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.
Murder on the Orient Express
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.141
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At a glance
- Born
- Agatha Mary Clarissa Miller, September 15, 1890, in Torquay, Devon79
- Education
- Mostly at home8
- First World War
- Volunteer (VAD) nurse in a Red Cross hospital in Torquay8
- Married
- Archie Christie, 1914 (divorced 1928); Max Mallowan, 19308610
- Other pen name
- Mary Westmacott, for six romance novels2
- Honors
- Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire, 197115
- Died
- January 12, 1976, aged 851815
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.711 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.812
Poirot and the disappearance
Her first novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, appeared in 1920 and introduced the Belgian detective Hercule Poirot.31 The Murder of Roger Ackroyd followed in 1926, the year her mother died and her husband told her he loved another woman.1910 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 1928.612
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.8101314 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.54
Later years
She was made a Dame in 1971, and her husband was knighted for his archaeological work.154 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.2181
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, starting where its first book appeared. 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.12
Bookshop.org (which supports independent bookstores) and Amazon links are affiliate links: we may earn a small commission on purchases, at no cost to you. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. WorldCat links find the book in a library near you.
Hercule Poirot
- 1920
- 1923
- 1924
- 1926
- 1927
- 1928
- 1932
- 1933
- 1934
- 1935
- 1935Three Act Tragedy
- 1936
- 1936
- 1936
- 1937
- 1937
- 1937Murder in the Mews
- 1938
- 1938
- 1940
- 1940
- 1941
- 1942
- 1946
- 1947The Labours of Hercules
- 1948
- 1952
- 1953
- 1955
- 1956
- 1959
- 1963
- 1966
- 1969
- 1972
- 1974Poirot's Early Cases
- 1975
- 2014Hercule Poirot and the Greenshore Folly
A novella first published in 2014.1
Tommy and Tuppence
- 1922
- 1929Partners in Crime
- 1941
- 1968
- 1973Postern of Fate
- 1924
- 1925
- 1929
Miss Marple
- 1930
- 1932The Thirteen Problems
- 1942
- 1943
- 1950
- 1952
- 1953
- 19574.50 from Paddington
- 1962
- 1964
- 1965
- 1971
- 1976
- 1979Miss Marple's Final Cases and Two Other Stories
- 1930
- 1931
- 1933The Hound of Death
- 1934Black Coffee
- 1934
- 1934The Listerdale Mystery
- 1934
- 1939
- 1939
- 1944
- 1944
- 1945
- 1949
- 1951
- 1954
- 1954
- 1954Witness for the Prosecution
- 1957Spider's Web
- 1958
- 1958The Unexpected Guest
- 1958Verdict
- 1960The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding
- 1961
- 1967
- 1970
- 1973Akhnaton
- 1977
- 1991Problem at Pollensa Bay and Other Stories
- 1997While the Light Lasts and Other Stories
- 2012The Grand Tour: Around the World with the Queen of Mystery
Latest news
The British Library opened Agatha Christie: A World of Mystery, an exhibition marking 50 years since her death, running until June 20, 2027.1617
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.2021
The 50th anniversary of her death; her publisher HarperCollins marked a "Year of Christie," also the centenary of The Murder of Roger Ackroyd.1819
Adaptations and other media
Television
- Agatha Christie's Murder Is Easy2023Based on Murder Is Easy
A BBC adaptation of the 1939 novel.23
- Agatha Christie's Seven Dials2026Based 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.2022
Myth and record
The claimChristie 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 recordAfter 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.69 Neither she nor anyone else involved spoke publicly about it afterward, and the record does not show why she went.5
Timeline
Born in Torquay, Devon.7
Marries Archie Christie, an officer in the Royal Flying Corps.812
The Mysterious Affair at Styles, her first novel, introduces Hercule Poirot.31
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is published; her mother dies, and her husband asks for a divorce.1910
Disappears for eleven days and is found at a hotel in Harrogate.69
Marries the archaeologist Max Mallowan and publishes the first Miss Marple novel.101
Murder on the Orient Express is published.1
Made a Dame.15
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, 2027.1615
Sources
- Agatha Christie bibliography Wikipedia (2023 snapshot)Reference
- Agatha Christie bibliography Wikipedia (IPFS mirror)Reference
- Author:Agatha Christie WikisourceReference
- The A-Z of Agatha Christie, the Queen of Crime Saga MagazineNews
- The Curious Disappearance of Agatha Christie Historic UKReference
- It was Agatha's husband whodunit Daily Mail (via PressReader)News
- Daily Mail Weekend Magazine Daily Mail (via PressReader)News
- Real life: The amazing Agatha Christie Woman's Weekly (via PressReader)News
- Mrs. Christie – About Agatha TheatreWorks Silicon ValleyWebsite
- Agatha Christie: Mystery, Murder, and Marple Noiser (Short History Of...)Website
- Agatha Christie, the writer who kept one mystery she never put in a book Martin Cid MagazineNews
- Agatha Christie Biography SparkNotesReference
- How Agatha Christie Became the World's Best-Selling Novelist Last Call TriviaWebsite
- The Murder on the Links Indigo (publisher's author note)Website
- British Library to Stage Major Agatha Christie Exhibition Fine Books & CollectionsNews
- British Library to open major exhibition on Agatha Christie British LibraryPrimary record
- British Library celebrates Agatha Christie WanderlustNews
- 50th Anniversary of the Death of Agatha Christie InterludeNews
- The Year of Agatha Christie HarperCollins (Harper Reach)Primary record
- 'Agatha Christie's Seven Dials' TV Series Netflix TudumPrimary record
- Agatha Christie's Seven Dials on Netflix SortiraparisNews
- Agatha Christie's Seven Dials: Netflix Sets Date For New Adaptation BritishTV.comNews
- Agatha Christie's Seven Dials: Netflix drops new trailer TV Guide UKNews