Agatha Christie: It's No Mystery!

by Theresa Gauthier

    Agatha Christie. 

The name alone summons up images of old manor houses in the English countryside, fiendish plots hidden behind smiles and a cup of tea, and murder. Whatever your opinion of her, Agatha Christie continues to be one of the best selling authors in the world outsold only by the Bible and Shakespeare.

Christie’s success in unparalleled, and her work continues to be reimagined as films, radio plays, podcasts, and more. Indeed, one of my favorite episodes of Doctor Who, that stalwart 60 year old British television series, features Agatha Christie at a 1920s party where no fewer than 3 murders occur.

I first started reading Christie back in the early ‘90s when I worked for public broadcasting. We’d offered a book as a premium at some point, and I picked it up at an employee sale. Murder Abroad contained 5 of Christie’s novels set in exotic locales. It was a fair introduction to her writing, and I have to admit that I’ve long been partial to that sort of storytelling. There are a lot of classic authors that I adore.

Agatha Christie was, if nothing else, prolific. Having written 66 novels, 14 short story collections, and the longest running play—and having had her movies and storied turned into everything from radio plays, films, TV shows, audiobooks, podcasts, graphic novels—Christie’s influence has touched all corners of the earth and every artistic medium. Yes, there’s merch. Yes, there’s an official website—they’re having a Read Christie year and recommending a novel per month for all of 2024.

What are my personal favorites?

Bearing in mind, that I’ve only read a fraction of them, I’ll admit that I did enjoy Murder on the Orient Express, The Secret Adversary, The A.B.C. Murders, and The Pale Horse—though if you ask me later that could change as I read more and more.

What makes Agatha Christie’s books so readable even decades after she wrote them? How did she conceive of her plots, her twists—I admit that a couple of times I have guessed who the murderer was, but the times when I haven’t, well, I’ll just say that her creativity and her deviousness are the things great mysteries depend upon. 

The one book I have to mention is The Grand Tour: Letters and Photographs from the British Empire Expedition 1922 by Agatha Christie and Matthew Pritchard. Pritchard is Christie’s grandson, and sued his famous grandmother’s letters and photographs from her year-long trip around the world to promote the British Empire Exhibition. Personal correspondence, letters, postcards, newspaper articles, as well as memorabilia Christie collected through her travels, piece together a personal picture not only of the trip, but also of Agatha Christie herself. 

I devoured this book the year it came out (2012), and it led me to plunge deeper into Christie’s work. An amazing life, and amazing talent—all in aid of an amazing read. There are plenty of stories. Choose one and join Christie’s biggest fans in their obsession.