Agatha Christie

Born: 1890

Agatha Christie (1890-1976) was born Agatha Mary Clarissa Miller in Torquay, Devon, to an American father and English mother. Educated at home by her mother, she was a voracious reader who began writing stories as a child. Her first marriage to Archibald Christie in 1914 gave her the surname she'd make famous, and during World War I she worked as a nurse and pharmacy assistant—gaining crucial knowledge of poisons that would feature prominently in her mysteries. Her debut novel, *The Mysterious Affair at Styles* (1920), introduced Hercule Poirot and launched what would become the best-selling novelist career of all time. The 1926 mysterious eleven-day disappearance following her husband's request for divorce became one of the most sensational news stories of the era, though she never publicly explained what happened during those missing days. After divorcing Archibald in 1928, Christie married archaeologist Max Mallowan in 1930, accompanying him on digs in the Middle East that inspired several novels including *Murder in Mesopotamia* and *Death on the Nile*. Her writing career spanned over five decades, producing 66 detective novels, 14 short story collections, and the world's longest-running play, *The Mousetrap* (opening in 1952 and still running today). Beyond creating beloved detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple, she pioneered and perfected the modern mystery novel's structure, earning her the title "Queen of Mystery." Her works have sold over two billion copies worldwide, making her the best-selling novelist of all time and the most-translated individual author in history. She was made a Dame Commander of the British Empire in 1971, five years before her death at age 85 at her home, Winterbrook House, in Wallingford, Oxfordshire.