About the Author: The Life of Agatha Christie

Agatha Christie

'The Queen of Crime Fiction'

Born Agatha Miller on the 15th of September 1890 in Torquay, Devon
Died on the 12th of January 1976 in Wallingford, Oxfordshire

Agatha was homeschooled by her American father. Agatha's mother did not wish for her to read until she was 8 years old, undaunted she taught herself to read by the age of 5.

She was greatly influenced by the books of her childhood, such as 'The Railway Children' and 'Little Women'.

Though more-or-less a comfortably middle-class affair the family encountered frequent financial problems. These issues prompted a temporary re-location to France, where Agatha learnt a good smattering of the language.
Apparently the stress of the stubborn money issues took a great emotional toll on Agatha's father, who suffered from multiple heart attacks, before dying when Agatha was 11 years old.

Agatha received piano and singing lessons, but found it difficult to perform in-front of strangers.
Around the age of 18, Agatha began to write stories for her own personal amusement.

In 1910 Agatha and her mother took up residence in the Gezirah Palace in Egypt for a few months. Though she often attended the numerous parties to which the palace was host, Agatha found that exploring the historical ruins was a far more productive pursuit.

Gezirah Palace

In 1912 she met Archie Christie, the pair were rather rashly caught up in a mutual infatuation. Two years later they married and both saw their fair share of war. Agatha volunteered her services at the Red Cross Hospital in Torquay, working at the dispensary. Her experience there would give her a working knowledge of poisons.

Archie Christie

During the war Agatha was promoted by a bet with her sister to write detective fiction, the debut being 'The Mysterious Affair at Styles.' Her accurate usage of poisons within the plot earned her a review in the Pharmaceutical Journal.

After the war Archie found a job in London and could afford a flat for the couple to live in. On the 5th of August Agatha gave birth to their only daughter, Rosalind named after Shakespeare's heroine.

John Lane of The Bodley Head publishers commissioned Agatha to write five more stories, with the insistence of a few changes, including the replacement of the climatic court case with a more thrilling library-based denouement. This final informal confrontation has since become a staple-hold of Agatha's novels.

It wasn't long before Agatha managed to create two icons of decretive fiction, Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple.

In 1922 the couple travelled across the Empire to promote the Great Exhibition of 1924.

Apparently during their stay in Cape Town, Agatha became the first woman to surf standing up.

Agatha found a new agent, Edmund Cork of 'Hughes Massie', which would later become 'Harper Collins.'

Returning from the tour the family reunited in London, however the merriment was minimal since Agatha's mother had recently died.

Archie fell in love with a fellow golfer, Nancy Neale, and thus the marriage began to fall apart.

The stress upon Agatha climaxed when she ran away with a close friend. The disappearance lasted for 11 days, a nation-wide search commenced involving much speculation.
It turned out that Agatha had managed to travel to the Harrogate Spa Hotel. When confronted by the press she claimed to be suffering from amnesia.

In 1928 Agatha and Archie divorced.

To realise a life-long ambition, Agatha travelled on the Orient Express.

She travelled to the archeological sites of interest in Ur, and was promptly invited back for the following year. It was then she met the archeologist-in-training Max Mallowan. The pair's friendship was forged by travel; they were both fascinated in history and neither terribly minded having to 'rough it'.

Max proposed to her back at the family estate of Ashfield, they married on the 11th of September 1930 on the Isle of Skye. The marriage proved to be a productive routine of travelling and writing.

The second world war saw to Agatha volunteering once more at a dispensary, and Max was sent to Cairo due to being well versed in a bunch of languages.

Agatha wrote the book 'N or M?' which led her to being investigated by MI5.

In 1946 Agatha's secret writing alias 'Mary Westmacott' was uncovered by an American reviewer.

The 40s and 50s kept Agatha busy with numerous theatrical adaptions.

Her final public appearance was at the film premier of 'Murder on the Orient Express.' She enjoyed the film, reserving the critique that Poirot's moustache was not luxurious enough.

She was made a dame by Queen Elizabeth II in 1971.

Agatha died peacefully on the 12th of January 1976.