What year was Christy born? Biography of the famous writer Agatha Christie. Love for Archibald

GettyImages Agatha Mary Clarissa Miller was a very shy child. While her older brother and sister playfully played with each other, she acted out the scenes that appeared in her imagination with herself. She also did not study brilliantly, even according to the modest requirements that were imposed on young students at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries.

Girls were then prepared mainly for marriage: they were taught music, dancing, and needlework. Until the end of her life, Agatha Christie will write with gross spelling errors - which, however, will not interfere with her career as a writer.

The girl sang beautifully, but due to extreme shyness she never decided to perform in front of an audience. It was as if she felt that fate actually had a completely different destiny in store for her.

Love for Archibald

Wikipedia, Link

Shortly before the outbreak of the First World War, young Agatha often attended balls of the English aristocracy. Studying at a Parisian boarding school increased her self-confidence, and outwardly the girl was always pretty. It is not surprising that one evening Agatha was noticed by RAF Lieutenant Archibald Christie. The feeling turned out to be mutual. The young people hurried to get engaged as soon as possible, and they did not delay the wedding - soon Archie had to leave for war, and Agatha remained in London. Separated from her husband, performing the difficult duties of a nurse in a military hospital, she first tried to write down the story that was born in her head. Daily work with medicines and poisons suggested the murder weapon - the hero of the novel died from poisoning, and the crime was solved by a funny little Belgian with big name Hercule Poirot. Appearance Agatha “copied” the character from real person, having once seen a group of refugees from Belgium on the streets of the city.

Archibald Christie, two family friends and Agatha Christie, Link

Time passed, Archibald returned from the war and tried to become a businessman to support his family. Agatha gave birth to his daughter Rosalind, and it was a bit crowded for the three of them in the small rented apartment. But business didn’t work out. One day my husband jokingly asked how her manuscript was doing? By that time, Agatha was determined to become a writer. But The Mysterious Affair at Styles was rejected by six publishers one after another. Archie's question prompted her to try her luck with the seventh. To her surprise, the novel was published, and she was given a fee of 25 English pounds. “Now you can earn a lot of money!” - this phrase from her husband finally confirmed Agatha in the idea that writing should be turned from a hobby into a real job.

Unlucky 1926

In six years - from 1920 to 1926 - she published six novels, Poirot could already compete in popularity with Sherlock Holmes, and Agatha and her husband replaced rented apartment on their own house in the suburbs and even bought a car. The white streak in her life ended unexpectedly. First, Agatha's mother died. Not having time to recover from the loss, she was faced with a new misfortune. Archibald Christie admitted that he fell in love with someone else: his golf partner Nancy Neal. A quarrel followed, Archie left the house, slamming the door, and returned home only in the morning. The house was empty: Agatha left by car, leaving a note that she was going to Yorkshire. But there was only an abandoned car there. The writer disappeared - and the family quarrel acquired criminal overtones. By this time, Agatha Christie was already a well-known person in England, so the entire local police was sent to search for her, 15 thousand people helped voluntarily. Suspicion inevitably fell on the unfaithful husband, but it turned out that Colonel Christie had nothing to do with it.

10 days later, Agatha was found in a sanatorium, where all this time she went to physiotherapeutic procedures, played the piano and, in general, had a good time. But the strangest thing was the name under which the writer registered: she called herself Teresa Neal, taking the surname of her rival. She and Archibald divorced two years later, in 1928. She did not give any comments or explanations for her behavior in those 10 days for the rest of her life. Agatha once told a particularly meticulous journalist that she didn’t remember anything—thus, the version of amnesia due to nervousness was born. After the writer's death, British scientists analyzed her later manuscripts and stated that Agatha Christie suffered from Alzheimer's disease. But her grandson Matthew Pritchard denied these rumors. “I never discussed this act of hers either with herself, or with her mother, or with the people who witnessed the disappearance. I can only say that when people suffer, when they acutely experience misfortune, they are capable of very strange things.”“The only thing I can say with confidence is that my grandmother did not, as many people think, strive for publicity, to attract attention to herself or her books. She was very unhappy at the time, and a lot of people in her place would have behaved in a similar way,” Pritchard said.

The archaeologist's favorite woman

Agatha Christie decided to heal from her misfortunes by working and traveling. She booked a compartment on the Orient Express train (yes, that same one) and went to Baghdad. It was there, in Iraq, that the writer met her second love, the architect Max Mallowan. He was her guide at the excavations of the ancient Sumerian city of Ur. Throughout the entire season of excavations, Max was there: showing the country, talking about ancient monuments of civilization, even entrusting the processing of the found shards. “I thought then, as I often thought later, what a wonderful person Max is. So calm, he takes his time to console. He doesn't talk, he does. She does what is needed, and this turns out to be the best consolation,” Agatha later wrote in her autobiography. When the excavation season ended, the archaeologist volunteered to accompany her to England - and proposed. She also fell in love with him, but did not decide to get married right away. The previous bad experience and the age difference were scary: Max was 15 years younger, he was only 25, and she was already 40!

Agatha Christie and Max at the excavations - http://www.gwthomas.org/murderinmeso.htm , Public Domain, Link

But their feelings were so strong that they had to ignore such conventions. Subsequently, Agatha Christie joked freely on this topic: the older a woman is, the more valuable she is to an archaeologist. Their marriage with Max turned out to be happy and lasted until the end of their lives. Together they traveled throughout the Middle East, which gave the writer many ideas for her detective stories. He survived her by only two years.

After the death of Agatha Christie in 1976, they were published last novel about Hercule Poirot and her autobiography.

“Thank you, Lord, for your virtuous life and for all the love that was given to me,” she finished her last manuscript with these words.

The creator of the best detective stories, Agatha Christie is still considered an unsurpassed writer in the detective genre. For my long life she managed to write a huge number of works that have become classics of English literature.

Childhood and youth of Agatha Christie

Agatha Mary Miller was born in the fall of 1890. Her father died early. Besides her, Agatha’s mother raised two more children: the brother and sister of the future writer.

Coming from America, Agatha's relatives settled in England as the first generation of immigrants. The girl received her education from her mother; she taught all her children at home.

As a child, Agatha played music well, but could not overcome stage fright, so she left her musical career.

Agatha Miller's youth came at a difficult time. The cannonades of the First World War thundered throughout the world. As a girl, Agatha worked as a nurse in a hospital for soldiers. The girl was very proud of her work and considered it the best in the world.

Agata wrote her first stories at the age of 18. Her love of literature, of course, came from her childhood. Agatha's mother often told her entertaining stories, instilled in her an interest in reading.

The writer's adult years

In 1914, Agatha received a marriage proposal from her lover, whose name was Archibald Christie. In this marriage, the already famous writer had a daughter, who was named Rosalind.

After living with her husband for several years, Agatha Christie (took her husband's last name) learned that her husband had a mistress. Archibald told his wife that he was leaving for a certain Nancy Neal.

The news came as a blow to Christie. After she learned of the separation from her husband, Agatha suddenly disappeared for 11 days. They searched for her, but found only a car. Agatha herself showed up a little later at one of the local hotels. It turned out that the woman had a memory loss due to nervousness. She barely remembered what she had been doing all these days. Hotel employees reported that Agatha checked in with them under the name Neil. The woman visited the spa and library at the hotel for 11 days. Why the writer chose the surname of the homewrecker to register at the hotel, she could not explain.

The official divorce of the spouses took place only in 1928.

After the divorce, Christy traveled a lot. She visited Iraq, where she met her second husband, who worked there as an archaeologist. Despite the fact that the man was fifteen years younger than the writer, their marriage turned out to be very strong and lasted a lifetime.

Creativity of the Queen of Detectives

At the beginning of her career, the future celebrity was thinking about writing under a male pseudonym, but the publisher dissuaded her from a rash step, because there was a certain novelty in a woman writing in the detective genre.

Then in 1920, Christie published her “The Mysterious Affair at Styles.” Two years later, the writer went on a small tour around the world, visiting Africa, as well as Australia, New Zealand, Hawaiian Islands, States and Canada.

“The Mystery of the Blue Train” is a work that Christie completed in the Canaries, having escaped there from the bustle and ex-husband together with his daughter.

In 1934, the writer published a novel based on the event of her disappearance. The novel was published under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott. Agatha called it “Unfinished Portrait”.

After her second marriage, Agatha wrote the work “Tell me how you live.” In part, it became the autobiography of the writer.

The literary hit "Ten Little Indians" is a novel story line which takes place in Torquay, Agatha Christie's hometown. Agatha herself considered the work the best among her novels.

For reasons of political correctness, today this work is published under the title “And There Were None.

Agatha created the cycle about Hercule Poirot very detailed and exciting. So in this detective series there are 33 full-length novels and 1 play. It also includes 54 stories about the noble detective.

In 1927, Christie's second most important character, Mrs. Marple, was born. The cycle of stories began with the work “Tuesday Evening Club”. Unusual image The old lady detective immediately won the hearts of readers.

Later in the writer’s work there were other detectives, but Poirot and Marple could not be overshadowed by any other character. In addition to books, Agatha Christie was fond of writing plays, and was known as an excellent playwright.

It is Christie who is the most published author of humanity, after Shakespeare. The number of plays staged based on her literary works also breaks all imaginable records..

The writer's main novels have now been translated into 100 languages ​​and dialects around the world.

Agatha Christie: the end of the road

Having reached the age of 85, Agatha Christie died after suffering from a serious cold. The detective queen was buried in the village of Cholsi, near the place where she lived in recent years.

A monument was erected in honor of the writer in London. A crater on the planet Venus was named after her. A rock group of Russian performers took her name as their name, and for many years successfully performed under the name “Agatha Christie”.

Biography and episodes of life Agatha Christie. When born and died Agatha Christie, memorable places and dates important events her life. Quotes from the writer, Photo and video.

Years of Agatha Christie's life:

born September 15, 1890, died January 12, 1976

Epitaph

We wish you good luck
In that unknown and new world,
So that you don't feel lonely,
So that the angels do not leave.

Biography

Agatha Christie's biography is an inspiring example of a woman who was able to live a happy and rich life. During her life, Agatha Christie published more than 60 detective stories, 6 novels and several collections of short stories. To this day, she remains one of the most published authors in the world, second only to the Bible itself and the works of Shakespeare.

Agatha Christie was born in the city of Torquay into a respectable English family. The origin of Agatha Christie greatly affected her appearance, because from childhood the girl was raised as a real English lady. Once, when she was given a dog, the girl locked herself in the toilet, where she said out loud several times: “I have a dog!” It seemed to her that a lady should be able to restrain her emotions in public. She always dreamed of a family and her own home. That’s probably why she took her breakup with her first husband so hard, who left her for another woman. However, then she married again, and this marriage became happy for her, despite the fact that Agatha Christie’s second husband, an archaeologist, was 15 years younger than her.

Agatha Christie in childhood and youth

Agatha Christie was always shy and modest. Even when she became a world-famous writer, Agatha Christie never gave ceremonial speeches. And she started writing simply because she had an argument with her older sister, who was already a published writer at that time. The publishing house released her first story after the seventh sample, but this is what inspired her to further exploits.

Already in old age, Agatha Christie admitted that she lived a happy life, bright life. According to her, two of her most important dreams came true - she bought a car and attended a reception with the Queen of England herself. A cozy home, a favorite activity, a caring husband - everything she needed to be happy. Even when her health weakened, she continued to write. Later, experts who studied her later work came to the conclusion that the writer had Alzheimer's disease. Agatha Christie ended her autobiography with the words: “Thank you, Lord, for my good life and for all the love that was given to me.”

Agatha Christie's death occurred on January 12, 1976, she died in her own home in the village of Cholsey. The cause of Agatha Christie's death was a short cold that caused complications. Agatha Christie's funeral took place nearby, at St. Mary's Church. Agatha Christie's grave is located in the cemetery associated with this church. The detective club, which was headed by Agatha Christie 18 years before her death, still exists today. The memory of Agatha Christie does not fade to this day.

Agatha Christie with her daughter Rosalind and her grandson Matthew Pritchard

Life line

September 15, 1890 Date of birth of Agatha Christie (Agatha Mary Clarissa Mallowan, née Miller).
1914 Marriage to Archibald Christie.
1920 Publication of Agatha Christie's first novel, The Secret Affair at Styles.
1928 Divorce from Archibald Christie.
1930 Marriage to Max Mallowan.
1956 Agatha Christie was awarded the Order of the British Empire.
1958 Agatha Christie heading the English Detective Club.
1971 Agatha Christie was awarded the title of Dame.
January 12, 1976 Date of death of Agatha Christie.

Memorable places

1. Torquay, UK, where Agatha Christie was born.
2. The Old Swan Hotel, where Agatha Christie stayed during her disappearance in 1926.
3. Abney Hall in Cheshire, Agatha Christie's home, where she often stayed.
4. Wallingford, UK, where Agatha Christie's home was located and where she died.
5. Office of the Agatha Christie Limited Foundation in London.
6. Greenway Estate, home of Agatha Christie, where today the Agatha Christie Museum is located.
7. Winterbrook, Agatha Christie's home in Cholsey, where she died.
8. St Mary's Church Cemetery in Cholsey, where Agatha Christie is buried.

Episodes of life

Shortly after the death of Agatha Christie's mother, her husband asked for a divorce; it turned out that he had fallen in love with his golf colleague. Agatha refused to give a divorce, and soon she simply disappeared from home. At that time, the writer already had many fans, so her disappearance caused a public outcry. They searched for Agatha Christie for 11 days until she was discovered in a spa hotel, where she spent her days calmly taking baths and playing the piano. Doctors attributed her disappearance to amnesia. And years later, psychologist Andrew Norman came to the conclusion that there could indeed be a dissociative fugue that was caused mental disorder or a strong shock due to the stress in Christy's life: the death of her mother and her husband's infidelity.

Agatha Christie once jokingly admitted that she comes up with plots for her books while washing dishes. According to her, this is such a stupid and boring activity that the thought of murder itself comes to mind. Relatives said that the process of writing a book, as a rule, happened in this way: Agatha Christie thought about everything in her head, simultaneously recording some thoughts in her notebook, and then on some day, when the novel had fully matured in her head, she closed in office and wrote it from start to finish. One of the writer’s acquaintances claimed that Christie did not always know who the killer would be in her novel; she first wrote it, then, at the very end, chose a suspect, and then went through the book again and added the details necessary to confirm the hero’s guilt.

Agatha Christie preferred to write by hand; her texts were typed by secretaries and assistants. Most of all, she loved to write books while lying in the bathroom - Agatha Christie would take a warm bath, put a board with apples on it and write page after page. But since the writer was a real Englishwoman, she could not always afford this in the presence of servants, therefore, when there were one of the servants in the house, she sat at the desk so as not to embarrass them.

Agatha Christie with her second husband Max Mallowan, tombstone at Agatha Christie's grave

Covenant

“Freedom is worth fighting for.”

“One of the greatest secrets of existence is to be able to enjoy the gift of life that you have been given.”

Program from the series “Top Secret” - “Agatha Christie. Queen of Detectives"

Condolences

“She’s like a literary magician who puts the cards face down, shuffles them with her cunning fingers and invites us to guess them again and again in order to Once again deceive. It is highly doubtful that any of her methods of killing the heroes of her books could be successfully implemented in ordinary life. But although some moments seemed incredible, readers of her books happily suspended disbelief, because we're talking about about Christieland, and millions of people around the world have been happy to be distracted, entertained and bewildered by her books.”
Phyllis Dorothy James, writer

She managed to change ideas about the detective genre and become one of the most famous writers in the world.

Childhood and youth

Agatha Christie was born on September 15, 1890. The hometown of the future writer was Torquay (English county of Devon). At birth, the girl received the name Agatha Mary Clarissa Miller. Agatha's parents are wealthy immigrants from the United States. In addition to Agatha, the family had two more children - older sister Margaret Freri and brother Louis Montan. The future writer spent her childhood years on the Ashfield estate.

In 1901, Agatha’s father passed away, the family could no longer afford “aristocratic liberties”, they had to cut expenses and live in conditions of strict economy.

There was no need for Agatha to go to school; initially, the girl’s education was handled by her mother, and then by the governess. In those days, girls were mainly prepared for married life, taught manners, needlework, and dancing. At home, Agatha received a musical education and, if not for stage fright, would probably have devoted her life to music. Since childhood youngest daughter Millerov was shy and differed from her brother and sister in her calm character.

At the age of 16, Agatha was sent to a Paris boarding school. There the girl studied without much zeal for science and was constantly homesick. Agatha’s main “achievements” were two dozen grammatical errors in dictation and fainting before performing at a school concert.

Then Agatha studied at another boarding school for two years, after which she returned home as a completely different person - from an unintelligent, shy girl, the future celebrity turned into an attractive blonde with long hair and languid blue eyes.

During the First World War, the future writer worked in a military hospital, acting as a nurse. Then the girl became a pharmacist, which later helped in writing detective stories - 83 crimes described by the author were committed through poisoning. After her marriage, Agatha took the surname Christie and, in between shifts in the pharmacy department of the hospital, began creating masterpieces.

It is assumed that the idea of ​​creativity was inspired by Native sister writer, who by that time had already achieved some success in the literary field.

Literature

Agatha Christie wrote her first detective novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, in 1915. Based on the acquired knowledge, as well as acquaintance with Belgian refugees, the writer brings out the key character of the novel - the Belgian detective Hercule Poirot. The first novel was published in 1920: before that, the book was rejected at least five times by publishing houses.

A series was filmed about the famous detective, which was loved by viewers around the world. Directors will constantly return to the novels of the British woman, creating films based on the writer’s books: “Agatha Christie’s Poirot”, “Miss Marple”, “Murder in Orient Express».

Viewers especially remembered the series “Miss Marple”. In this film adaptation, the character of Miss Marple was brilliantly embodied British actress.

By 1926, Christie had become popular. The author's works have been published in large quantities in world magazines. In 1927, Miss Marple appears in the story “Tuesday Evening Club”. The reader's thorough acquaintance with this insightful old woman occurred with the appearance of the novel “Murder at the Vicarage” (1930). Then the characters invented by the writer were present in several works combined into a series. Murders and the theme of the investigation will be the main ones in the detective stories of the British writer.

The most striking detective novels of Agatha Christie are considered to be: “The Murder of Roger Ackroyd” (1926), “Murder on the Orient Express” (1934), “Death on the Nile” (1937), “Ten Little Indians” (1939), “Baghdad Meeting” (1957). ). Among the works of the late period, experts note “The Darkness of Night” (1968), “Halloween Party” (1969), “The Gates of Destiny” (1973).

Agatha Christie is a successful playwright. The works of the British woman became the basis for large quantity plays and performances. The plays “The Mousetrap” and “Witness for the Prosecution” became especially popular.

Christie holds the record for the most theatrical productions one work. The play “The Mousetrap” was first staged in 1952 and is continuously shown on stage to this day.

IN creative biography The writer has more than 60 novels. She published most of them under the name of her first husband. But she signed 6 works with a fictitious name - Mary Westmacott. Then the writer not only changed her name, but also left the detective genre for a while. She also published a considerable number of stories, collected in 19 collections.

Throughout her entire writing career, the writer has never made crimes of a sexual nature the theme of her works. Unlike modern detective stories, there are practically no scenes of violence or pools of blood in her novels. On this score, Agatha has repeatedly expressed that, in her opinion, such scenes do not allow the reader to concentrate on the main theme of the novel.

The writer herself considers her best work novel "Ten Little Indians". The setting is based on the Isle of Burgh in South Britain. However, today this book, to comply with political correctness, is sold under a different title - “And Then There Were None.”

The novels "Curtain" and "A Forgotten Murder" were published in 1975 - they became the last in the series about Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. But they were written long before that, during the Second World War, in 1940. Then she put them in a safe to publish when she could no longer write anything.

In 1956, the writer was awarded the Order of the British Empire, and in 1971, Christie was awarded the title of Dame Commander in the field of literature for her achievements. Award winners also receive noble title“lady”, which is used before the name when pronouncing.

In 1965, Agatha Christie completed her autobiography, which she ended with the following words:

“Thank you, Lord, for my good life and for all the love that has been given to me.”

Personal life

Agatha, a girl from an intelligent family and with an untarnished reputation, easily found a groom to match. Things were heading towards marriage, but this young man turned out to be very boring. It was at this time that she met the handsome man and womanizer Archibald Christie. The girl broke off the engagement and in 1914 married pilot Colonel Archibald.

Later they had a daughter, Rosalind. Agatha plunged headlong into family life, but it wasn’t easy. For the writer, her husband always came first. Despite the fact that he earned good money, his wife spent even more. While Agatha wrote novels and traveled with her husband, her daughter was raised by her grandmother Clara and Aunt Margaret.

Despite ongoing financial difficulties and Archie's gloomy mood, Agatha believed that everything would work out. Later, when it became clear that Archibald Christie was unable to support his family, writing came first in Agatha’s life.

The marriage lasted 12 years, then the husband admitted to the writer that he fell in love with a certain Nancy Neal. A scandal broke out between the spouses, and in the morning Agatha disappeared.

The mysterious disappearance of Christie was noticed by the entire literary world, because by that time the writer had gained wide popularity. The woman was put on the national wanted list and searched for 11 days, but only the car was found, inside of which her fur coat was found. It turned out that all this time Agatha Christie was staying in one of the hotels under a different name, where she visited beauty treatments, the library, and played the piano.

Many biographers and psychologists later tried to explain the disappearance of Agatha Christie, which caused a lot of noise. Someone said that this was unexpected amnesia due to stress. On the eve of her disappearance, in addition to her husband’s betrayal, Agatha also suffered the death of her mother. Others said it was deep depression. There was also a version about a kind of revenge on her husband - presenting him to society as a possible murderer. Agatha Christie remained silent on this matter all her life. Two years later, the couple officially broke off their relationship.

In 1934, Agatha published a novel, “An Unfinished Portrait,” under a pseudonym, in which she described events similar to her disappearance. This is also described in the 1979 film Agatha, in which Vanessa Redgrave played the role of the writer.

For the second time, Christie married archaeologist Max Mallowan. The meeting took place in Iraq, where Agatha went to travel. The woman was older than spouse for 15 years. Later she joked that for an archaeologist, an older wife is even better, as her value increases. The writer lived with this man for 45 years.

Death

Beginning in 1971, Agatha Christie's health began to deteriorate, but she continued to write. Subsequently, employees of the University of Toronto, having examined the style of writing last letters Christie, it was suggested that the writer suffered from Alzheimer's disease.

In 1975, when Agatha was completely weakened, she transferred the rights to the play “The Mousetrap” to her grandson Matthew Pritchard. He also heads the Agatha Christie Ltd Foundation.

The life of the “queen of detectives” was cut short on January 12, 1976. Christie died at home in Wallingford, Oxfordshire. She was 85 years old. The cause of death was complications from a cold. The writer was buried in St. Mary's cemetery in the village of Cholsey.

Christie's only daughter, like her famous mother, also lived to be 85 years old. She died on October 28, 2004 in Devon.

In 2000, Agatha Christie's Greenway home was transferred to the National Trust. For 8 years only the garden and boat house. And in 2009, the house was opened, which underwent a large-scale reconstruction.

In 2008, Matthew Pritchard discovered 27 audio tapes in the closet of her house on which Agatha Christie talks about her life and work for 13 hours. However, the man said that he was not going to publish all the materials. According to him, some of his grandmother's monologues are intimate and somewhat chaotic.

In 2015, fans of the great writer celebrated the 125th anniversary of Agatha Christie. In Great Britain, this event gained national proportions.

Even so many years after the death of the writer, her works continue to be published in millions of copies.

Bibliography

• 1920 – « Mysterious Incident in Stiles"
• 1926 – “The Murder of Roger Ackroyd”
• 1929 – “Partners in Crime”
• 1930 – “Murder at the Vicarage”
• 1931– “The Sittaford Mystery”
• 1933 – “The Death of Lord Edgware”
• 1934 – “Murder on the Orient Express”
• 1936 – “The Alphabet Murders”
• 1937 – “Death on the Nile”
• 1939 – “Ten Little Indians”
• 1940 – “Sad Cypress”
• 1941 – “Evil Under the Sun”
• 1942 – “Corpse in the Library”
• 1942 – “Five Little Pigs”
• 1949 – “The Crooked Little House”
• 1950 – “Murder Announced”
• 1953– “Pocket Full of Rye”
• 1957– “4.50 from Paddington”
• 1968 – “Snap your finger just once”
• 1971 – “Nemesis”
• 1975 – “Curtain”
• 1976 – “Sleeping Murder”

Quotes

Smart people are not offended, but draw conclusions.

Life while traveling is a dream in its purest form.

There is nothing more tiresome than a person who is always right.

Every killer is probably someone's good friend.

Women are rarely mistaken in their judgments about each other.

Freedom is worth fighting for.

• In 1922, Christie traveled around the world.
• The writer was inspired to create the character of Miss Marple by her grandmother.
• When Christie "murdered" Hercule Poirot, the New York Times published an obituary. This is the only one fictional character, received such an honor.

Do you know which books are the most published in the world? In first place is the Bible, in second place are the immortal works of Shakespeare. But on the third - works belonging to the “light genre”, the so-called entertaining literature, united by genre and author. Agatha Christie's detective stories are in third place in the world in terms of publication frequency. Over 4 billion copies of her works have been published in more than 100 languages. So who was the famous writer Agatha Christie?

Her biography sometimes resembles one of the writer’s novels. It contains love, betrayal and a mysterious disappearance with a happy ending.

The maiden name of the future writer is Miller. She was born in 1890 in the small town of Torquay.

During the First World War, the girl worked as a nurse in a military hospital, and then as a pharmacist in a pharmacy. Field knowledge chemical substances, and especially poisons, were useful to Agatha in her work. 83 of the murders she described in detective stories were poisonings.

In 1914, by large mutual love young Agatha Miller married a colonel named Archibald Christie. Soon she will glorify this surname.

The first detective novel was published in 1920. It was called "The Mysterious Affair at Styles." The author has not been identified to anyone famous Agatha Christie. Her biography as a writer began precisely then.

1926 turned out to be an extremely difficult year for Agatha. She had to endure two hardest blows during this period: the death of her mother and her husband’s betrayal. In the twelfth year of marriage, Archibald asked his wife for a divorce due to the fact that he had met another woman. There was a quarrel between them, after which Agatha Christie suddenly disappeared from the house. The writer’s biography says that for 11 days her whereabouts remained a secret. It was only after this period that she was found in a small hotel, where she registered under the name of her husband’s mistress. However, she could not really explain how she got there, as a result of which doctors diagnosed her with amnesia. What actually happened is unknown, but it is believed that it was a case of what is medically called “dissociative fugue” - a disease caused by a severe mental disorder.

Two years after this incident, the Christie couple divorced.

However, fate was favorable to an English lady named Agatha Christie. short biography reports that already in 1930 the writer met an archaeologist with whom she lived in happy marriage for the rest of my life (46 years). His name was Max Mallowan and he was younger than his wife for 15 years.

Agatha Christie, whose biography is the focus of our attention, lived to be 86 years old. During this time, she wrote 60 detective novels and 6 psychological novels. The latter were released under the pseudonyms Westmacott or Mary Westmacott. 19 collections were published, which mainly included short stories. And 16 of her plays premiered in London theaters. One of them, “The Mousetrap,” became a record holder for the number of productions. The author's favorite creation was the novel Ten Little Indians.

Many films have been made based on the writer’s works, including multi-part ones, in which viewers with intense attention follow the investigations carried out by their favorite heroes - Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple.

Not only the books of the famous writer, but also stories about her are of great interest to readers. Similar monographs are published different languages. There is also a biography of Agatha Christie in Russian by E. N. Tsimbaeva, entitled “Agatha Christie,” published in 2013.