Ever wonder what it’s like to live through a murder mystery? Do you want to solve puzzles and find clues all across the planet – from Baghdad to Mesopotamia to London? Do you want to ‘be’ there rather than read or watch the detective story? Well, if you answered yes to all these questions, worry not. Agatha Christie will provide you with all of that and more. We’re going to embark on a journey that dives deeper into the life and literary work of the iconic Agatha Christie, so let’s get started!

Who Is Agatha Christie?

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Born as Dame Agatha Mary Clarisse Miller, she has written 66 detective novels that have stood the test of time. Besides her notable literary talent, she was also a healer and caregiver. Christie served as a nurse in a hospital in Devon during the First World War. She also worked as a pharmacy assistant in University College Hospital, England. Once she realised that medicine was not her area of keen interest, she tried her hand at writing.

The first book Christie wrote was rejected by six different publishers and yet, she didn’t stop trying. In 1920, her first book “Mysterious Affair at Styles” was published and suddenly, Agatha Christie became world famous!

She was first married to Archibald Christie who, after 12 years asked for a divorce. After this heartbreak, Christie disappeared. Nobody knows where she went and for how long this period of silence lasted – many doctors believe she suffered from amnesia as she herself refused to talk about that period.

However, in this time frame, it was uncovered that Christie wrote under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott. These six books were completely different from her usual style. Life after that took a complete turn- not only did Agatha Christie become a household name, but she also remarried a man called Max Mallowan with whom she led a happy life.

Winning awards is one thing, winning readers’ hearts is another – Christie has managed to do both thanks to her novels. Not only was she named by Guinness World Records as the best-selling author of all time but she was also the first recipient of the Mystery Writers of America award.

About Agatha Christie’s Books

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Agatha Christie is the Queen of detective fiction, murder mystery and thriller novels. She doesn’t just give you a beautifully written story, instead she weaves a tale with carefully measured details.

Each novel or short story she wrote, was inspired by events she has witnessed. Christie used her life to explore various fields of her liking such as anthropology, biology and medicine and used their references in her books. Her education in these fields helped her to write books with surprisingly accurate details. We can see how her life experience trickled down into her novels. Her medical career gave her a deeper understanding of drugs and poisons which is reflected in her short stories and novels. She also had a passion for travel and archaeology. She even travelled to the ruins of Mesopotamia, explored the lands of Baghdad and visited Egypt – each of these experiences are used in her literature.

Agatha Christie devoted her life to detective fiction; she was even a part of the detection club which had many mystery writers such as Jessie Rickard, Baroness Emma Orczy and Martin Edwards as its members.

Agatha Christie created a few main characters – some detectives while others notorious troublemakers. They include sleuthing spinster Miss Marple and an eccentric Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot, both of whom are featured heavily in many of her fantastic books.

Adaptations Of Agatha Christie’s Books

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Agatha Christie is a world famous author, hence it will not come as a surprise that her books have been taken up by translators, playwrights and directors to transform her books into various realms of media.

From the early 1960s, Agatha Christie’s books were translated to other languages and hence were read by people all around the world. It was also around this time playwrights started writing scripts on the basis of her work for audiences. There have been many movies made too, and not just in Hollywood but even Bollywood! Ever heard of the movie Gumnaam (1965), Dhund (1973) or Aar Ya Par (1997)? Well, believe it or not, they were based on the books ‘And Then There Were None’, ‘Unexpected Guest’ and ‘Endless Night’ respectively – some of Christie’s most well known work!

However, if you’re not familiar with these titles, you must have heard of the movie ‘The Murder on Orient Express (2017).’ It was one of the most talked about movies of that year! There are more movie remakes of Agatha Christie’s books, such as The Alphabet Murders based on the books ABC Murders and 4.50 From Paddington. This is just the start – Agatha Christie has left us a truckload of other novels and detectives that are just waiting to be captured by TV and movies.

Why Should Children Read Agatha Christie’s Books?

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Many parents prefer to keep their kids away from murder mysteries until they hit a certain age, and to be honest, they are not wrong. Many books today have become crass and gory in their depiction of violence. They glorify murder and violence which may lead to a negative impact on a child’s behaviour and understanding of this delicate topic.

However, Agatha Christie’s murder mysteries are slightly different. She talks about the cases and personalities involving the mysteries, focusing on human emotion. This kind of portrayal of death and murder tend to be less jarring for young children.

A Crime Reads article by Laura Thomson states that Christie was interested not in murder, but in English Murder, which relates to the human dynamic and relations rather than violence. Apart from being a harmless murder mystery author , Christie will introduce your children to a time in history and to social events they aren’t familiar with. It will be very informative and will spark an interest to know more about the culture and heritage of other countries. Lastly, even though this goes without saying, her books are extremely creative and out of the box. Hence, these books will allow your child to push the boundaries, when it comes to creative thinking.

How To Read Agatha Christie Novels?

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Agatha Christie’s books were independent and they come with no set chronological order. You can read whichever book, whenever you like. However, simply for the ease of understanding, she does have a few characters that are the main protagonists in many of her books. If you wish, you can read each character’s books at once. This will help you understand the character as a person and check out their development throughout the books and short story collections.

Here are some main characters:

Hercule Poirot (33 novels)
Miss Marple (12 novels)
Tommy and Tuppence (4 novels)
Superintendent Battle (5 novels)

Other books are stand-alone novels and can be read at the reader’s discretion.

List of Agatha Christie Books

Agatha Christie has provided the world with innumerable books, all of them better than the last and contributing something new to her readers. To break this monotony and yet show them the best of Christie’s universe, we present to you a list of the best books written by Agatha Christie

1. Mysterious Affairs at Styles

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This is the first book completely published by Agatha Christie – it was written by her in the middle of the First World War. This book introduces the spectacular character of Hercule Poirot – a Belgian refugee of the Great War who settles in England. He buys a home next to Emily Inglethorp who helps him adjust to normal life again. Things go smoothly until poor Emily is poisoned… in her own house. Questions and suspects both are in abundance in the tiny village of Styles. There is only one man who could help solve this mystery- Hercule Poirot. To spice it up, Christie has also provided us with maps of the house, fragments of the will and descriptions of the murder scene – put your thinking caps on!