Agatha Christie the acknowledged ¿Queen of Crime' ( The Observer ) was born in Torquay in
1890. During the First World War she worked as a hospital dispenser and it was here that she
gleaned the working knowledge of various poisons that was to prove so useful in her detective
stories. Her first novel was The Mysterious Affair at Styles which introduced Hercule Poirot
to the world. This was published in 1920 (although in fact she had written it during the war)
and was followed over the next six years by four more detective novels and a short story
collection. However it was not until the publication of The Murder of Roger Ackroyd that
Agatha Christie¿s reputation was firmly established. This novel with its complex plot and
genuinely shocking conclusion attracted considerable public attention and has since been
acknowledged by many experts as a masterpiece. In 1930 the sharp-witted spinster sleuth Miss
Marple made her first appearance in The Murder at the Vicarage. In all Agatha Christie
published over 80 novels and short story collections. The brilliance of Christie¿s plots and
her enduring appeal have led to several dramatisations of her work on radio television and
film. In 1930 she was one of a number of crime writers asked to contribute a chapter to a
mystery Behind the Screen that was broadcast on BBC radio on 21st June that year. More
recently June Whitfield portrayed Miss Marple on BBC Radio 4 whilst John Moffat starred as
Hercule Poirot. On screen Peter Ustinov David Suchet Margaret Rutherford Joan Hickson
Geraldine McEwan and Julia McKenzie have all memorably played Agatha Christie¿s famous sleuths.
As her play The Mousetrap (the longest-running play in the history of theatre) testifies
Agatha Christie¿s detective stories are likely to appeal for a long time to come. Agatha
Christie was awarded a CBE in 1956 and was made a Dame of the British Empire in 1971. She died
in 1976.
