Agatha Christie
She sold more books than anyone except Shakespeare, crafting intricate puzzles that defined the modern detective story.
1890–1976 (age 86)·English mystery and detective writer·Birthday: September 15·The Lost Generation
Biography
Agatha Christie was a shy, imaginative woman from Torquay who turned a bet from her sister into a global empire of murder and deduction. Her first novel, 'The Mysterious Affair at Styles,' introduced the meticulous Hercule Poirot in 1920, and she spent the next five decades perfecting the art of the whodunit. Christie's life held its own mysteries, most famously her 11-day disappearance in 1926, which fueled public fascination. She wrote not just novels but also enduring plays like 'The Mousetrap,' which has run continuously in London since 1952. Her work, translated into countless languages, offers a meticulously ordered world where logic always prevails, providing comfort and intellectual sport for millions.
The Lost Generation
1883–1900
Came of age during World War I. Disillusioned by the carnage, they rejected the certainties of the Victorian era and built modernism from the wreckage — in art, literature, and politics.
Agatha was born in 1890, placing them squarely in The Lost Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Agatha Was Born
The biggest hits of 1890
Agatha's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1890Born
Wounded Knee massacre marks the end of the Indian Wars
President: Benjamin Harrison
1895Started school
First public film screening by the Lumiere brothers
President: Grover Cleveland
1903Became a teenager
Wright brothers achieve first powered flight
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1906Could drive
San Francisco earthquake devastates the city
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1908Could vote
Ford Model T goes into production
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1911Turned 21
Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire kills 146 in New York
President: William Howard Taft
1920Turned 30
Women gain the right to vote in the US
Home: $3,395President: Woodrow Wilson"Swanee" — Al Jolson
1930Turned 40
Pluto discovered
Gas: $0.20/galHome: $3,510President: Herbert Hoover"Body and Soul" — Paul WhitemanBest Picture: All Quiet on the Western Front
1940Turned 50
The Blitz: Germany bombs London
Gas: $0.18/galHome: $2,938Min wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"I'll Never Smile Again" — Tommy DorseyBest Picture: Rebecca
1950Turned 60
Korean War begins
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $7,354Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Goodnight Irene" — Gordon Jenkins & The WeaversBest Picture: All About Eve
1960Turned 70
Kennedy-Nixon debates become first televised presidential debates
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $11,900Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Theme from A Summer Place" — Percy FaithBest Picture: The Apartment
1970Turned 80
First Earth Day; The Beatles break up
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $17,000Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Bridge over Troubled Water" — Simon & GarfunkelBest Picture: Patton
1976Died at 86
Apple Computer founded; US bicentennial
Gas: $0.59/galHome: $29,300Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Silly Love Songs" — WingsBest Picture: Rocky
Key Achievements
- Authored 'The Murder of Roger Ackroyd,' a landmark novel famous for its revolutionary narrative twist.
- Wrote 'The Mousetrap,' the world's longest-running stage play, which opened in London's West End in 1952.
- Created two of fiction's most enduring detectives: the Belgian Hercule Poirot and the elderly sleuth Miss Marple.
- Published over 70 detective novels that have sold an estimated two billion copies worldwide.
Did You Know?
During World War I, she worked in a hospital dispensary, where she learned about poisons that later featured in her novels.
She surfed in Hawaii with her husband in 1922, becoming one of the first British women to take up the sport.
She wrote several romantic novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott.
Her archeologist husband Max Mallowan's work in the Middle East provided settings for books like 'Murder on the Orient Express.'
““The best time for planning a book is while you're doing the dishes.””
