Agatha Christie – The Queen of Mysteries

All of us love a good mystery. We have many favourite detective characters who have thrilled us. Among the fictional detective characters Hercule Poirot and Miss. Jane Marple occupy a distinct place. Who created these characters? Yes, it’s Agatha Christie, the Queen of Mysteries.

Agatha Christie truly deserves the title. She was born in Torquay, England on 15th September 1890. She started writing at an early age. The Mysterious Affair at Styles was her first popular book. Interestingly, the book was partly the result of a challenge by her sister to write a good detective novel. She has written sixty-six detective stories. Her works also include novels, short stories and plays. The play Mousetrap (1952) by Agatha Christie holds the world record for the longest running play. She is also one of the best-selling novelists of all times. Her works have sold almost two billion copies and have been translated into more than 100 languages.

Hercule Poirot is perhaps the most popular character of Agatha Christie. The little Belgian detective made his debut in the book The Mysterious Affair at Styles published in I920.He later appeared in thirty- three novels and in more than 50 short stories. The short detective with his egg-shaped head and an upward curling moustache won the hearts of readers. In fact, Poirot is the only fictional character to receive an obituary on the front page of the New York Times when he ‘died’ in the work Curtain (1975).

Miss Jane Marple is another fictional character of Agatha Christie. She made her first appearance in the short story The Tuesday Nightclub’ in December 1927. Her first full length appearance was in The Murder at the Vicarage in 1930.The nosy old lady who lives in the village of St.Mary Mead is hardly a detective one expects to be, yet she captured the readers from her first to the last appearance. Miss.Marple is a shrewd observer and solves the crimes with her deep understanding of human nature. Her last appearance was in Sleeping Murder in 1976. An interesting fact is that Agatha Christie did not ‘kill’ Miss.Marple. So a hard-core fan can imagine Miss.Marple still living in St.Mary Mead.

A hundred years have passed since The Mysterious Affair at Styles was published. Her books are still popular. The Royal Mint issued a commemorative coin in her honour during the centennial anniversary in September this year. Agatha Christie is a legend in crime fiction. She is and will be always the Queen of Mysteries.