Agatha Christie (15 september 1890 – 12 January 1976), the famous writer of crime novels, is celebrated by Google with a Google Doodle. Agatha Christie also wrote short stories, plays and even wrote romances under the name Mary Westmacott. Still, Agatha is famous for her detective novels – 80 novels. Detective Hercule Poirot and Miss Jane Marple are famous characters from Agatha Christie’s novels. Her plays were very popular at West End theatre
Agatha Christie is the best-selling writer of books of all time and with William Shakespeare she is the best-selling author of any kind, according to Guinness Book of World Records. The only book that was sold more is the Bible. Her novels have been translated in 103 languages, making her the most translated individual author.
Another record about Agatha Christie is that her play, The Mousetrap, had the longest initial run: it opened at the Ambassadors Theatre in London on 25 November 1952 and as of 2010 was still running after more than 23,000 performances. Many of her novels have been adapted for the big screen, for television or radio: Murder on the Orient Express, Death on the Nile and so on.
The latest book of Agatha Christie was discovered in 2004 in the attic of the Christie’s daughter. It was a 5000-word manuscript named The Incident of the Dog’s Ball and initially it was the original version of the Dumb Witness novel. In 2009 was published in Britain in John Curran’s Agatha Christie’s Secret Notebooks: Fifty Years Of Mysteries, with the new discovered story of Poirot entitled The Capture of Cerberus.
Agatha Christie’s twisty mysteries have proven her immortal. On a reel-to-reel tape discovered in the attic of her home in Greenway, Devon, England, she speaks about how she writes her incredible crime novels. There’s no method in writing a crime story, it’s only the process of developing a story and wanting to be a good one, the author mentions. Many have wondered how can she write of murders and passionate crimes if she hasn’t experienced that but Agatha always said there’s no need to experience it when you can picture it in your head!
If you’re looking to celebrate 120 years since Agatha Christie was born, you’ll might as well visit her mansion near Brixham, England. Also, from March to October there’s a tour at her holiday house in Greenway. On her special anniversary the organizers are offering a special Twilight Tour on Sept. 15, complete with wine and canapés, as part of the annual Agatha Christie Festival.
