(estimates: 2 , average: 5,00 out of 5)

Name: Agatha Mary Clarissa Miller
Birthday: September 15, 1890
Place of Birth: Torquay (UK)
Date of death: January 12, 1976
A place of death: Wallingford (Oxfordshire, UK)

Biography of Agatha Christie

Agatha Christie actually has a different name - Agatha Mary Clarissa Mallowan, née Miller, but she is better known under the name of Christie, her first husband. She has become popular for her detective stories, which not only contain a gripping story, but are also imbued with insight and intelligence.

Books by Agatha Christie are in the top three after the Bible and books by William Shakespeare. Her works have been published in many countries around the world. The works sold 120 million copies during the writer’s lifetime alone.

Christie was born in 1890 in Torquay. Her family, American settlers, was quite wealthy, which made it possible to give the children an excellent home schooling. Agatha Christie could become a good musician, but, unfortunately, she was very afraid of the stage.

During the First World War, the writer worked as a nurse and, it is worth noting, this was about her
I really liked it. She also had the opportunity to work as a pharmacist, thanks to which she skillfully “killed” heroes by poisoning in her detective stories.

In 1914, Agatha Miller married Archibald Christie for the first time.

In 1920, the first novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, was published. There is information that the book was written because of a dispute with my sister. Agatha wanted to show that she could write an entire book, which, moreover, would become popular among readers. It was not published by the first publishing house that the writer contacted. The author received a very small fee, but the book immediately became very popular.

In Agatha's life Christie has had a very mysterious incident: her sudden disappearance. This happened in 1926. Her husband said that he loves someone else. Christie allegedly traveled to Yorkshire but disappeared for 11 days. She was found in a small hotel. She was listed there under the name of her husband’s mistress. She was diagnosed with amnesia due to a head injury. There is another version: as if she wanted to take revenge on her husband in this way, who would be suspected of the murder and disappearance of his wife. Christie herself did not comment on her disappearance. She spent her time very pleasantly: reading books, playing the piano and visiting the spa. This does not fit in with amnesia, which is why the version of a deliberate escape appeared. In 1928 the couple divorced.

Already in 1930, Agatha Christie meets a man who will be with her until the end of her days. This happened during a trip to Iraq, and her lover was the archaeologist Max Mallowan, who was much younger.

In 1965 she wrote her autobiography. The most memorable last phrase, which revealed the whole essence of Agatha Christie’s life, was: “Thank you, Lord, for my good life and for all the love that was given to me.”

From 1971 to 1974, Agatha Christie began to feel unwell, and her health rapidly began to deteriorate. Experts analyzed her works, which she wrote at that time, and a version emerged that she began to develop Alzheimer's disease. In 1975 she became completely weak. Agatha Christie died in 1976.

Documentary

Your attention documentary, biography of Agatha Christie.

Bibliography of Agatha Christie

Detective novels and short story collections

1920
Mysterious Incident in Stiles
1922
Mysterious enemy
1923
Murder on the Golf Course
1924
Man in a brown suit
1924
Poirot is investigating
1925
The Mystery of Chimneys Castle
1926
Murder of Roger Ackroyd
1927
Big Four
1928
The Mystery of the Blue Train
1929
Partners in crime
1929
The Mystery of the Seven Dials
1930
Murder at the Vicarage
1930
Mysterious Mr. Keene
1931
Sittaford's Riddle
1932
Endhouse Mystery
1933
Death Hound
1933
Death of Lord Edgware
1933
Thirteen mysterious cases
1934
Murder on the Orient Express
1934
Parker Pine investigates
1934
Listerdale Mystery
Lord Listerdale's Mystery
1935
Tragedy in three acts
1935
Why not Evans?
1935
Death in the clouds
1936
Murders by alphabet
1936
Murder in Mesopotamia
1936
Cards on the table
1937
Silent Witness
1937
Death on the Nile
1937
Murder in the backyard
1938
Date with Death
1939
Ten Little Indians
1939
Easy to kill
1939
Hercule Poirot's Christmas
1939
The Secret of the Regatta and Other Stories
1940
sad cypress
1941
Evil under the sun
1941
N or M?
1941
One, two - fasten the buckle
Once, once - the guest is sitting with us
1942
Corpse in the library
1942
Five little pigs
1942
One finger
Holidays in Limstock
Moving finger
Finger of fate
1944
Zero hour
Towards zero
1944
Sparkling cyanide
1945
Death comes at the end
1946
Hollow
1947
Labors of Hercules
1948
Coast of luck
1948
Witness for the prosecution
1949
crooked little house
1950
Murder declared
1950
Three blind mice
1951
Baghdad meetings
Baghdad meeting
Meeting in Baghdad
1951
Quiet "Hounded Dog"
1952
Mrs McGinty died
1952
Using mirrors
1953
Pocket full of rye
Grains in your pocket
1953
After the funeral
1955
Hickory Dickory Dock
1955
Destination unknown
1956
Dead Man's Folly
1957
4.50 from Paddington
1957
Test of Innocence
1959
Cat among pigeons
1960
The Adventure of Christmas Pudding
1961
Villa "White Horse"
1961
Double sin
1962
And, cracking, the mirror rings...
1963
Watch
1964
Caribbean mystery
1965
Hotel Bertram
1966
Third girl
1967
Endless night
Night darkness
1968
Click your finger just once
Fingers itch, why?
1969
Halloween Party
1970
Passenger from Frankfurt
1971
Nemesis
1971
The Golden Ball and other stories
1972
Elephants can remember
1973
Gate of Fate
1974
Poirot's early cases
1975
A curtain
1976
Sleeping Murder
1979
Miss Marple's Last Cases
1991
Trouble in Pollensa and other stories
1997
Tea set "Harlequin"
1997
As long as the light lasts and other stories

Plays

1928
Alibi
1930
Black coffee
1931
Chimneys
1936
Love from a stranger
1937
A daughter is a daughter
1940
Endhouse Mystery
1943
And there was no one
1945
Date with Death
1946
Death on the Nile
1949
Murder at the Vicarage
1951
Hollow
1952
Mousetrap
1953
Witness for the prosecution
1954
Web
1956
Towards zero
1958
Verdict
1958
Unexpected guest
1960
Back to the kill
1962
Rule of three
1972
Three violinists
1973
Akhenaten
1977
Murder declared
1981
Cards on the table
1993
Killing is easy

Works written under the name Mary Westmacott

1930
Giant's bread
1934
Unfinished portrait
1944
Missing in the spring
1948
Rose and yew
1952
A daughter is a daughter
1956
Burden
Burden of Love

Co-authored works

1931
The Admiral's Last Voyage
1998
Black coffee
2001
Unexpected guest
2003
Web

Murder on the Orient Express (1974, directed by Sidney Lumet)

"Murder on the Orient Express" (2017, directed by Kenneth Branagh)

The highest-quality and commercially successful film adaptation of Agatha Christie's novel to date, directed by Sidney Lumet at the height of the fashion for the writer's detective stories, has all the signature elements - detective Hercule Poirot, a closed space (a train stuck in the snow), a dozen heroes, each of whom has motive for the murder, and the obligatory A-list stars, ready to rush to the set for ten minutes on screen - Albert Finney, Sean Connery, Lauren Bacall, Ingrid Bergman (who received a third for this role "Oscar"), Jacqueline Bisset, John Gielgud, Vanessa Redgrave and others.

43 years later, Kenneth Branagh repeats this trick with some changes. Instead of the Swedish Greta - the Spanish Pilar (Penelope Cruz), instead of the white Doctor Arbuthnot - a black man (Leslie Odom Jr.) Branagh tries to adapt the leisurely pace of Christie's detective to the modern pace familiar to today's viewers, so the train stops dangerously over an abyss so that the film has at least some action. In the 1970s, the moribund Hollywood system produced films with large numbers of stars to lure audiences into theaters. Nowadays, stars don't influence the box office as much as they used to, and in this sense, it's new "Murder on the Orient Express" must pass an important test - if it succeeds, other adaptations will follow. Branagh foresaw this - in the finale there is a hint of "Death on the Nile", just like in the best traditions Marvel. All that remains is for the new film to do well at the box office.

“The Crooked House” (2017, directed by Gilles Paquet-Brenner)

A rare adaptation of Christie's novel, where the investigation is led not by Poirot or Miss Marple, but by private detective Charles Hayward (Max Irons), who agreed to investigate the murder of the head of a wealthy dynasty, despite a conflict of interest - he recently slept with his new client in Egypt. Christie’s witty text (the son of the deceased greets Charles with the remark: “You are a private detective. Your policeman father was killed long ago, and the killer was never found. A dubious recommendation”) is delivered by A-list stars Gillian Anderson, Glenn Close, Terence Stamp and Christina Hendricks. Director Paquet-Brenner shifted the time of action from 1949, when the novel was written, to 1957 - probably so that the grandson of the murdered man could protest against adults by playing rock and roll on the guitar.

"Witness for the Prosecution" (1957, directed by Billy Wilder)

Billy Wilder also directed film noir throughout his exceptional career ( "Double Indemnity"), and comedy ( "Only girls in jazz"), and production dramas ( "Apartment"). Of course, he couldn’t help but film one of the best adaptations of Agatha Christie’s novel about a famous lawyer (Charles Laughton) who takes on a strange case - an inventor (Tyrone Power) married to a German singer (Marlene Dietrich) is accused of murdering the widow who bequeathed money to him - despite the doctors' orders to rest and worry less. Wilder's fights between the lawyer and the nurse assigned to him (Elsa Lancaster) take no less time (and give the audience no less pleasure) than the main detective plot.

Death on the Nile (1978, directed by John Guillermin)

In the 1970s, John Guillermin was the director turned to by film studios who wanted to make expensive, spectacular spectacles - it was he who became the author of the main blockbusters of the decade "Hell in Heaven" And "King Kong". In his "Deaths on the Nile" Hercule Poirot (Peter Ustinov) investigates the murder of wealthy heiress Lynnette Ridgeway (Lois Chiles), who was spending time with her fiancé Honeymoon on a ship full of people she had annoyed. Needless to say, the suspects are all stars, as befits an Agatha Christie detective story: Jane Birkin, Mia Farrow, David Niven, Maggie Smith, Angela Lansbury and Bette Davis.

The Mirror Cracked (1980, directed by Guy Hamilton)

This is the very case when the writer, who inspired Hollywood so much, was herself inspired by Hollywood. IN "The mirror is cracked" Christie retold the story of Gene Tierney, the 1940s star who gave birth to a physically disabled child after kissing a fan with measles. Tierney later said: "After a tragedy like this, you don't need all the glory in the world." Christie, of course, surrounded her film star Elizabeth Taylor with a large number of suspects, again played by stars - Tony Curtis, Geraldine Chaplin, the ubiquitous Angela Lansbury, Rock Hudson and Kim Novak.

Evil Under the Sun (1982, directed by Guy Hamilton)

Director Guy Hamilton, who directed four James Bond films, became a major Agatha Christie specialist by the early 1980s. "Evil Under the Sun"- a typical adaptation of a detective story by a writer of that time - a secluded sanatorium on an island, a bright but annoying heroine Arlene (Diana Rigg), whom the rest of the vacationers hate to such an extent that everyone had a motive for murder. Even actresses Jane Birkin and Maggie Smith smoothly moved here from "Deaths on the Nile", not to mention Peter Ustinov returned to the role of Poirot (he would later play him four more times).

Over the past 30 years, Agatha Christie mysteries have fallen out of fashion, at least in cinema, partly because they have clear colonialist echoes, when wealthy Englishmen traveled to “exotic” countries and complained about poor service there. "A Date with Death"- a typical illustration of this bygone era, when it was possible for adult children living with a hated stepmother to loudly discuss her murder over an altered will within the earshot of Hercule Poirot on a walk in Jerusalem. The bored mom (Piper Laurie) is, of course, murdered, and half of Hollywood is again a suspect, led by Lauren Bacall and Carrie Fisher. After release "Date with Death" The boom in Agatha Christie in films (as opposed to numerous series on television) began to decline.

“The Secret of the Blackbirds” (1983, director Vadim Derbenev)

Oddly enough, Agatha Christie was perfect for Soviet cinema, where by the 1980s, thanks to the Baltic nature and actors, they learned to film stories from the lives of British aristocrats as a criticism of the bourgeois way of life. Filming the film adaptation of the novel "A pocket full of lies", written by Christie in 1953, took place in Estonia, passed off as an idyllic English countryside, and the opening sequence was filmed in London with an amateur camera. The plot was moved to the early 1980s, so that a Rubik's cube appeared in Miss Marple's hands, and Andrei Makarevich sang a song in English together with Oksana Shabina "What Is A Love?", to which I wrote the text. Andrei Kharitonov as the killer and Ita Ever as Miss Marple were so good that they appeared in another film adaptation of Christie’s novel "The Mystery of Endhouse" (1989).

“Ten Little Indians” (1987, Stanislav Govorukhin)

An uncharacteristic picture both in the filmography of director Govorukhin and in the relationship between Agatha Christie and cinema, "Ten Little Indians"стали своеобразным позднесоветским неполиткорректным ответом западным интерпретациям, избегавшим слова nigger — на Западе этот детектив известен под названием “...And there was no one”. It's funny that in Soviet cinema there were also actors who specialized in Christie adaptations - for example, Vladimir Zeldin migrated here from "Secrets of the Blackbirds".

The place of the Baltic states was taken by Crimea - the film was shot in the village of Gaspra on the territory of the Swallow's Nest and in the Vorontsov Palace. Govorukhin made one of the darkest films based on Agatha Christie, in film versions of whose books passions and emotions usually give way to style and manners. Govorukhin introduces into the material an almost class-based condemnation of the perpetrators of the dead innocent victims, and Judge Zeldin acts as a messenger of fate, from whose punishment even the smartest criminal, who seemingly destroyed all the evidence, will not escape.

As you know, Agatha Christie wrote detective stories. Even as a child she read scary stories Edgar Allan Poe, and this undoubtedly left its mark on her love for this literary genre, which was then still in its infancy. By the way, the ancestor detective genre It is Edgar Allan Poe who is considered to be the first detective, “Murder in the Rue Morgue.” However, detective stories became truly popular in England after the release of the novels by the English writer Wilkie Collins “The Woman in White” (1860) and “The Moonstone” (1868). Also popular at that time were the novels of Arthur Conan Doyle, who, one might say, was a contemporary of Agatha Christie. Years of life of Arthur Conan Doyle: 1859 -1930.

1. What is a detective?

Detective(from lat. detego- reveal, expose) is a literary genre that describes the process of investigating a mysterious incident in order to clarify the circumstances of its occurrence. Usually such an incident is a crime. If there is nothing mysterious in the incident, then this is no longer a detective story, but one of its related genres, for example, a police novel.

There are detectives different types, but they are all written according to certain rules. These rules were invented in 1928 English writer Willard Hattington. There are 20 rules in total, here are the main ones:

2. Rules and commandments of a detective story

Rule 1. It is necessary to provide the reader with equal opportunities to unravel the mysteries as the detective, for which purpose it is necessary to clearly and accurately report all incriminating traces.

Rule 2. Neither a detective nor any other person professionally involved in the investigation can be a criminal.

Rule 3. Logical conclusions must lead to exposure. Accidental or unfounded confessions are not permitted.

Rule 4. A detective story cannot lack a detective who methodically searches for incriminating evidence, as a result of which he comes to a solution to the riddle.

Rule 5. The obligatory crime in a detective story is murder.

Rule 6. In the decision given secret it is necessary to exclude all supernatural forces and circumstances.

Rule 7. The criminal should be one of the more or less significant characters well known to the reader.

Rule 8. An unacceptably cheap solution in which one of the servants is the criminal.

Rule 9. For a savvy reader, the solution should be obvious.

Rule 10. It is forbidden to explain the mystery as an accident or suicide.

Rule 11. The motive of the crime is always of a private nature; it cannot be an espionage action, seasoned with any international intrigues or motives of the secret services.

Before we begin to study the work of Agatha Christie, let's continue our study of the detective genre and its canons. Another Englishman, Ronald Knox, came up with 10 detective commandments, they partially coincide with the rules, but there are also several new ones:

I. The criminal should be someone mentioned at the beginning of the novel, but it should not be a person whose train of thought the reader was allowed to follow.

II. The action of supernatural or otherworldly forces is excluded as a matter of course.

III. It is unacceptable to use hitherto unknown poisons, as well as devices that require a long scientific explanation at the end of the book.

IV. A detective should never be helped Lucky case; he should also not be guided by unconscious but correct intuition.

VI. A detective should not turn out to be a criminal himself.

VII. Having come across one or another clue, the detective is obliged to immediately present it to the reader for study.

VIII. The detective's stupid friend, Watson in one guise or another, should not hide any of the considerations that come to his mind; in his mental abilities he should be slightly inferior - but only slightly - to the average reader.

3. Types of detective

Agatha Christie was a master classic closed-type detective. This is a detective story in which the crime is committed in a secluded place and the number of suspects is limited. Therefore, from the very beginning it is clear that the murder was committed by one of the people who are known to the reader from the very beginning. A private detective always appears at the crime scene to help the police investigate the murder. Often such a detective has an assistant who, in terms of mental abilities, corresponds to the average reader. As a rule, in such a detective story, the killer turns out to be a character well known to the reader, who did not arouse suspicion at all. Sometimes in closed detectives a series of murders is committed and thus the number of suspects is reduced. Almost all of Agatha Christie's works are such detective stories, but the most striking work can be called "Ten Little Indians."

Psychological detective is a type of detective story that focuses on the behavior of the criminal and the personal motives for committing the crime (for example, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd).

Very interesting historical detective. In this case, the action takes place in the past or an old crime is being investigated. I highly recommend reading Agatha Christie's book Death Comes at the End, which takes place in... ancient Egypt. Another historical detective story by Agatha Christie is “The Five Little Pigs.”

If we talk about ironic detective , then Daria Dontsova took the place of Agatha Christie, since all her books belong to this subgenre.

Fantastic detective can rightfully be called a Russian detective. Stanislav Lev, Kir Bulychev, Isaac Azimov, Sergei Lukyanenko, the Strugatsky Brothers, Boris Akunin worked in this genre.

There is also police detective(it describes the work of a group of police officers), crime detective(events are described from the perspective of the criminal), political and spy detectives, but they are far from the classical genre and I will not consider them in this article. Among the works of Agatha Christie, it is fashionable to classify the work “The Big Four” as a political detective story, and “Cat Among Pigeons”, “The Man in a Brown Suit”, “The Clock”, “Baghdad Meetings” (and some other works) as a spy story.

Well, finally, it's time to meet works of Agatha Christie. The best ones are highlighted in bold., and you can read them or watch the film adaptation.

List of Agatha Christie books by year:

The titles of the works are given in English with translation. The year of publication is indicated. The best books by Agatha Christie and can be read on the website in English or watch the film adaptation.

1. The Mysterious Affair at Styles (1920) – The Mysterious Affair at Styles (the murder is investigated by Poirot)
2. The Secret Adversary (1922) – Mysterious Adversary
3. Murder on the Links (1923) – Murder on a golf course (Poirot investigates the murder)
4. The Man in the Brown Suit (1924) – The Man in the Brown Suit
5. Poirot Investigates (1924) – Poirot leads the investigation. Collection of 11 stories:

• The Mystery of the Star of the West
• Tragedy at Marsdon Manor
• The mystery of a cheap apartment
• Murder at Hunter's Lodge
• Million dollar theft
• Pharaoh's Revenge
• Trouble at the Grand Metropolitan Hotel
• Kidnapping of the Prime Minister
• The Disappearance of Mr. Davenheim
• The mystery of the death of the Italian count
• Missing will

6. The Secret of Chimneys (1925) – The Secret of Chimneys Castle
7. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (1926) (the murder is investigated by Poirot, one of the best detectives)

8. The Big Four (1927) – The Big Four (the murder is investigated by Poirot)
9. The Mystery of the Blue Train (1928) – The mystery of the blue train (Poirot investigates the murder of a wealthy heiress that happened on the train)
10. Partners in Crime (1929) – Partners in crime. Collection of 15 stories:

• A Fairy in the Flat / A pot of Tea
• The Affair of the Pink Pearl
• The Adventure of the Sinister Stranger – A visit from a dark stranger
• Finessing the King / The Gentleman Dressed in Newspaper - Get rid of the king / Gentleman dressed in a newspaper
• The Case of the Missing Lady
• Blindman's Bluff - The Blindman and Death
• The Man in the Mist - Man in the Mist
• The Crackler
• The Sanningdale Mystery - The Mystery of Sunningdale
• The House of Lurking Death - Death living in the house
• The Unbreakable Alibi - Iron alibi
• The Clergyman's Douther / The Red House - The Priest's Daughter / House under a Tiled Roof
• The ambassador’s Boots – Ambassador’s Boots
• The Man Who Was No. 16 - The Man Who Was Number 16

11. The Seven Dials Mystery (1929) – The mystery of the seven dials
12. The Murder at the Vicarage (1930) – Murder at the Vicarage (Miss Marple first appears)
13. The Mysterious Mr. Quin (1930) – The Mysterious Mr. Quin (collection of stories)
14. The Sittaford Mystery (1931) – The Sittaford Mystery
15. Peril at End House (1932) – The Endhouse Mystery (Poirot investigates the murder)
16. The Hound of Death (1933) – The Hound of Death. Collection of 12 stories:

• Death Hound
• Red signal
• Fourth man
• Gypsy
• I'll come for you, Mary!
• Witness for the prosecution
• The Mystery of the Blue Jug
• The Amazing Incident of Sir Arthur Carmichael
• Call of the Wings
• The last seance

17. Lord Edgware Dies (1933) – The death of Lord Edgware (the murder is investigated by Poirot)
18. The Thirteen Problems (1933) – Thirteen mysterious cases. Collection of 13 stories:

• Evening club "Tuesday"
• Murder in the Temple of Astarte
• Gold bars
• Blood on the pavement
• Motive and opportunity
• Finger of Saint Peter
• Blue geranium
• Companion
• Four suspects
• Death Grass
• Bungalow incident
• Death of Miss Rose Emmott

19. Murder on the Orient Express (1934) – Murder on the Orient Express (one of the most famous works, Poirot investigates the murder)
20. Parker Pyne Investigates (1934) – Investigates Parker Pyne. Collection of 12 stories:

• The case of a middle-aged lady
• The Case of the Bored Soldier/Major Wilbraham Looks for Danger
• The case of a conscientious girl
• The Case of the Unhappy Husband
• The Case of the Tired Clerk
• The Case of the Rich Lady
• Whatever your heart desires
• Road to Baghdad
• House in Shiraz
• Priceless Pearl
• Death on the Nile
• Delphic Oracle

21. The Listerdale Mystery (1934) – The Listerdale Mystery. Collection of 12 stories:

• Listerdale Mystery
• Girl on the train
• A song for six pence
• The Metamorphosis of Edward Robinson
• Accident
• Jane is looking for a job
• Fruitful Sunday
• The Adventure of Mr. Eastwood
• Red ball
• Rajah's emerald
• a swan song

22. Three Act Tragedy (1935) – A tragedy in three acts (the murder is investigated by Poirot)
23. Why Didn't They Ask Evans? (1935) – Why not Evans?
24. Death in the Clouds (1935) – Death in the Clouds (the murder is investigated by Poirot)
25. The A.B.C. Murders (1936) – The Alphabet Murders (the murder is investigated by Poirot)
26. Murder in Mesopotamia (1936) – Murder in Mesopotamia (the murder is investigated by Poirot)
27. Cards on the Table (1936) – Cards on the table (Poirot investigates the murder)
28. Dumb Witness (1937) – Silent Witness (Poirot investigates the murder)
29. Death on the Nile (1937) – Death on the Nile (one of the most famous works, Poirot investigates the murder)

The novel takes place on a ship sailing along the Nile. Rich tourists walk along the deck, talking to each other and getting a little bored. Whether by chance or not, Hercule Poirot finds himself among the tourists, but it is he who takes on the investigation of... three murders. .

30. Murder in the Mews (1937) – Murder in the passage yard (the murder is investigated by Poirot)

• Murder in the backyard
• Incredible theft
• Dead Man's Mirror
• Triangle in Rhodes

31. Appointment with Death (1938) – Appointment with death (the murder is investigated by Poirot)

32. Ten Little Niggers (1939) – Десять негритят (еще одно название «И никого не стало», одно из наиболее известных произведений)

33. Murder is Easy (1939) – Easy to kill
34. Hercule Poirot’s Christmas (1939) – Hercule Poirot’s Christmas (Poirot investigates the murder)
35. The Regatta Mystery and Other Stories (1939) – The Secret of the Regatta and other stories (9 stories)
36. Sad Cypress (1940) – Sad Cypress (the murder is investigated by Poirot)
37. Evil Under the Sun (1941) – Evil under the sun (the murder is investigated by Poirot)
38. N or M? (1941) – N or M?
39. One, Two, Buckle My Shoe (1941) – One, one - a guest is sitting with us (Poirot is investigating the murder)
40. The Body in the Library (1942) – A corpse in the library (Miss Marple investigates the murder)
41. Five Little Pigs (1942) – Five little pigs (the murder is investigated by Poirot)
42. The Moving Finger (1942) – With one finger (Miss Marple investigates the murder)
43. Towards Zero (1944) – Zero Hour
44. Sparkling Cyanide (1944) – Sparkling cyanide

45. Death Comes as the End(1946) – Death Comes at the End (a little-known but most interesting work)

46. ​​The Hollow (1946) – The Hollow (the murder is investigated by Poirot)
47. The Labors of Hercules (1947) – The Labors of Hercules (the murder is investigated by Poirot)
48. Taken at the Flood (1948) – Coast of Fortune (Poirot investigates the murder)
49. Witness for the Prosecution and Other Stories (1948) – Witness for the Prosecution (11 stories)
50. Crooked House (1949)
51. A Murder is Announced (1950) – A murder is announced (Miss Marple investigates the murder)
52. Three Blind Mice and Other Stories (1950) – Three blind mice (collection of stories)
53. They Came to Baghdad (1951) – Baghdad meetings
54. The Under Dog and Other Stories (1951) – The Hunted Dog (9 stories, Poirot investigates the murders)
55. Mrs McGinty’s Dead (1952) – Mrs McGinty lost her life (Poirot investigates the murder)
56. They Do It with Mirrors (1952) – With the help of mirrors (Miss Marple investigates the murder) Watch the film adaptation

57. A Pocket Full of Rye (1953) – Grains in the pocket (Miss Marple investigates the murder)

58. After the Funeral (1953) – After the funeral (the murder is investigated by Poirot)
59. Hickory Dickory Dock (1955) – Hickory Dickory Dock (the murder is investigated by Poirot)
60. Destination Unknown (1955) – Destination unknown
61. Dead Man’s Folly (1956) – Dead Man’s Folly (Poirot investigates the murder)
62. 4.50 from Paddington (1957) – At 4.50 from Paddington (Miss Marple investigates the murder)
63. Ordeal by Innocence (1957) – Ordeal by Innocence
64. Cat Among the Pigeons (1959) – Cat Among the Pigeons (Poirot investigates the murder)
65. The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding (1960) – The Adventures of the Christmas Pudding. 6 stories where Poirot investigates murders:

• The Adventure of Christmas Pudding
• The Mystery of the Spanish Chest
• Quiet
• Black currant
• Lost Key

66. The Pale Horse (1960) – Villa “White Horse”
67. Double Sin and Other Stories (1961) - Double Sin (collection of short stories, Poirot investigates the murder)
68. The Mirror Crack’d from Side to Side (1962) – And, cracking, the mirror rings... (Miss Marple investigates the murder)
69. The Clocks (1963) – The clock (the murder is investigated by Poirot)
70. A Caribbean Mystery (1964) – Caribbean mystery (Miss Marple investigates the murder)
71. At Bertram’s Hotel (1965) – Bertram’s Hotel (Miss Marple investigates the murder)
72. Third Girl (1966) – The third girl (the murder is investigated by Poirot)
73. Endless Night (1967) – Endless night
74. By the Pricking of My Thumbs (1968) – Snap your finger just once
75. Hallowe’en Party (1969) – Halloween Party (Poirot investigates the murder)
76. Passenger to Frankfurt (1970) – Passenger from Frankfurt
77. Nemesis (1971) – Nemesis (Miss Marple investigates the murder)
78. The Golden Ball and Other Stories (1971) – The Golden Ball and other stories (15 stories)
79. Elephants Can Remember (1972) – Elephants Can Remember (Poirot investigates the murder)
80. Postern of Fate (1973) – Gates of Fate
81. Poirot’s Early Cases (1974) – Poirot’s early cases (the murder is investigated by Poirot):

• Case at the Victory Ball
• The Disappearance of the Clapham Cook
• Cornish mystery
• The Adventure of Johnny Waverly
• Double evidence
• King of Clubs
• Lemesurier's legacy
• Lost Mine
• Plymouth Express
• Box of candies
• Submarine drawings
• Apartment on the fourth floor
• Double sin
• The Mystery of Market Basing
• Vespiary
• Lady under the veil
• Marine investigation
• How wonderful everything is in your garden...

82. Curtain (1975) – Curtain (the murder is investigated by Poirot, the last case)
83. Sleeping Murder (1976) – Sleeping murder (Miss Marple investigates the murder)
84. Miss Marple's Final Cases and Two Other Stories (1979)

• Holy place
• Unusual joke
• Measure of death
• The Caretaker's Case
• The case of the best of the maids
• Miss Marple talks
• Doll in the fitting room
• In the twilight of the mirror

85. Problem at Pollensa Bay and Other Storie (1991) – Trouble at Pollensa and other stories:

• Service "Harlequin"
• Second gong strike
• It's about love
• Yellow irises
• magnolia flower
• Case in Pollensa
• Together with the dog
• Mysterious incident during the regatta

86. The Harlequin Tea Set (1997) – Harlequin tea set
87. While the Light Lasts and Other Stories (1997) – While the Light Lasts and Other Stories (the murders are investigated by Poirot, a collection of short stories):

• The house of his dreams
• Actress
• On the edge
• Adventure at Christmas
• Lonely God
• Manx Gold
• Behind the walls
• The Mystery of the Baghdad Chest
• How long does the light last...

So it seems all books by Agatha Christie. Leave your feedback on the works you read in the comments, and the most best books and stories by Agatha Christie you can read on the website website online!

The famous writer Agatha Christie became the founder of a new literary phenomenon- female detective. Her life continues to excite readers and biographers, who try to find out everything about her path. the smallest details. Agatha Christie's books, the list of which includes several dozen items, have been among the most read in the world for more than a hundred years. Her works have been repeatedly staged and filmed; she has many imitators and followers. But Agatha Christie remains the only one - the Queen of Detective.

Biography of the writer

Agatha Christie, whose books are read all over the world today, was born on September 15, 1890 into a wealthy family that came from the USA. She said that she had a very happy childhood, her parents loved each other very much, a caring nanny looked after her three children, they lived in beautiful house with a wonderful garden. All this became a special spiritual reserve for Agatha; she always remembered that happiness exists. As a child, she was a bit of a strange girl, very shy and aloof. When she was a teenager, her father died, and Agatha began adulthood. For any girl at that time, the main goal was marriage. Agatha marries Lieutenant A. Christie in 1914. The couple had a daughter, Rosalind, who would later give birth to the writer’s beloved grandson. During the First World War, the future queen of detective work worked as a nurse, and then in a pharmacy. This became for her a source of information that the writer used in her detective stories. In 1926, Christie's marriage experienced a crisis; her husband announced his desire to divorce. Then the famous disappearance of the writer occurs, about which researchers have been arguing for almost 100 years. In 1928, the divorce took place, and Agatha went on a big trip to Baghdad. At this time she meets her second husband - M. Mallowan. She lived with him until the end of her days. Many facts from the writer’s biography became part of her works.

First literary experiments

Agatha Christie created her first work back in 1916 - this is the novel “The Mysterious Incident at Styles”. Appears here for the first time famous characters Christie: detective E. Poirot, Captain Hastings, slow-witted Inspector Japp, who will become the main characters in the writer's detective stories on long years. The book was written easily, but its path to the reader was not easy. Christie had no connections, no one knew her, and the publishers did not want to risk publishing to no one. famous author. Only in the 7th publishing house did she find understanding; her novel was published in a circulation of 2 thousand and they paid her 25 pounds. The work was a success, and the writer began to devote more time to creativity. Agatha Christie's books, the list of which began to grow rapidly, “grew” from her life impressions and fantasies. She said that the texts took shape in her head when she knitted in the evenings, listening to the conversations of loved ones and guests. Then she simply recorded the finished piece.

Early creativity

During the first 10 years of its writing activity Agatha Christie, whose books are gradually gaining popularity, writes 6 novels and a collection of 11 short stories. In them, the characters who will become the main faces of the series find their lives: E. Poirot, the couple Tommy and Tuppence Beresford, Colonel Race, Inspector Battle. In 1924, Christie had already become a real celebrity, her novels were expected, publishing houses were hunting for them, and her fees were growing. Until 1926, the writer’s life was going well, but during this period troubles befell her: her mother dies, her brother becomes a drug addict, her husband starts an affair and demands a divorce... Agatha leaves home and disappears for almost two weeks. Upon her return, she said that she did not remember anything about the events of those days.

The period of creative flourishing

After the crisis, Christy begins to work hard and fruitfully. She publishes from 1 to 3 books a year; a slight decline in creative activity occurred during the Second World War. In 10 years, from 1926 to 1936, she wrote 21 books. In 1930, the novel “Murder at the Vicarage” was published for the first time with the main actor Miss Marple. The writer complicates the system of her characters, adding new faces, such as Miss Lemon. In some of her novels, characters from different series meet and act together. In 1939, the novel “Ten Little Indians” was published, which the queen of detective fiction herself considered her best creation. In the 40s and 50s, Christie's productivity decreases slightly; she experiments with different genres, writes historical and spy novels. Agatha Christie, whose list of books is difficult to distribute by series, also turns to drama; she writes some of her works without the participation of her usual characters. In total, in her work it is customary to distinguish such series as works about:

• Hercule Poirot;
• Miss Marple;
• Mr. Parker Pyne;
• a couple of detectives, Tommy and Tuppence Beresford;
• Inspector Battle.

Novels about Ecrule Poirot

Detective Belgian origin Agatha Christie, whose list of books includes 33 novels and 51 short stories, is the writer's most famous character. This strange, narcissistic man with a special style and unique intelligence speaks good English, but with a strong accent. He notices what others fail to pay even the slightest attention to. Christie called him either disgusting or unbearable, but the public loved him very much. And the writer decided to “finish” Poirot only a year before own death(in 1975): in the novel "Curtain" he dies. The New York Times responded to his death with an obituary, the only time in history that a death was announced fictional person. Only detective author Agatha Christie received such an honor. Hercule Poirot (books, the list of which is now being replenished with new translations into different languages world, presented in the article) is the main character of the following works:

• "The Mystery of the Blue Express"
• "The Death of Lord Erjved."
• "Death in the air."
• "The cards are on the table."
• “One, two, three - fasten your shoe,” etc.

Miss Marple series

Works about an old detective are the second most popular books by Agatha Christie. The list of Miss Marple texts includes 12 novels and 20 short stories, including:

• "Body in the Library"
• "Finger of Fate"
• "Murder declared."
• "The mirror broke, ringing."

The prototype of the image of Jane Marple was the writer's grandmother, she was kindest person, but always, according to Agatha, she suspected everyone in the world of the worst. The old woman first appears in the story “Thirteen Mysterious Cases” in 1927. Back in 1940, Christie wrote the novel “Sleeping Murder,” in which Miss Marple passes away, but this work was published only in 1976, after the death of Agatha herself. The most latest works The stories “Miss Marple's Last Cases” were published about this character in 1979. Although some of the short stories were previously published in magazines.

The detective has a lot of oddities, she always tells some stories from the life of her neighbors in the village, she is very curious and active. The old woman embodies the traditions of old England, unlike Poirot, and promotes the classic values ​​of the British: home, garden, privacy. Jane Marple is very sociable, she constantly goes to visit friends and relatives and usually finds herself close to some crime, in the investigation of which she is involved. Her harmless appearance of a classic old maid allows her to easily gain people's trust; she is invited to tea, where she finds out everything she needs to solve crimes. Miss Marple is very observant, she always has a complex chain of associations with events in her village of St. Mary Mead.

Mr. Parker Pine Series

Another character in the works of Agatha Christie first appeared in stories in 1934. A total of 14 stories about Mr. Pine's life were published, most of them collected in the collection Parker Pine Investigates. Former civil servant, owner detective agency ready to help those who have an unhealed mental wound. The works in this series are not classic detective stories; the source of the investigation is usually not a crime, but the personal history of the agency’s clients. Pine is very popular in the English-speaking world; in Russia, Poirot and Miss Marple are more famous, but texts about Pine are less read.

Tommy and Tuppence Beresford

The Agatha Christie collection, whose list of books includes more than a hundred works, would be incomplete without texts about a married detective couple. Tommy and Tuppence first appear in the writer's second novel, The Mysterious Assailant, 1922. Then they were not yet married and began life with a crime - blackmail as a way of earning money. But they quickly realized that investigations were just as exciting and more profitable, and they became detectives. Christie did not often think about this couple; in total they appear in 4 novels and 15 short stories, including “Snap Your Finger Only Once” and “X or Y.” The novel “The Gates of Fate” tells about 70-year-old heroes investigating a murder. This novel was the last text written by Agatha Christie, after which her health no longer allowed her to write. But it did not become the last published work of the writer.

Inspector Battle

Agatha Christie, a writer whose list of books is incredibly long, loved to return to her characters, their lives and images became auxiliary storyline detectives. Inspector Battle first appeared in the novel The Secret of Chimneys Castle in 1925. Superintendent Battle specializes in investigating sensitive cases involving state secrets. He is entrusted with crimes whose publicity is undesirable. In total, the inspector will appear in 5 of Christie’s novels (“Towards Zero”, “Killing is Easy”, “The Secret of the Seven Dials” and others). She writes little about his life and does not even deign to call her character by name. All the reader knows about him is that he works for Scotland Yard, that he is married and has 5 children. This one is very discreet, smart and cultured person embodied best performances Christie about a real professional detective.

Other works

Agatha Christie also writes about other characters. For example, Colonel Race, a British intelligence officer, appears in 4 novels. The texts about him are the writer’s tribute to the spy novel genre. Also in Christie’s legacy there are works in which characters appear, which are then not used by her anywhere else. This is Harley Keane in the collection of short stories The Mysterious Mr. Keane (1930), Inspector Narracott in The Mystery of Sittaford (1931), Frankie and Bobby in Why Not Evans? (1935), Inspector Main and Thomas Legge in the novel Ten Little Indians (1939), Charles Hayward in the book The Crooked Little House.

Dramaturgy

In 1928, a new playwright appeared in Great Britain - Agatha Christie. The list of books according to the order in which they were written differs from the list according to the time of publication: this is due both to the plans of the author himself and to the ideas of the publishers. In 1928, a dramatic version of Christie's sixth novel about Roger Ackroyd appeared - the play "Alibi". In total, 24 plays were written by the writer, some of them reproducing the plots of novels and short stories. But most famous play Christy, of course, is her “Mousetrap.”

List of the best

IN great heritage writers, each reader finds his own favorite piece. Researchers believe that the best books of Agatha Christie, the list of which is difficult to limit by number, are:

• "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" (1926).
• "Murder at the Vicarage" (1930).
• "The Mystery of Endhouse Manor" (1932).
• "Murder on the Orient Express" (1934).
• "Death on the Nile" (1937).
• "Ten Little Indians" (1939).
• "Evil Under the Sun" (1941).
• "Death Comes at the End" (1944).
• "The Crooked Little House" (1949).
• "4.50 from Paddington" (1957).

Film adaptations

Christie's detective stories are the most popular works among filmmakers. Films based on Agatha Christie's books, the list of which is constantly growing, were even considered an honor to make. In total, at least 100 films based on her texts were shot by different film studios around the world. The most notable paintings were:

• "Murder on the Orient Express"
• "Ten Little Indians."
• "Woe to the innocent."
• "The Secret of the Dead Man"

Television people also could not ignore her work; there are many one-off productions and two extremely successful series about Poirot and Miss Marple.

Awards and records

Despite the huge literary heritage, Agatha Christie received quite a few awards during her life. Her novels and plays have won several literary prizes, including prestigious award them. E. Poe. In 1956, the writer was awarded the prestigious award - the Order of the British Empire. But her legacy breaks many records. Agatha Christie's books are among the most published in the world: the list of languages ​​into which they have been translated has exceeded a hundred. It ranks third in the world in terms of publications after the Bible and Shakespeare's texts. The total circulation of publications of her works is already almost 5 billion copies. She owns the most a large number of re-enactments

We remembered the 10 most striking adaptations of the writer’s works, accumulated over 90 years.

Poirot

The series tells the story of unimaginable investigations conducted by a detective with a non-trivial mindset and a chic mustache, Hercule Poirot.

Poirot's Failure

Russian adaptation of Agatha Christie's novel The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. This time Poirot is investigating the mysterious murder of the owner of the mansion, Roger Ackroyd, who died in his own office.

The Mystery of the Blackbirds

Inspector Neil is investigating a series of murders. All the victims are poisoned with arsenic, and numerous family members of the victims are suspected. Miss Marple comes to the inspector's aid.

Why didn't they ask Evans?

Why Didn't They Ask Evans?, 1980

While playing golf, Bobby Jones discovers a dying man whose injuries appear to have fallen off a cliff. Before his death, he only managed to say: “Why didn’t they ask Evans?”

Ten Little Indians, 1987

Eight strangers are invited by a mysterious host to dinner party to a luxurious mansion. Immediately after arriving, someone begins to kill them one by one. Who is this cold-blooded villain?

Witness for the prosecution

Witness for the Prosecution, 1957

Wilfrid Robarts, a seriously ill lawyer who has been forbidden by doctors to continue working on criminal cases, spits on the doctors' instructions and agrees to pursue his last desperate case.

crooked little house

Crooked House, 2017

Rich Aristide Leonidas dies from an unknown illness. He was sick for many years, but it was definitely someone close to him who “finished off” him. Young detective Charles Hayward takes on the investigation of the mysterious death. All members of the deceased’s family come under suspicion, including his granddaughter Sofia, for whom the detective has an uneasy feeling.

Murder on the Orient Express

Murder on the Orient Express, 1974

EMI Film Distributors

1930s. A group of strangers travel across Europe on a luxury train called the Orient Express. Suddenly, one of the passengers is found dead. Who had the motive?

Death on the Nile

Death on the Nile, 1978

EMI Films Ltd.

The heiress to a multimillion-dollar fortune, Linnet has managed to spoil the blood of many in her life. Going on her honeymoon, she is afraid of being unprotected and persuades detective Poirot to become her bodyguard.

Evil under the sun

Evil Under the Sun, 1981

EMI Films Ltd.

Poirot goes to investigate a case on an exotic island in the middle of the Adriatic. Sea, palm trees, sand, exquisite cocktails and public and, of course, a mysterious murder.