later that year.[2][18][1]

## Fun facts

- Guinness World Records lists her as the best-selling fiction writer of all time.[4]
- After *Curtain* (1975), Poirot's obituary appeared on the front page of the *New York Times*.[2]
- Her second husband, Max Mallowan, was knighted for his archaeology, so she was also Lady Mallowan.[4]
- She spent several months a year on his digs in Iraq and Syria.[13]
- She also wrote six romance novels as Mary Westmacott.[2]

## Books

In order of first publication; each series is kept together in reading order.

Novels, short-story collections, plays and nonfiction from Wikipedia's Agatha Christie bibliography, dated by first publication in book form; the Mary Westmacott novels, one-story booklets, US-only collections and the collaborative *Floating Admiral* are left out.[1][2]

- **Hercule Poirot** (series, 38 books, 1920–2014)
  - 1920: *The Mysterious Affair at Styles* (Novel). Her first novel, which introduced Hercule Poirot; first published in the US in 1920.[3][1] ISBN 9780063375901. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9780063375901) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9780063375901)
  - 1923: *The Murder on the Links* (Novel). ISBN 9780062573308. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9780062573308) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9780062573308)
  - 1924: *Poirot Investigates* (Story collection). ISBN 9780063375918. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9780063375918) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9780063375918)
  - 1926: *The Murder of Roger Ackroyd* (Novel). Its centenary in 2026 was part of HarperCollins's "Year of Christie."[19] ISBN 9780063221086. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9780063221086) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9780063221086)
  - 1927: *The Big Four* (Novel). ISBN 9780063375895. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9780063375895) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9780063375895)
  - 1928: *The Mystery of the Blue Train* (Novel). ISBN 9780063088009. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9780063088009) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9780063088009)
  - 1932: *Peril at End House* (Novel). ISBN 9780063376014. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9780063376014) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9780063376014)
  - 1933: *Lord Edgware Dies* (Novel). ISBN 9780063376021. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9780063376021) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9780063376021)
  - 1934: *Murder on the Orient Express* (Novel). ISBN 9780062693662. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9780062693662) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9780062693662)
  - 1935: *Death in the Clouds* (Novel). ISBN 9780062573315. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9780062573315) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9780062573315)
  - 1935: *Three Act Tragedy* (Novel). [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/search?q=Three%20Act%20Tragedy%20Agatha%20Christie)
  - 1936: *Cards on the Table* (Novel). ISBN 9780062573377. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9780062573377) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9780062573377)
  - 1936: *Murder in Mesopotamia* (Novel). ISBN 9780062073907. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9780062073907) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9780062073907)
  - 1936: *The A.B.C. Murders* (Novel). ISBN 9780062573223. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9780062573223) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9780062573223)
  - 1937: *Death on the Nile* (Novel). ISBN 9780063139848. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9780063139848) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9780063139848)
  - 1937: *Dumb Witness* (Novel). ISBN 9780062573247. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9780062573247) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9780062573247)
  - 1937: *Murder in the Mews* (Story collection). [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/search?q=Murder%20in%20the%20Mews%20Agatha%20Christie)
  - 1938: *Appointment with Death* (Novel). ISBN 9780062073921. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9780062073921) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9780062073921)
  - 1938: *Hercule Poirot's Christmas* (Novel). ISBN 9780063376977. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9780063376977) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9780063376977)
  - 1940: *One, Two, Buckle My Shoe* (Novel). ISBN 9780062073778. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9780062073778) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9780062073778)
  - 1940: *Sad Cypress* (Novel). ISBN 9780060857493. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9780060857493) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9780060857493)
  - 1941: *Evil Under the Sun* (Novel). ISBN 9780063376175. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9780063376175) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9780063376175)
  - 1942: *Five Little Pigs* (Novel). ISBN 9780062073570. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9780062073570) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9780062073570)
  - 1946: *The Hollow* (Novel). ISBN 9780063376182. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9780063376182) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9780063376182)
  - 1947: *The Labours of Hercules* (Story collection). [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/search?q=The%20Labours%20of%20Hercules%20Agatha%20Christie)
  - 1948: *Taken at the Flood* (Novel). ISBN 9780063376878. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9780063376878) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9780063376878)
  - 1952: *Mrs McGinty's Dead* (Novel). ISBN 9780063376915. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9780063376915) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9780063376915)
  - 1953: *After the Funeral* (Novel). ISBN 9780063376908. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9780063376908) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9780063376908)
  - 1955: *Hickory Dickory Dock* (Novel). ISBN 9780063376922. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9780063376922) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9780063376922)
  - 1956: *Dead Man's Folly* (Novel). ISBN 9780062364623. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9780062364623) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9780062364623)
  - 1959: *Cat Among the Pigeons* (Novel). ISBN 9780063376946. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9780063376946) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9780063376946)
  - 1963: *The Clocks* (Novel). ISBN 9780063376953. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9780063376953) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9780063376953)
  - 1966: *Third Girl* (Novel). ISBN 9780063376960. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9780063376960) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9780063376960)
  - 1969: *Hallowe'en Party* (Novel). ISBN 9780063376892. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9780063376892) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9780063376892)
  - 1972: *Elephants Can Remember* (Novel). ISBN 9780063376991. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9780063376991) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9780063376991)
  - 1974: *Poirot's Early Cases* (Story collection). [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/search?q=Poirot's%20Early%20Cases%20Agatha%20Christie)
  - 1975: *Curtain* (Novel). Poirot's last case; after it was published, his obituary ran on the front page of the *New York Times*.[2] ISBN 9780063376984. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9780063376984) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9780063376984)
  - 2014: *Hercule Poirot and the Greenshore Folly* (Novella). A novella first published in 2014.[1] [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/search?q=Hercule%20Poirot%20and%20the%20Greenshore%20Folly%20Agatha%20Christie)
- **Tommy and Tuppence** (series, 5 books, 1922–1973)
  - 1922: *The Secret Adversary* (Novel). ISBN 9780063397897. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9780063397897) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9780063397897)
  - 1929: *Partners in Crime* (Story collection). [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/search?q=Partners%20in%20Crime%20Agatha%20Christie)
  - 1941: *N or M?* (Novel). ISBN 9780062449931. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9780062449931) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9780062449931)
  - 1968: *By the Pricking of My Thumbs* (Novel). ISBN 9780062074331. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9780062074331) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9780062074331)
  - 1973: *Postern of Fate* (Novel). [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/search?q=Postern%20of%20Fate%20Agatha%20Christie)
- 1924: *The Man in the Brown Suit* (Novel). ISBN 9780062986405. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9780062986405) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9780062986405)
- 1925: *The Secret of Chimneys* (Novel). ISBN 9780062074157. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9780062074157) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9780062074157)
- 1929: *The Seven Dials Mystery* (Novel). Adapted by Netflix in 2026.[20] ISBN 9780063397880. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9780063397880) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9780063397880)
- **Miss Marple** (series, 14 books, 1930–1979)
  - 1930: *The Murder at the Vicarage* (Novel). ISBN 9780063440012. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9780063440012) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9780063440012)
  - 1932: *The Thirteen Problems* (Story collection). [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/search?q=The%20Thirteen%20Problems%20Agatha%20Christie)
  - 1942: *The Body in the Library* (Novel). ISBN 9780063214019. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9780063214019) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9780063214019)
  - 1943: *The Moving Finger* (Novel). ISBN 9780063214033. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9780063214033) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9780063214033)
  - 1950: *A Murder Is Announced* (Novel). ISBN 9780063214040. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9780063214040) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9780063214040)
  - 1952: *They Do It with Mirrors* (Novel). ISBN 9780063214057. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9780063214057) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9780063214057)
  - 1953: *A Pocket Full of Rye* (Novel). ISBN 9780063214064. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9780063214064) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9780063214064)
  - 1957: *4.50 from Paddington* (Novel). [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/search?q=4.50%20from%20Paddington%20Agatha%20Christie)
  - 1962: *The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side* (Novel). ISBN 9780063214132. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9780063214132) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9780063214132)
  - 1964: *A Caribbean Mystery* (Novel). ISBN 9780063214149. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9780063214149) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9780063214149)
  - 1965: *At Bertram's Hotel* (Novel). ISBN 9780063221628. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9780063221628) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9780063221628)
  - 1971: *Nemesis* (Novel). ISBN 9780063221581. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9780063221581) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9780063221581)
  - 1976: *Sleeping Murder* (Novel). Miss Marple's last case, published after Christie's death.[1] ISBN 9780063221598. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9780063221598) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9780063221598)
  - 1979: *Miss Marple's Final Cases and Two Other Stories* (Story collection). [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/search?q=Miss%20Marple's%20Final%20Cases%20and%20Two%20Other%20Stories%20Agatha%20Christie)
- 1930: *The Mysterious Mr Quin* (Story collection). ISBN 9780062074430. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9780062074430) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9780062074430)
- 1931: *The Sittaford Mystery* (Novel). ISBN 9780062074140. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9780062074140) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9780062074140)
- 1933: *The Hound of Death* (Story collection). [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/search?q=The%20Hound%20of%20Death%20Agatha%20Christie)
- 1934: *Black Coffee* (Play). [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/search?q=Black%20Coffee%20Agatha%20Christie)
- 1934: *Parker Pyne Investigates* (Story collection). ISBN 9780062074409. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9780062074409) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9780062074409)
- 1934: *The Listerdale Mystery* (Story collection). [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/search?q=The%20Listerdale%20Mystery%20Agatha%20Christie)
- 1934: *Why Didn't They Ask Evans?* (Novel). ISBN 9780062074126. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9780062074126) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9780062074126)
- 1939: *And Then There Were None* (Novel). ISBN 9780062325549. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9780062325549) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9780062325549)
- 1939: *Murder Is Easy* (Novel). ISBN 9780062073808. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9780062073808) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9780062073808)
- 1944: *Death Comes as the End* (Novel). ISBN 9780062879714. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9780062879714) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9780062879714)
- 1944: *Towards Zero* (Novel). ISBN 9780062073549. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9780062073549) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9780062073549)
- 1945: *Sparkling Cyanide* (Novel). ISBN 9780062074386. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9780062074386) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9780062074386)
- 1949: *Crooked House* (Novel). ISBN 9780062573278. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9780062573278) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9780062573278)
- 1951: *They Came to Baghdad* (Novel). ISBN 9780062073785. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9780062073785) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9780062073785)
- 1954: *Destination Unknown* (Novel). ISBN 9780062074102. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9780062074102) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9780062074102)
- 1954: *The Mousetrap* (Play). First staged in 1952; the longest-running play in theatre history.[5][4] [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/search?q=The%20Mousetrap%20Agatha%20Christie)
- 1954: *Witness for the Prosecution* (Play). [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/search?q=Witness%20for%20the%20Prosecution%20Agatha%20Christie)
- 1957: *Spider's Web* (Play). [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/search?q=Spider's%20Web%20Agatha%20Christie)
- 1958: *Ordeal by Innocence* (Novel). ISBN 9780062884732. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9780062884732) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9780062884732)
- 1958: *The Unexpected Guest* (Play). [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/search?q=The%20Unexpected%20Guest%20Agatha%20Christie)
- 1958: *Verdict* (Play). [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/search?q=Verdict%20Agatha%20Christie)
- 1960: *The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding* (Story collection). [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/search?q=The%20Adventure%20of%20the%20Christmas%20Pudding%20Agatha%20Christie)
- 1961: *The Pale Horse* (Novel). ISBN 9780062074119. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9780062074119) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9780062074119)
- 1967: *Endless Night* (Novel). ISBN 9780062573353. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9780062573353) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9780062573353)
- 1970: *Passenger to Frankfurt* (Novel). ISBN 9780062094452. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9780062094452) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9780062094452)
- 1973: *Akhnaton* (Play). [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/search?q=Akhnaton%20Agatha%20Christie)
- 1977: *An Autobiography* (Memoir). ISBN 9780062204578. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9780062204578) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9780062204578)
- 1991: *Problem at Pollensa Bay and Other Stories* (Story collection). [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/search?q=Problem%20at%20Pollensa%20Bay%20and%20Other%20Stories%20Agatha%20Christie)
- 1997: *While the Light Lasts and Other Stories* (Story collection). [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/search?q=While%20the%20Light%20Lasts%20and%20Other%20Stories%20Agatha%20Christie)
- 2012: *The Grand Tour: Around the World with the Queen of Mystery* (Nonfiction). [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/search?q=The%20Grand%20Tour%3A%20Around%20the%20World%20with%20the%20Queen%20of%20Mystery%20Agatha%20Christie)

## Latest news

- Oct. 30, 2026: The British Library opened *Agatha Christie: A World of Mystery*, an exhibition marking 50 years since her death, running until June 20, 2027.[16][17]
- Jan. 15, 2026: Netflix released *Agatha Christie's Seven Dials*, a three-part series written by Chris Chibnall from *The Seven Dials Mystery*, with Mia McKenna-Bruce, Helena Bonham Carter and Martin Freeman.[20][21]
- Jan. 12, 2026: The 50th anniversary of her death; her publisher HarperCollins marked a "Year of Christie," also the centenary of *The Murder of Roger Ackroyd*.[18][19]

## Adaptations and other media

### Television

- *Agatha Christie's Murder Is Easy* (2023). Based on *Murder Is Easy*. A BBC adaptation of the 1939 novel.[23]
- *Agatha Christie's Seven Dials* (2026). Based on *The Seven Dials Mystery*. A three-part Netflix series written by Chris Chibnall, the first from the production company Orchid Pictures, with Mia McKenna-Bruce as Bundle Brent.[20][22]

## Myth and record

- Claim: Christie faked her eleven-day disappearance in December 1926, to take revenge on her unfaithful husband or to win publicity, rather than losing her memory, a question still argued over in books and newspapers.[6]
  The record: After a quarrel with her husband she left home, her abandoned car was found the next morning, and a large search followed; she was found at the Swan Hydropathic Hotel in Harrogate, registered under the surname of her husband's mistress.[6][9] Neither she nor anyone else involved spoke publicly about it afterward, and the record does not show why she went.[5]

## Timeline

- Sept. 15, 1890: Born in Torquay, Devon.[7]
- Dec. 24, 1914: Marries Archie Christie, an officer in the Royal Flying Corps.[8][12]
- 1920: *The Mysterious Affair at Styles*, her first novel, introduces Hercule Poirot.[3][1]
- 1926: *The Murder of Roger Ackroyd* is published; her mother dies, and her husband asks for a divorce.[19][10]
- December 1926: Disappears for eleven days and is found at a hotel in Harrogate.[6][9]
- 1930: Marries the archaeologist Max Mallowan and publishes the first Miss Marple novel.[10][1]
- 1934: *Murder on the Orient Express* is published.[1]
- 1952: *The Mousetrap* opens in London.[5][4]
- 1971: Made a Dame.[15]
- Jan. 12, 1976: Dies, aged 85.[18][15]
- Oct. 30, 2026: The British Library's 50th-anniversary exhibition opens.[16]

## What came after

The British Library's exhibition *Agatha Christie: A World of Mystery* runs until June 20, 2027.[16][15]

## Sources

1. [Agatha Christie bibliography](https://iiab.live/kiwix/content/wikipedia_en_top_maxi_2023-02/A/Agatha_Christie_bibliography). Wikipedia (2023 snapshot). (reference)
2. [Agatha Christie bibliography](https://en.wikipedia-on-ipfs.org/wiki/Agatha_Christie_bibliography). Wikipedia (IPFS mirror). (reference)
3. [Author:Agatha Christie](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Author:Agatha_Christie). Wikisource. (reference)
4. [The A-Z of Agatha Christie, the Queen of Crime](https://www.saga.co.uk/magazine/entertainment/the-a-z-of-agatha-christie). Saga Magazine. (news)
5. [The Curious Disappearance of Agatha Christie](https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofBritain/The-Curious-Disappearance-of-Agatha-Christie). Historic UK. (reference)
6. [It was Agatha's husband whodunit](https://www.pressreader.com/uk/daily-mail/20221104/282488597680840). Daily Mail (via PressReader). (news)
7. [Daily Mail Weekend Magazine](https://www.pressreader.com/uk/daily-mail-weekend-magazine/20201003/281642487622961). Daily Mail (via PressReader). (news)
8. [Real life: The amazing Agatha Christie](https://www.pressreader.com/uk/womans-weekly-uk/20190108/282905206683900). Woman's Weekly (via PressReader). (news)
9. [Mrs. Christie – About Agatha](https://theatreworks.org/?p=30714). TheatreWorks Silicon Valley. (website)
10. [Agatha Christie: Mystery, Murder, and Marple](https://noiser.com/short-history-of/agatha-christie-mystery-murder-and-marple). Noiser (Short History Of...). (website)
11. [Agatha Christie, the writer who kept one mystery she never put in a book](https://www.martincid.com/people/agatha-christie/). Martin Cid Magazine. (news)
12. [Agatha Christie Biography](https://www.sparknotes.com/author/agatha-christie/). SparkNotes. (reference)
13. [How Agatha Christie Became the World's Best-Selling Novelist](https://lastcalltrivia.com/learn/agatha-christie/). Last Call Trivia. (website)
14. [The Murder on the Links](https://www.indigo.ca/products/the-murder-on-the-links-poirot-shook-his-head-seriously). Indigo (publisher's author note). (website)
15. [British Library to Stage Major Agatha Christie Exhibition](https://www.finebooksmagazine.com/fine-books-news/british-library-stage-major-agatha-christie-exhibition). Fine Books & Collections. (news)
16. [British Library to open major exhibition on Agatha Christie](https://www.bl.uk/about/press/releases/british-library-to-open-major-exhibition-on-agatha-christie). British Library. (primary record)
17. [British Library celebrates Agatha Christie](https://www.wanderlustmagazine.com/?p=184740). Wanderlust. (news)
18. [50th Anniversary of the Death of Agatha Christie](https://interlude.hk/50th-anniversary-of-the-death-of-agatha-christie-died-on-january-12-1976-murder-melody/). Interlude. (news)
19. [The Year of Agatha Christie](https://www.harperreach.com/2026/01/13/the-year-of-agatha-christie/). HarperCollins (Harper Reach). (primary record)
20. ['Agatha Christie's Seven Dials' TV Series](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/seven-dials-mystery-agatha-christie). Netflix Tudum. (primary record)
21. [Agatha Christie's Seven Dials on Netflix](https://www.sortiraparis.com/en/what-to-do-in-paris/cinema-series/articles/339630-les-sept-cadrans-by-agatha-christie-an-english-thriller-now-streaming-on-netflix). Sortiraparis. (news)
22. [Agatha Christie's Seven Dials: Netflix Sets Date For New Adaptation](https://www.britishtv.com/?p=20151). BritishTV.com. (news)
23. [Agatha Christie's Seven Dials: Netflix drops new trailer](https://www.tvguide.co.uk/articles/agatha-christies-seven-dials-netflix-thrilling-new-drama-adaptation-plot-cast-start-date). TV Guide UK. (news)