Who was Agatha Christie?
Agatha Christie was an English writer of detective novels, often called the Queen of Crime. She created the detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple, and she is one of the best-selling novelists of all time.
Christie was born in Torquay, Devon, in 1890. During World War I, she worked in a hospital pharmacy, gaining knowledge of poisons that she used in her stories.
Her first novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, published in 1920, introduced the Belgian detective Hercule Poirot.
Best-selling author
Christie wrote 66 detective novels and many short story collections. Famous works include Murder on the Orient Express, Death on the Nile and And Then There Were None.
Her books have sold more than two billion copies and have been translated into many languages.
In 1926, Christie mysteriously disappeared for 11 days, sparking a national search. She was found at a hotel in Harrogate, and the reasons for her disappearance remain unclear.
Her play The Mousetrap has been running in London since 1952. She was made a Dame in 1971 and died in 1976. Her holiday home, Greenway, in Devon, is now owned by the National Trust.