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Agatha Christie
- Favourite Briton.

Born in Torquay, Devon
Born on 15th of September 1890
Died on 12th of January 1976

Quotes from Agatha Christie

'In English villages you turn o'... More

Along with William Shakespeare Agatha Christie is reckoned to be the world’s all time best-selling author, with only the Bible having more sales. The ‘Queen of Crime’ is also renowned for The Mousetrap, the longest running stage play ever.

She was born Agatha Miller on September 15 1890 in Torquay, Devon. Her father was outgoing and American and her mother shy and English. Agatha took after her mother. She met her first husband, Archie Christie, in 1912 and they were married in 1914. During the 1914 -18 war Agatha worked as a nurse for the Red Cross. Her duties included a formative spell in the hospital pharmacy which was to provide her with a useful knowledge of poisons - murder by poisoning was to be a familiar theme in her oeuvre and was to feature in her first novel. Published in 1920 The Mysterious Affair at Styles was also Poirot’s debut. The Belgian detective Hercule Poirot and the genteel Miss Marples were to be her most famous creations.

With Agatha’s writing career underway and her books selling well her mysterious disappearance in 1926 caused a national stir. She reappeared 11 days later suffering from amnesia. It is now thought likely that the discovery of her husband’s infidelity was a contributory factor - she was to divorce him two years later. Her second marriage, to the archaeologist Max Mallowman in 1930, was far happier and her travels with him provided settings for such novels as Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile.

While her plotting can be clever and scene setting adroit, Christie is not famed for her literary brilliance, though her productivity was impressive – in a writing career spanning over 50 years she wrote 80 novels and short story collections as well as 14 plays. Most of her books have been adapted for film and television. In honour of her literary achievements she was made a CBE in 1956 and a DBE in 1971. Agatha Christie died on January 12 1976 aged 85 at Wallingford in Oxfordshire.

Links:
http://uk.agathachristie.com/site/home/ official web site
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