Other novels (such as And Then There Were None) were set in and around Torquay, where she was born. Christie's travels with Mallowan contributed background to several of her novels set in the Middle East.

Their marriage was especially happy in the early years and remained so until Christie's death in 1976.Ĭhristie frequently used familiar settings for her stories. In 1930, Christie married archaeologist Max Mallowan (Sir Max from 1968) after joining him in an archaeological dig. Despite a massive manhunt, she was not found for eleven days. Her disappearance caused an outcry from the public, many of whom were admirers of her novels. That same evening Agatha disappeared from her home, leaving behind a letter for her secretary saying that she was going to Yorkshire. On 8 December 1926 the couple quarreled, and Archie Christie left their house, Styles, in Sunningdale, Berkshire, to spend the weekend with his mistress at Godalming, Surrey. In late 1926, Agatha's husband, Archie, revealed that he was in love with another woman, Nancy Neele, and wanted a divorce. During her first marriage, Agatha published six novels, a collection of short stories, and a number of short stories in magazines. Her first novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, came out in 1920. During the Second World War, she worked as a pharmacy assistant at University College Hospital, London, acquiring a good knowledge of poisons which feature in many of her novels. During the First World War, she worked at a hospital as a nurse later working at a hospital pharmacy, a job that influenced her work, as many of the murders in her books are carried out with poison. The Millers had two other children: Margaret Frary Miller (1879–1950), called Madge, who was eleven years Agatha's senior, and Louis Montant Miller (1880–1929), called Monty, ten years older than Agatha.īefore marrying and starting a family in London, she had served in a Devon hospital during the First World War, tending to troops coming back from the trenches. She is the creator of two of the most enduring figures in crime literature-Hercule Poirot and Miss Jane Marple-and author of The Mousetrap, the longest-running play in the history of modern theatre.Īgatha Mary Clarissa Miller was born in Torquay, Devon, England, U.K., as the youngest of three. According to Index Translationum, she remains the most-translated individual author, having been translated into at least 103 languages. Her books have sold over a billion copies in the English language and a billion in translation.

She wrote 66 crime novels and story collections, fourteen plays, and six novels under a pseudonym in Romance. Agatha Christie also wrote romance novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott, and was occasionally published under the name Agatha Christie Mallowan.ĭame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie is the best-selling author of all time.

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