Agatha Christie is the best-selling author of all time. She wrote 66 crime novels and story collections, fourteen plays, and six novels under a pseudonym in Romance. Her books have sold over a billion copies in the English language and a billion in translation. According to Index Translationum, she remains the most-translated individual author, having been translated into at least 103 languages. She is the creator of two of the most enduring figures in crime literature-Hercule Poirot and Miss Jane Marple-and author of The Mousetrap, the longest-running play in the history of modern theatre.
2
1920
Biography
The Mysterious Affair at Styles The Murder of Roger Ackroyd The Big Four The Mystery of the Blue Train
1890 – 1916
1916 – 1924
The Early Years
Poirot is Born
Agatha Mary Clarissa Miller was born on 15 September 1890 in Torquay, Devon, South West England into a comfortably well off middle class family. What made her upbringing unusual, even for its time, was that she was home schooled largely by her father, an American. Her mother, Clara, who was an excellent storyteller, did not want her to learn to read until she was eight but Agatha, bored and as the only child at home (she was a much loved “afterthought” with two older siblings) taught herself to read by the age of five.
It was during the First World War that Agatha turned to writingdetective stories. Her debut novel The Mysterious Affair at Styles took some time to finish and even longer to find a publisher. She started writing partly in response to a bet from her sister Madge that she couldn’t write a good detective story and partly to relieve the monotony of the dispensing work which she was now doing. (When the Hospital opened a dispensary, she accepted an offer to work there and completed the examination of the Society of Apothecaries.) She first worked out her plot and then “found” her characters on a tram in Torquay. She finished the manuscript during her two week holiday which she spent at the Moorland Hotel at Haytor on Dartmoor. Her new found expertise in poisons was also put to good use. The murderer’s use of poison was so well described that when the book was eventually published Agatha received an unprecedented honour for a writer of fiction - a review in the Pharmaceutical Journal.
1916 – 1924
Poirot is Born It was during the First World War that Agatha turned to writing detective stories. Her debut novel The Mysterious Affair at Styles took some time to finish and even longer to find a publisher. She started writing partly in response to a bet from her sister Madge that she couldn’t write a good detective story and partly to relieve the monotony of the dispensing work which she was now doing. (When the Hospital opened a dispensary, she accepted an offer to work there and completed the examination of the Society of Apothecaries.) She first worked out her plot and then “found” her characters on a tram in Torquay. She finished the manuscript during her two week holiday which she spent at the Moorland Hotel at Haytor on Dartmoor. Her new found expertise in poisons was also put to good use. The murderer’s use of poison was so well described that when the book was eventually published Agatha received an unprecedented honour for a writer of fiction - a review in the Pharmaceutical Journal.
Agatha Christie
3
Peril at End House Murder on the Orient Express Death on the Nile Hercule Poirot’s Christmas
1930
1940 Sad Cypress Overdose of death Evil Under the Sun Five Little Pigs Taken at the Flood
1929 – 1938
1939 – 1945
A New Start
The War Years
One of Agatha’s lifelong ambitions had been to travel on the World War II saw Max get a wartime job in Cairo - using his Orient Express and her first journey took place in the au- languages to assist the war effort while Agatha remained in tumn of 1928. Persuaded by a chance dinner party conversa- England, writing and also volunteering at the Dispensary at tion, Agatha set off for Baghdad and from there travelled to University College Hospital in London. the archaeological site at Ur where she became friends with the Woolleys who ran the dig. Invited back the following year she met the twenty-five year old archaeologist-in-train- 1946 – 1976 ing Max Mallowan who was to become her second husband. The Later Years Asked by Katherine Woolley to show Agatha the sites, each found the other’s company relaxing. Their relationship was By 1945 and the return of Max with the end of the war, Agforged by travel – Max could “rough it” and so could Agatha. atha had realised the tax implications of writing so much. Max proposed on the last evening of his visit to Agatha’s fam- She became less prolific and now in her mid 50s enjoyed a ily home of Ashfield, they were married on September 11th slower pace of life; like the rest of the country the last years 1930 at St Cuthbert’s Church in Edinburgh, and Agatha only of the 40s were full of shortages – a long, chilly, depressing slightly reduced her age in her new passport acquired for the haul. Food rationing did not end until 1954. honeymoon. Max returned to the Woolley’s dig – for the last time alone – and Agatha to London and writing. Thus began a productive and recurring annual writing and travelling routine for Agatha and Max: summers at Ashfield with Rosalind, Christmas with her sister’s family at Abney Hall, late autumn and spring on digs and the rest of the year in London and their country house in Winterbrook, on the edge of Wallingford, Oxfordshire. 1955 Edgar Grand Master Award New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award for Best Foreign Play Edgar Award for Best Play
2000 Anthony Award for Best Writer Of The Century Anthony Award for Best Series Of The Century
Biography
4
1950
BBC Interview insight into the world’s best known crime-novelist’s writing process
Agatha Christie
Mrs. McGinty’s Dead After the Funeral Hickory Dickory Dock Cat Among the Pigeons
More than 50 years ago, Dame Agatha Christie took part in a BBC radio programme which ‘investigated’ how her story ideas evolved into best-selling whodunnits. In the interview, the Torquay-born crime-writer - who was then just Agatha Christie without the Dame title - revealed the secrets behind her success. You can listen to five short clips from the programme, using the audio links on this page. Even today, more than three decades after her death in 1976 - Dame Agatha remains one of the most widely read writers in the world. She was dubbed The Queen of Crime, and one critic also labeled her The Duchess of Death. She created two of the most famous literary characters of all time - Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot, and her works include The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, Why Didn’t They Ask Evans, Witness for the Prosecution, Death on the Nile, Murder on the Orient Express, and The Mousetrap. Agatha would spend evenings in the company of friends or family, and would sit and knit, with her mind seeming to be elsewhere. And it was - she was thinking about her next storyline, mapping out the plot from start to finish. By the time she sat down to write the book, it would all be done and dusted inside her head.
Christie in her study, 1955
5
The Clocks Third Girl Hallowe’en Party
1960
1970 Elephants Can Remember Curtain, Poirot’s Last Case
Snippets from the interview with Agatha provide an insight into how she went about her work. Agatha was selftaught, which meant she spent much of her childhood at home - and that’s when she began writing. In the interview, she said: “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 had finished the first book of mine ever to be published, the Mysterious Affair at Styles. “I’d sent it to one or two publishers who didn’t want it and eventually it went to John Lane. About a year later, I heard it had been accepted. Well, that’s how it began.” The rest, as they say, is history. Agatha Christie - whose family home at Greenway, Galmpton, has been gifted to the National Trust - became one of the most prolific writers ever. Agatha would spend evenings in the company of friends or family, and would sit and knit, with her mind seeming to be elsewhere. And it was - she was thinking about her next storyline, mapping out the plot from start to finish. By the time she sat down to write In another clip from the interview, she gave us further insight into how her stories were transferred from her head onto the page. “What is your method, they (my friends) want to know. The disappointing truth is I haven’t much method. I type my own drafts on an ancient faithful machine I’ve owned for years. “No, I think the real work is done in thinking out the development of your story and worrying about it until it comes right. That may take quite a while. Then, when you’ve got all your material together, all that remains is to find time to write the thing.” Dame Agatha churned out books in rapid
fashion, as she explained: “Three months seems to me quite a reasonable time to complete a book, if one can get right down to it. In another clip from the interview, she gave us further insight into how her stories were transferred from her head onto the page. “What is your method, they (my friends) want to know. The disappointing truth is I haven’t much method. I type my own drafts on an ancient faithful machine I’ve owned for years. “No, I think the real work is done in thinking out the development of your story and worrying about it until it comes right. That may take quite a while. Then, when you’ve got all your material together, all that remains is to find time to write the thing.” Dame Agatha churned out books in rapid fashion, as she explained: “Three months seems to me quite a reasonable time to complete a book, if one can get right down to it. “On the other hand, plays I think are better written quickly. Writing plays is much more fun than writing books. You haven’t got to bother about long descriptions of places and people or deciding how to space out your material. “You must write pretty fast, keep in the mood and to keep the talk flowing naturally. I prefer to write a play as a play, that is rather than to adapt a book. “The only reason I ever did that was because I didn’t care very much for what happened when other people tried to turn my books into plays. So in the end I had to do it myself.”
Interview
6
And Then There Were None an excerpt
In the corner of a first-class smoking carriage, Mr. Justice Wargrave, lately retired from the bench, puffed at a cigar and ran an interested eye through the political news in The Times. He laid the paper down and glanced out of the window. They were running now through Somerset. He glanced at his watch-another two hours to go. He went over in his mind all that had appeared in the papers about Soldier Island. There had been its original purchase by an American millionaire who was crazy about yachting-and an account of the luxurious modern house he had built on this little island off the Devon coast. The unfortunate fact that the new third wife of the American millionaire was a bad sailor had led to the subsequent putting up of the house and island for sale. Various glowing advertisements of it had appeared in the papers. Then came the first bald statement that it had been bought-by a Mr. Owen. After that the rumours of the gossip writers had started. Soldier Island had really been bought by Miss Gabrielle Turl, the Hollywood film star! She wanted to spend some months there free from all publicity! Busy Bee had hinted delicately that it was to be an abode for Royalty? ? ! Mr. Merryweather had had it whispered to him that it had been bought for a honeymoon-Young Lord L-had surrendered to Cupid at last! Jonas knew for a fact that it had been purchased by the Admiralty with a view to carrying out some very hush-hush experiments! Definitely, Soldier Island was news! From his pocket Mr. Justice Wargrave drew out a letter. The handwriting was practically illegible but words here and
Agatha Christie
there stood out with unexpected clarity. Dearest Lawrence... such years since I heard anything of you ... must come to Soldier Island... the most enchanting place... so much to talk over... old days... communion with nature... bask in sunshine... 12.40 from Paddington... meet you at... and his correspondent signed herself with a flourish his ever Constance Culmington. Mr. Justice Wargrave cast back in his mind to remember when exactly he had last seen Lady Constance Culmington. It must be seven-no, eight years ago. She had then been going to Italy to bask in the sun and be at one with Nature and the contadini. Later, he had heard, she had proceeded to Syria where she proposed to bask in a yet stronger sun and live at one with Nature and the bedouin. Constance Culmington, he reflected to himself, was exactly the sort of woman who would buy an island and surround herself with mystery! Nodding his head in gentle approval
7
of his logic, Mr. Justice Wargrave allowed his head to nod... He slept... Vera Claythorne, in a third-class carriage with five other travellers in it, leaned her head back and shut her eyes. How hot it was travelling by train today! would be nice to get to the sea! Really a great piece of luck getting this job. When you wanted a holiday post it nearly always meant looking after a swarm of children-secretarial holiday posts were much more difficult to get. Even the agency hadn’t held out much hope. And then the letter had come. “I have received your name from the Skilled Women’s Agency together with their recommendation. I understand they know you personally. I shall be glad to pay you the salary you ask and shall expect you to take up your duties on August 8th. The train is the 12.40 from Paddington and you will be met at Oakbridge station. I enclose five E1 notes for expenses.
Yours truly, Una Nancy Owen.” And at the top was the stamped address, Soldier Island, Sticklehaven, Devon.... Soldier Island! Why, there had been nothing else in the papers lately! All sorts of hints and interesting rumours. Though probably they were mostly untrue. But the house had certainly been built by a millionaire and was said to be absolutely the last word in luxury.
And Then There Were None (TV Miniseries) 2015
Anf Then There Were None
8
10 facts 1
born in Devon, spent time there throughout her life
Christie was born in Torquay in the English region of Devon in 1890. She lived there first with her family—her mother, Clara, and her siblings—then with her f irst husband, Archibald Christie, whom she married in 1914. Beginning in 1938, she spent her time at Greenway, a Queen Anne-style home on the River Dart in Devon, which she shared as a holiday home with her second husband, the archaeologist Max Mallowan. She and Mallowan had their main residence in Oxfordshire. 2.
worked in a hospital during World War I
During World War I, Christie worked in a hospital in Devon as a nurse and an apothecaries’ assistant. Years later, during World War II, she contributed to the war effort by working as a pharmacy assistant at University College Hospital in London. 3.
rewrote her stories
At the beginning of her career, when she was trying to sell stories to magazines such as The Saturday Evening Post, Christie would rewrite her stories if the magazines requested it. Later, when she became more established, she refused rewrites. 4.
was prolific
She went on to write 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections. In the ensuing decades, her name has become synonymous with her mystery novels and the detectives who inhabit them. She was also named a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) for her services to literature. 5.
Southern Living
once disappeared for 11 days
After her first husband, Archibald, asked for a divorce, Christie disappeared for 10 days. The mysterious disappearance of the mystery writer was on the front page of every newspaper and prompted an extensive manhunt that included thousands of police officers and volunteers. She was fi-
Agatha Christie
nally discovered at a hotel in Harrogate. It’s unclear whether Christie experienced memory loss or whether the disappearance was a purposeful stunt. 6.
invented two beloved detectives
Both Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple are creations of Christie’s imagination. The detectives appear in multiple books and have been portrayed on screen by many different actors including Charles Laughton, David Suchet, Peter Ustinov, and Kenneth Branagh as Poirot, and Joan Hickson, Angela Lansbury, and Helen Hayes as Marple. 7.
responsible for the world’s longestrunning play.
The Mousetrap opened in 1952 and is still running on London’s West End. 2019 saw the show’s 27,000 performance, continuing the run and the world record. The original 1952 cast starred Christie’s friends Sheila and Richard Attenborough. 8.
books are perennial bestsellers
According to some counts, Christie is the most widely published author in the world, second only to Shakespeare and the Bible. 9.
also wrote romances
In addition to her prolific production of mystery stories, Christie wrote six romance novels. These novels were published using the pen name Mary Westmacott. 10.
afterlife
Christie’s mystery stories have been made into countless film and television adaptations, including the recent film adaptation of Murder on the Orient Express and the television miniseries The Pale Horse, And Then There Were None, and The ABC Murders. Today, at least 30 films have been made from her stories.
Zita Wang Type 3 Summer 21 Art Center College of Design Akzidenz-Grotesk Adobe Garamond