AGATHA CHRISTIE

Agatha Christie is one of the best-selling authors. Her first novel was “the Mysterious Affair at
Styles” (1920). The story in the novel comprised the murder of a rich heiress and Agatha Christie
introduced her readers to the character of the Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot.

BACKGROUND

Agatha Christie was born on 15 September, 1890. The place was Torquay, Devon, South-West
part of England. Before she got married, her name was Agatha Mary Clarissa Miller. She was the
youngest among her three siblings. She was educated at home by her mother, who encouraged
her to write. As a child, she enjoyed fantasy play and creating characters. When she was 16, she
moved to Paris to study vocals and piano. In 1914, she marries Colonel Archibald Christie, who
was a Royal Flying Corps pilot. She took up nursing during World War I.

THE DETECTIVES IN HER NOVELS

Monsieur Hercule Poirot and Miss Jane Marple are the most common characters or detectives in
her novels. The other characters include Tuppence and Tommy Beresford, Colonel Race, Parker
Pyne and Ariadne Oliver.

WHAT INSPIRED AGATHA CHRISTIE?

Agatha Christie’s inspiration to write developed both from personal experience and from the
books she read. The character of Hercule Poirot was formed from the many Belgian refugees that
lived in her hometown during the First World War. The character of Miss Marple was formed
from partly a character in one of her novels “The Murder of Roger Ackroyd” and partly from the
image of her own grandmother.

WHAT INFLUENCED AGATHA CHRISTIE TO WRITE?

1. Imaginary friends.

2. Step grandmother – Margaret West Miller. She was also the model for the character of
detective Miss Jane Marple.

3. Money – Agatha Christie saw her family face adverse financial situations. “Agatha had a fear
of the sudden downward swoop of the Miller fortunes”, Laura Thompson wrote in her 2007
biography ‘Agatha Christie: An English Mystery’. “Money is central to Agatha’s writings. As
both Poirot and Miss Marple are aware, it constitutes the prime motive for crime.”

4. Novelist Gaston Leroux and the books that she read along with her older sister, Madge – ‘The
Mystery of the Yellow Room’. Once, while talking about writing, Agatha Christie told her sister,
“I should like to try.” To this, Madge replied, “Well, I bet you couldn’t.” “From that moment I
was fired by the determination that I would write a detective story”, says Agatha Christie.

5. Stories of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

THE PLOT IN HER NOVELS

Agatha Christie preferred to plot her crime stories from the murder itself.

1. She would first plan out the mode of murder, who the killer was and the purpose of the murder
or the crime committed.

2. She would then plan out the various suspects and their own intents of committing the murder
or the crime.

3. And finally, she would concoct potential clues and diversionary tactics to pull readers in
different directions.

PLOT DEVICES USED IN HER NOVELS

1. Character notices something odd, but cannot identify what it is.

2. Missing clues – Attention is drawn to something that should be there and isn’t.

3. Unconnected remarks explain mystery – The detective draws an inference from something
overheard or unconnected.

4. Opportunity mixed with premeditation – The murder proves to be an opportunistic crime

complicating a complex one.’

5. Hidden in plain sight – A significant item “hidden in plain sight”; no one ever notices.

6. Identities are concealed.

7. Unreliable character speaks the truth (untrustworthy; nobody listens to him or her).

8. Twisted endings:

a. The criminal is the one who calls in the detective.

 b. The murderer appears to be the intended victim.
c. The murderer appears to be an actual victim.
d. The main protagonist is the murderer.
e. All suspects are the murderers.
f. The narrator is the murderer.
g. The detective is the murderer.
h. The policeman is the murderer.
i. A child is the murderer.
j. The conspirators in a murder appear to hate one another.
k. The murders are unconnected.
l. The murder takes place after the corpse is discovered.
m. The murderer is exactly who it appears to be.
n. The murder was a “dress rehearsal”.

Many of her novels have been transformed into movies and films. Even though she found some
characters not so appealing, Agatha Christie claims that it was her duty to produce what the
public liked.

Sources:

www.biography.com

www.thenews.com.pk

www.freelancewriting.com

www.fritzfreiheit.com

www.mentalfloss.com

www.en.m.wikipedia.org

Rishita Nath

Roll no.: 14

ENGA Sem 6