Agatha May Clarissa Miller was born in Devon, England in 1890, the youngest of three children in a conservative, well-to-do family. Early education was with a governess and tutors, and none of the Miller children attended public schools. She was a shy child and quite creative, but she was unable to express herself and first channeled her expression into music. Later in life, writing would provide that vehicle for her and most eloquently at that!
In 1914 she married World War One fighter pilot, tall, handsome Archie Christie, but their union was an unhappy one. They had one child and while he was off at war, she worked as a nurse. At some point, her sister dared her to write a better mystery than one they had just read. She took her up on the bet and completed her first book within one year’s time, but five years would pass until publication.
“The Mysterious Affair At Styles” was a remarkable success and it introduced Hercule Poirot, who would be her meticulous, mustachioed, Belgian hero-detective in more than 30 of her detective novels. Poirot has become one of the most enduring and endearing characters in the world of crime fiction, no less exemplified in the persona of David Suchet, actor extraordinaire. Among the most popular of her novels featuring him were “The Murder of Roger Ackroyd” (1926), “Murder On The Orient Express” (1934) and “Death On The Nile” (1937).
In 1926 she and Archie divorced and Agatha later found happiness with Max Mallowan, an archaeologist she married in 1930. That same year she introduced another beloved character to the mystery scene: Miss Jane Marple in “Murder At The Vicarage.” Featured in 12 novels, this intuitive spinster exemplified the “cozy” style of mystery so popular in England during the 1920s and 1930s.
All sixty-six of Christie’s novels have been translated into more than one hundred languages. She also wrote a few romantic novels under the pen name of Mary Westmacott.
Her long and prolific career lasted until her death in 1976.
What are some of YOUR favorite Agatha Christie novels?