Agatha Christie
- About Agatha Christie: Official WebsiteBorn in Torquay in 1890, Agatha Christie became, and remains, the best-selling novelist of all time.
She is best known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, as well as the world’s longest-running play – The Mousetrap. Her books have sold over a billion copies in the English language and a billion in translation. - Agatha Christie: BiographyBest-selling author Agatha Christie published her first novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, in 1920, and went on to become one of the most famous writers in history, with mysteries like Murder at the Vicarage, Partners in Crime and Sad Cypress. She sold billions of copies of her work and was also a noted playwright and romance author.
Research & Reference
- Agatha Christie: BritannicaAgatha Christie, in full Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, née Miller, (born September 15, 1890, Torquay, Devon, England—died January 12, 1976, Wallingford, Oxfordshire), English detective novelist and playwright whose books have sold more than 100 million copies and have been translated into some 100 languages...
- Agatha Christie: National Portrait GalleryBorn in Torquay, Devon, Christie received a minimal formal education and largely taught herself from her father's library. During the First World War she worked with the Voluntary Aid Detachment and qualified as a dispenser. Christie's first novel The Mysterious Affair at Styles, which introduced Belgian detective Hercule Poirot, was published by Bodley Head in 1920. Following the divorce from her first husband, Archibald Christie, she introduced the character Miss Jane Marple in The Murder at the Vicarage (1930). She accompanied her archaeologist husband Max Mallowan on expeditions, which inspired books such as Murder on the Orient Express (1934) and Death on the Nile (1937).
- Christie, [Dame] Agatha: Credo ReferenceOne of the most translated writers in the English language, Christie is the acknowledged master practitioner of the “whodunit” form of mystery as it developed after World War I. Her seventy-eight novels, 150 short stories, and nineteen plays all feature ingeniously constructed plots concerning crime and its detection, and continue to enjoy not only worldwide popularity but also increasing critical respect...
Streaming Media
- Agatha Christie's England: PBSRetracing Agatha Christie’s footsteps across England, see how Agatha drew on her surroundings as a magpie would, as both the people, and the places she encountered, found themselves immortalized in her extraordinary canon of work.
- Icons Of Our Time: Agatha ChristieAgatha Christie’s novels have been translated into 44 languages and sold in a 103 countries. After Shakespeare, she is the world’s best selling author in any genre with over 2 billion books sold. On the 75th anniversary of the creation of one of her most famous characters, the immortal spinster sleuth Miss Marple, comes a brand new documentary. In a game of sleuth and deduction it sets out to solve one of the greatest puzzles; just what makes Agatha Christie such a successful writer?
- Inside the Mind of Agatha ChristieWhat do we know about Agatha Christie herself? Combining rare access to Agatha’s family, her personal archive and speaking to those who know her work best, discover what made the world’s most successful crime writer tick.
Perspectives
Agatha Christie
The undisputed "Queen of Crime," Dame Agatha Christie (1890-1976) is the bestselling novelist of all time. As the creator of immortal detectives Hercule Poirot and Jane Marple, she continues to enthrall readers around the world and is drawing increasing attention from scholars, historians, and critics. But Christie wrote far beyond Poirot and Marple. A varied life including war work, archaeology, and two very different marriages provided the backdrop to a diverse body of work. This encyclopedic companion summarizes and explores Christie's entire literary output, including the detective fiction, plays, radio dramas, adaptations, and her little-studied non-crime writing. It details all published works and key themes and characters, as well as the people and places that inspired them, and identifies a trove of uncollected interviews, articles, and unpublished material, including details that have never appeared in print. For the casual reader looking for background information on their favorite mystery to the dedicated scholar tracking down elusive new angles, this companion will provide the most comprehensive and up-to-date information.
Murder on the Orient Express
One of Agatha Christie’s most famous mysteries, Murder on the Orient Express was inspired by two real-life crimes and the author’s own experience being stranded on the Orient Express during Christmas of 1931. While traveling to Paris, a wealthy American is stabbed to death in his cabin on the Orient Express. With the train stuck in a snowdrift, there is no easy escape for the killer. Fortunately, detective Hercule Poirot is aboard and launches a clever investigation into the curious assortment of passengers, of whom each seems to have a motive.
And Then There Were None
"If you're one of the few who haven't experienced the genius of Agatha Christie, this novel is a stellar starting point." -- DAVID BALDACCI, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author An exclusive authorized edition of the most famous and beloved stories from the Queen of Mystery. Ten people, each with something to hide and something to fear, are invited to an isolated mansion on Indian Island by a host who, surprisingly, fails to appear. On the island they are cut off from everything but each other and the inescapable shadows of their own past lives. One by one, the guests share the darkest secrets of their wicked pasts. And one by one, they die... Which among them is the killer and will any of them survive? "Agatha Christie is the gateway drug to crime fiction both for readers and for writers. . . . Just one book is never enough." -- VAL MCDERMID, Internationally Bestselling Author