Agatha Christie is probably the best known British crime novelist, best known for her detective novels and plays. Here at Tall Tales Mysteries we love her books and find the writer every bit as fascinating so here are our favourite top ten facts about Agatha Christie.
- Agatha was born on September 15th 1890 in Torquay, England. Her full name before she married Archie Christie was Agatha Mary Clarissa Miller.
- Christie began writing at the age of 13 when she wrote a short story for a friend who had lost a cat named Peter. From there she went on to publish many short stories and plays.
- Agatha Christie is one of the most prolific mystery novelists of all time. She wrote 66 novels, 14 short story collections and 16 plays. Her novels have sold over 2 billion copies in English and another 200 million in at least 40 foreign languages.
- Christie’s novels are characterized by a number of elements including;
- The mystery itself is usually solved by a detective figure, who can be either amateur or professional.
- The majority of her stories are set in the upper-middle class suburbs of London and other British areas, although she also often creates imaginary villages in rural England or the French Riviera as well as Middle Eastern deserts or Alpine villages.
- Her detective figures tend to be highly intelligent individuals who are good at solving puzzles and have an eye for detail.
Does that count as one fact or three facts about Agatha Christie?
- Her first published novel was The Mysterious Affair At Styles featuring Hercule Poirot but before that she had received six rejections from publishers for her work.
- The title often used to describe her as The Queen Of Crime has been trademarked.
- Christie also wrote under the pseudonym of Mary Westmacott. The true identity of Mary Westmacott was revealed by a journalist in 1949.
- Christie worked in a hospital dispensary in the First World War where she acquired a wide knowledge of poisons. She used cyanide the most as a method of despatching her fictional victims. This is my favourite among all the facts about Agatha Christie. She used poison in nearly half of her novels and plays.
- In 1926 she disappeared for eleven days with a major police search for her. She was discovered at the Swan Hydropathic Hotel in Harrogate. There are plenty of theories about her disappearance including a loss of memory, a breakdown or that she planned to embarrass her husband. You can discover our murder mystery nights at The Old Swan Hotel in Harrogate here.
- Agatha Christie’s summer home, purchased with her second husband Max Mallowan, is Greenway in Devon which is now owned by the National Trust. It was here she was inspired to write Dead Man’s Folly, Five Little Pigs and Ordeal By Innocence.
Did you know all of our fascinating facts about Agatha Christie? Are you a huge fan of the author?
If you want to know my favourite Agatha Christie books I would have to give you three –
A Murder Is Announced
Peril At End House
Nemesis
I would love to know your favourites.
