Dictionary of Literary Biography

In the Dictionary of Literary Biography Vol 77: British Mystery Writers 1920- 1939, there is a entry on Agatha Christie. The entry's author, H.R.F. Keating, states that the reason why Christie is considered the Queen of Crime is because "she consolidated the form of the pure mystery novel, achieving in five or six of her books puzzle stories that set a standard unlikely ever to be decisively bettered (71)." and because "she sold more books than any other writer except Shakespeare (71)."

Keating attributes Christie's success and popularity to her using "plain, good English with ample dialogue", making her characters simple so her readers can create their own picture of them, and her ability to refrain from putting herself into the story, so that her works are simple and straightforward.

Keating than begins a biography of Christie, which focuses mostly on how her life influenced and affected her work.

Agatha Christie was born in 1890 on the 15th of September in Torquay, England. Her mother, Clarissa Boehmer Miller, believed that "the female child's mind ought to be left alone to receive its own impressions (77)." Part of that belief was that Agatha should not be taught to read until she was eight years old. However, the young Agatha taught herself to read. Because Agatha had the freedom to exercise her imagination, and yet was able to teach herself how to read and write, she was able to practice creative writing and poetry. However, she did not possess the desire to pursue writing as a career.

After Agatha had become older and spent some time studying in France, she returned to Torquay, where she met and fell in love with Archibald Christie. Despite the fact that Agatha was engaged to another man, her and Archibald married in 1914 on Christmas Eve. This was during World War I, so Archibald enlisted with the Flying Corps and Agatha volunteered as a nurse in Torquay.

This experience of working as a nurse and also her time in a dispensary in a local hospital, greatly influenced Agatha's becoming a mystery writer. The creation of her famous detective, Hercule Poirot, came from the many refugees of Belgian that lived nearby. Working at the dispensary with medicines and poisons gave her the knowledge to be able to write murder stories. In 1920, she finished her first novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles. It was rejected by six different publishers before it was finally accepted and published.

Keating then gives a brief analysis of The Mysterious Affair at Styles, Christie's writing style, and a description of Hercule Poirot. Keating goes into other works that Christie wrote early in her career and critical reviews that she received. One example of reviews that Christie received was for her controversial novel, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, where the narrator turns out to be the murderer. Some called the book "a rotten, unfair trick (75)"; others "a brilliant, psychological tour-de-force (75)." The Murder of Roger Ackroyd turned out to be twice as successful as her first book.

Despite the success in Christie's writing career, things in her personal life were going poorly. First there is the death of Christie's mother and then the discovery that her husband wanted to marry another woman. This brought about Agatha's nervous breakdown and famous mysterious disappearance. The writer was found nine days later in a hotel in Harrogate under the name of her husband's lover. In 1928, they were divorced. In 1929, Christie traveled to the Middle East, where she met her future husband, Max Mallowan. They married in September of 1930.

Keating than goes into Christie's second famous detective, Miss Marple and what components made her such a popular character.

According to Keating, Christie's travels to the Middle East influenced many of the later works in her writing career, such as Murder in Mesopotamia, Death on the Nile, Appointment with Death, Death Comes as the End, and They Came to Baghdad. He also says that Murder on the Orient Express was roughly based on her travels on the real life Orient Express. At this point, he describes how the novel was written and a basic summary of the novel.

He quotes Agatha Christie's categorization of detective stories: "One of the pleasures of writing detective stories is that there are so many types to choose from: the light-hearted thriller, which is particularly pleasant to do; the intricate detective story with an involved plot which is technically interesting and requires a great deal of work, but is always rewarding; and then what I can only describe as the detective story that has a kind of passion behind it-- that passion being to help save innocence. Because it is innocence that matters, not guilt (76-7)."

Keating argues then that The A.B.C. Murders "perhaps exemplifies Christie's ingenuity better than any other book she wrote (77)."

During World War, while Christie's husband served in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, Agatha volunteered again to work in a dispensary as she did during World War I, except this time she worked in London. Despite working at the hospital, Agatha was able to write about two books a year.

Keating then discusses Hercule Poirot's Christmas, And Then There Were None, Evil Under the Sun, Five Little Pigs, Crooked House, Curtain: Hercule Poirot's Last Case, and Sleeping Murder.

Keating ends this entry about Agatha Christie by summarizing the last years of her life. After the war, Christie continued to travel on archaeological trips with her husband, until she was too old. Staying mainly in the English countryside, Agatha eventually retired and "quietly" died on January 12, 1976.

H.R.F. Keating's entry on Agatha Christie is a useful guide if the reader is someone who has read many works by the mystery writer. Those who are not familiar with the writer and are more interested in her personal life, would probably be more interested in Agatha Christie's autobiography or a quick look at Wikipedia. This entry in the Dictionary of Literary Biography focuses more on Agatha Christie's works and any mention of her private life is used to show the connection between her life and her work.

"Agatha Christie." Dictionary of Literary Biography. Vol 77: British Mystery Writers, 1920- 1939. 1989. Print.