Agatha Christie was born in Torquay in 1890 and became, quite simply, the best-selling novelist in history. Her first novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, written towards the end of the First World War, introduced us to Hercule Poirot, who was to become the most popular detective in crime fiction since Sherlock Holmes. She is known throughout the world as the Queen of Crime. Her books have sold over a billion copies in the English language and another billion in over 100 foreign countries. She is the author of 80 crime novels and short story collections, 19 plays, and six novels under the name of Mary Westmacott.
© Angus Mc Bean (National Portrait Gallery, London)
"Need it be said - the little grey cells solve once more the seemingly insoluble. Mrs Christie makes an improbable tale very real, and keeps her readers enthralled and guessing to the end." Times Literary Supplement
"A brilliantly ingenious story." Dorothy L. Sayers, Daily Herald
"Ingenuity at its height ... the idea is utterly novel, the setting a model of realism, and the characters a versatile, attractive crew." Woman's Journal
"A piece of classic workmanship .. exquisite and wholly satisfying." News Chronicle
"A brilliantly ingenious story." Dorothy L. Sayers, Daily Herald
"Ingenuity at its height ... the idea is utterly novel, the setting a model of realism, and the characters a versatile, attractive crew." Woman's Journal
"A piece of classic workmanship .. exquisite and wholly satisfying." News Chronicle