NONFICTIDN The Mystery Agatha Chri&tie In the kingdom of crime fiction, one writer reigns above all. By Teresa Akersten

Crime might not pay. Now crime fiction, that's a tery writer named , a.k.a. the whole different story. The best-selling author of all Queen of Crime. time is not a novelist such as Charles Dickens nor Her Royal Highness of Detection penned a children's author à la Dr. Seuss, but rather a mys- nearly 80 books, as well as 150 short stories and

14 READ March 12, 2010 numerous plays. Her works have been translated ing some early Agatha Christie. She invented a into dozens of languages, and an estimated 2 bil- lot of the things that later became classic plot de- lion to 4 billion (not a typo) copies have been sold. vices." (Examples include clues hidden in plain That statistic makes Christie as popular as William sight and the reliable narrator who turns out to Shakespeare and the Bible. be the murderer.) Why is Christie such a huge hit? Well, for The Golden Age style of mystery writing en- starters, she created not one, but two immensely dures. Today books written in that style are popular characters: the shrewd spinster Miss called cozy mysteries. That's because the sus- Jane Marple and the Belgian supersleuth Hercule pects are usually part of a closed group, isolated Poirot. When Poirot died in the last novel featuring in a manor or living in the same small village. In the detective, he was given a full-page obituary in other words, too cozy for comfort. The New York Times. How many characters can claim that? (Or writers for that matter?) The Power of Observation Ninety years after Poirot first appeared and 80 Like many aspiring writers are taught to do, years after was introduced to readers, Christie wrote primarily about what she knew. Her to know them is still to love them. Writers, film- books are filled with settings—both exotic and makers, and other creative types continue to everyday—that she had visited. She set two of her immortalize the two sleuths through stage and novels— and Evil Under screen adaptations. You can even find them in the Sun—on islands inspired by Burgh Island, high-tech spin-offs such as digital games and which is located off the coast of Devon, England, iPhone apps. where she spent her summers. Murder on the Orient Express was based on her experience of being Golden Girl stranded on a train after a storm washed away Christie did not invent the mystery genre—Edgar part of the track. For years, she accompanied her Allan Poe gets credit for that. But she is arguably second husband, an archaeologist, on his trips to the best-known author from the Golden Age of the Middle East While he dug for artifacts, she Detective Fiction. During that period, Christie reaped plenty of material for tales such as Murder and fellow mystery writer buddies, including in Mesopotamia and TTiey Came io Baghdad. Dorothy L, Sayers and G, K. Chesterton, were Good old-fashioned observation was her most writing what seemed like a book a minute. And powerful tool. Many of her ideas came fi-omob - the public gobbled them up like bowls of buttery serving people, places, and things; overhearing popcorn. conversations; or studying scenery fi-om a train Several Golden Age writers joined forces and car window. "Plots come to me at such odd mo- formed the Detection Club. The members of the ments," she once said, "when I am walking along elite group strongly felt that readers should have the street, or examining a hat shop ... suddenly a a fair chance at guessing the culprit, So they cre- splendid idea comes into my head." ated a code of ethics that became the Ten Com- Christie didn't consider herself to have much of mandments of Golden Age mystery writing. a method. But method, shmethod. The writer Marcia Talley, president of the mystery writ- knew how to masterfully think through her plots, ing organization Sisters in Crime, explains the develop rich characters, and create tidy endings. commandments. She says, "You play fair with the "In the real world, things don't go the way they reader. You provide the clues. You might have red do in fiction," says Taliey. "In the Christie novel, all herrings in there. ... In the end, you should be slapping your head and saying, 'Oh, I should have Q vocab ~ seen that.'" j SHREWD: having sharp Intelligence and practical Talley says that when it comes to writing who- perception dunits, there's no greater teacher than Christie. IMMORTALIZE: to make someone or something last "If you want to know how to write a mystery," forever Talley says, "you can't really do better than read- CULPRIT: person who committed the crime loose ends are tied up in the end, order is restored, identity as writer Mary Westmacott, a pseudonym and justice is served." Christie used to write six romantic fiction novels, was revealed. Christie was so shy that when she Who is The Real Christie? accepted the presidency of the Detection Club, Agatha Christie might be a household name and she had one thing to say: I'll do it under the condi- her books might rest on more nightstands than tion that I never have to give a speech. any others, but what made her tick is a mystery If only there were more clues. Last year, too complex for even Miss Marple. Here's what HarperCollins published Agatha Christie's Secret we do know. Notebooks: Fifty Years of Mysteries in the Making. Agatha Christie was bom Agatha Mary Clarissa The contents of the 73 recently discovered note- Miller on Sept. 15, 1890, in Torquay, England. Her books include illustrations, deleted extracts, and father, Frederick, was an American of independent unused endings, plus two previously unpublished means; her mother, Clara, was the daughter of a Poirot stories. The notebooks say a lot about how British army captain. Christie's older siblings, the author outlined and drafted many of her Madge and Monty, went to school, but their mom books, stories, and plays, but they add almost decided early on that Christie would study at nothing to what little is known of this mysterious home. The exceptionally bright giri taught herself woman of mystery. to read by the age of 5 and grew up to be a tal- When Christie died on Jan. 12, 1976, of natioral ented singer and pianist. causes, two theaters in London dimmed their At a country house ball in 1912, she met the lights as a symbol of respect. But her life and writ- first man she would marry, the handsome ings continue to be celebrated. Each September Archibald "Archie" Christie, an aviator preparing around her birthday, Agatha Christie Week brings to join the . With Archie, she legions of fans to the English Riviera for plays, would have her only child, a daughter, Rosalind. movie screenings, tea dances, lectures, and—what During World War I, Christie worked as a nurse else?—murder-mystery dinners. in a hospital, a job she found rewarding. But it was her next career, as a pharmacist, that gave her an Unsolved Mystery expertise in poisons. Agatha Christie not only wrote mysteries, but she During her spare time, Christie began work on was also involved in a real-life one. Christie's aban- her first novel. The Mysterious Affair at Styles, which doned car—with her personal contents inside— introduced . The manuscript was re- was the first clue in the famed author's jected by several publishers, yet it received rave disappearance in December 1926. A massive 11- reviews when it was finally published. "The only day manhunt ensued, and she was ultimately dis- fault this story has is that it is almost too inge- covered by a banjo player at a hotel where she had nious," said The Times Literary Supplement in 1921. checked in under a pseudonym, Theresa Neele. (Neele was the surname of Christie's first hus- Shying Away From the Spotlight band's mistress.) Positive reviews and strong sales encour- Upon being found, Christie claimed to have suf- aged Christie to keep writing. The more fered a bout of amnesia due to a nervous break- her fame grew, however, the more reclu- down, most likely brought on by the death of her sive she became. Very few photo- mother and her failing marriage. The public, how- graphs and little footage of Christie ever, doubted the explanation and developed exist. She rarely gave an interview other theories: Publicity stunt! Revenge! Christie or made a public appearance. never gave an account of her disappearance, and When Christie read her work no mention of it is made in her autobiography. on the BBC, she later admit- One last mystery from Agatha Christie ... • ted to having suffered from stage fright. And she was 3 yocab devastated when her LEGIONS: large numbers

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