Mystery is born

Agatha Christie, mystery writer, is born Agatha Mary Clarissa Miller in Torquay, Devon, England, on September 15 1890. Her older sister and brother were sent off to school, but her parents decide she should be home schooled, mostly by her father Frederick. Mother Clara says she shouldn’t learn to read until she’s eight, but Agatha teaches herself to read by age five. Frederick dies in 1901 and Agatha is sent to school in Torquay and Paris (1905-10). She marries Archibald Christie, an army officer, on Christmas Eve 1914. Their only child, Rosalind, is born in August 1919. Agatha’s first book, “The Mysterious Affair at Styles”(1920), introduces detective Hercule Poirot, who would appear in 33 novels and 54 short stories. Miss (Jane) Marple makes her debut in the shortstory collection “The Thirteen Problems” (1927) and appears in 12 novels and 20 stories. Agatha creates a real-life mystery on December 3 1926 when she disappears after a quarrel with Archie. She is found on the 14th after a large-scale search. The Christies divorce in 1928. Agatha leaves for Istanbul and subsequently for Baghdad on the Orient Express. Late in this trip, in 1930, she meets archaeologist Max Mallowa, whom she marries in September. The marriage lasts until her death in 1976. Agatha’s other famous novels include “Murder on the Orient Express”, “And Then There Were None” and “Death on the Nile”. She tops the bestselling list along with Shakespeare (estimated: 2-4bn).