Agatha Christie

Agatha Christie (1890–1976)—born Agatha Mary Clarissa Miller—was a British writer and playwright; she was born on September 15, 1890, in Torquay and died on January 12, 1976, in Wallingford. Known as the Queen of Crime, she is one of the most widely read authors of all time and a key figure in classic detective fiction.

She grew up in a wealthy family and worked as a nurse and pharmacy assistant during World War I. She later skillfully incorporated the knowledge of medicines and poisons she gained during that time into her crime plots. She married Archibald Christie in 1914, and later, in 1930, married the archaeologist Max Mallowan, whom she accompanied on expeditions to the Middle East.

She launched her literary career with the novel The Mysterious Affair at Styles (1920), in which she introduced Hercule Poirot, a Belgian detective renowned for his exceptional powers of observation and logical deduction. She introduced another famous character, Miss Jane Marple, in the novel The Murder at the Vicarage (1930). Među njezinim najpoznatijim djelima ističu se Ubojstvo Rogera Ackroyda (1926.), Ubojstvo u Orient Expressu (1934.), Smrt na Nilu (1937.), Deset malih crnaca (1939.), danas poznat i pod naslovom I ne osta nijedan, te Zlo pod suncem (1941.).

Napisala je više od šezdeset kriminalističkih romana, brojne zbirke pripovijedaka i kazališne komade. Posebno mjesto zauzima drama Mišolovka (1952.), poznata po iznimno dugom neprekinutom izvođenju na londonskoj kazališnoj sceni.

Pod pseudonimom Mary Westmacott objavila je šest psiholoških romana, među kojima se ističu Nedovršeni portret (1934.) i Odsutna u proljeće (1944.).

Njezin stil obilježavaju domišljati zapleti, lažni tragovi, psihološka pronicljivost i neočekivani raspleti. U središtu njezinih djela često su tajne naizgled mirnih obitelji i zajednica, a rješenje zločina proizlazi iz pažljivog povezivanja pojedinosti.

Agatha Christie ostavila je neizbrisiv trag u svjetskoj kriminalističkoj književnosti, a njezini romani i drame doživjeli su brojne filmske, televizijske i kazališne prilagodbe.