Agatha Christie
Agatha Christie
15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976 · From United Kingdom194
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Dame Agatha Christie (1890-1976) is the best-selling novelist of all time and the writer the world calls the "Queen of Crime." Born Agatha Miller in Torquay, Devon, she came to fiction on a dare: her sister Madge bet she could not write a convincing detective story, and the result, The Mysterious Af…
Top Genres
Mystery Fiction Classics Crime Amateur Sleuth
Also Known As
( YING ) A JIA SHA KE LI SI DI DIAO KE LI YI, A. Christie, Agatha C. Mallowan, Agatha Christie Mallowan, Agatha Mary Clarissa Miller, Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, DBE, Ke li si di, Kelisidi, AGATHE CHRISTE, Christie Agata, Agata Christie, AGHATHA CHRISTIE, Christie-A, Agatha Christe, A Christie, Agatha Christy, Agratha Christie, aghata christie, Agatha Christi, Agatha Christine, Agatha Christic, Afatha Christie, Agatha christine, agtha christie , Agtha Christie, Agatha Christie, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Dorothy Sayers, Ursula Curtis, Agatha Christer, A gatha Christie, agatha christie, w.somerset maugham, dorothy l. sayers, agatha christine, agalla christe, Ahatha Christie, Agatha Chrisie, Agatha Christie ChristieFeatured Works
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Frequently asked questions
Is Agatha Christie really the best-selling author of all time?
Yes. Guinness World Records lists her as the best-selling fiction writer of all time, with sales estimated at around two billion copies across her novels. Her work is often ranked only behind the Bible and the works of Shakespeare in total copies sold.
What happened during Agatha Christie's mysterious disappearance in 1926?
After her first husband Archie asked for a divorce, Christie vanished on 3 December 1926, leaving her abandoned car near Newlands Corner and triggering a nationwide search involving thousands of people. Eleven days later she was found alive at a hydropathic hotel in Harrogate, registered under an assumed name. She never publicly explained the episode, and biographers still debate whether it was a fugue state, a breakdown, or something deliberate.
Why are Agatha Christie's poisonings so accurate?
Christie trained and worked as a hospital dispenser during the First World War, qualifying through the Society of Apothecaries, and returned to pharmacy work at University College Hospital in London during the Second World War. That hands-on knowledge of drugs and toxins is why so many of her murders turn on precisely described poisons.
Did Agatha Christie write under another name?
Yes. She published six psychological, non-detective novels under the pen name Mary Westmacott, beginning with Giant's Bread in 1930. She kept the secret for nearly twenty years before her identity as Westmacott became public.
Was Agatha Christie married to an archaeologist?
Yes. In 1930 she married the archaeologist Max Mallowan, who was over a decade younger than her, after meeting him on a trip to the Middle East. She regularly joined his excavations in Iraq and Syria, helping with finds and photography, and drew on those settings for novels including Murder in Mesopotamia and Death on the Nile.
How long has The Mousetrap been running?
The Mousetrap is the longest-running play in the world. It opened in London's West End in 1952 and has been performed there ever since, becoming a fixture of British theatre.
Was Agatha Christie given an honour by the Queen?
Yes. She was appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in 1971 for her services to literature, having earlier been made a CBE in 1956. She is therefore properly styled Dame Agatha Christie.
Where should I start reading Agatha Christie?
Common entry points are her standalone masterpiece And Then There Were None, and the Poirot novels The Murder of Roger Ackroyd and Murder on the Orient Express. If you prefer her village sleuth, begin Miss Marple with The Murder at the Vicarage. You do not need to read in publication order, since most titles stand on their own.