Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, was an English author known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictional detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. She also wrote the world's longest-running play, the murder mystery The Mousetrap, which has been performed in the West End of London since 1952. A writer during the "Golden Age of Detective Fiction", Christie has been called the "Queen of Crime"—a moniker which is now trademarked by her estate—or the "Queen of Mystery". She also wrote six novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott. In 1971, she was made a Dame (DBE) by Queen Elizabeth II for her contributions to literature. Guinness World Records lists Christie as the best-selling fiction writer of all time, her novels having sold more than two billion copies.
Miss Jane Marple is a fictional character in Agatha Christie's crime novels and short stories. Miss Marple lives in the village of St Mary Mead and acts as an amateur consulting detective. Often characterised as an elderly spinster, she is one of Christie's best-known characters and has been portrayed numerous times on screen. Her first appearance was in a short story published in The Royal Magazine in December 1927, "The Tuesday Night Club", which later became the first chapter of The Thirteen Problems (1932). Her first appearance in a full-length novel was in The Murder at the Vicarage in 1930, and her last appearance was in Sleeping Murder in 1976.
The Seven Dials Mystery is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie, first published in the UK by William Collins & Sons on 24 January 1929 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company later in the same year.
Marion Gibbons was a Scottish writer of romance and mystery novels, whose career as a published author began in 1979. She wrote numerous successful historical romance novels under a form of her maiden name, Marion Chesney, including the "Travelling Matchmaker" and "Daughters of Mannerling" series.
Geoffrey Sax is a British film and television director, who has worked on a variety of drama productions in both the United Kingdom and the United States.
Freeman Wills Crofts FRSA was an Irish engineer and mystery author, remembered best for the character of Inspector Joseph French.
Agatha, also Agata, is a feminine given name derived from the Greek feminine name Ἀγάθη, which is a nominalized form of ἀγαθή (agathḗ), i.e. the feminine form of the adjective ἀγαθός (agathós) "good".
Ashley Jensen is a Scottish actress. She is best known for her roles as Maggie Jacobs in Extras, Christina McKinney in Ugly Betty (2006–2010), Agatha Raisin in Agatha Raisin (2014–present), and DI Ruth Calder in Shetland (2023–present).
Caroline Langrishe is an English actress.
Death of a Gossip is a mystery novel by M. C. Beaton, first published in 1985. It is set in the fictional town of Lochdubh, Scotland and is the first novel of a series featuring the local constable Hamish Macbeth.
Cozy mysteries, are a sub-genre of crime fiction in which sex and violence occur offstage, the detective is an amateur sleuth, and the crime and detection take place in a small, socially intimate community. Cozies thus stand in contrast to hardboiled fiction, in which more violence and explicit sexuality are central to the plot. The term "cozy" was first coined in the late 20th century when various writers produced work in an attempt to re-create the Golden Age of Detective Fiction.
And Then There Were None is a mystery novel by the English writer Agatha Christie, who described it as the most difficult of her books to write. It was first published in the United Kingdom by the Collins Crime Club on 6 November 1939, as Ten Little Niggers, after an 1869 minstrel song that serves as a major plot element. The US edition was released in January 1940 with the title And Then There Were None, taken from the last five words of the song. Successive American reprints and adaptations use that title, though American Pocket Books paperbacks used the title Ten Little Indians between 1964 and 1986. UK editions continued to use the original title until 1985.
The Quiche of Death (1992) is the first Agatha Raisin mystery novel by Marion Chesney under her pseudonym M. C. Beaton.
Lucy Katherine Liemann Harman is an English actress. After graduation she was spotted at a supermarket by a voice scout who urged her to become a voice artist. Liemann then went on to study acting at the Academy of Live and Recorded Arts. She has worked in theatre, television and film.
Carli Jo Norris is an English actress, known for her roles as Anoushka Flynn in Doctors, Martha Kane in Hollyoaks and taking over the role of Belinda Peacock in EastEnders.
Agatha Raisin and the Deadly Dance is the fifteenth Agatha Raisin mystery novel by Marion Chesney under her pseudonym M. C. Beaton. She sets up her own detective agency, Raisin Investigations, having previously investigated as a hobby. There are three attempts to assassinate her, with two attempts killing another would-be assassin.
Rebecca Tope is a British crime novelist and journalist. She is the author of three murder mystery series, featuring the fictional characters of Den Cooper, a Devon police detective; Drew Slocombe, a former nurse, now an undertaker; Thea Osborne, a house sitter in the Cotswolds; and Persimmon Brown, a florist in the Lake District. Tope is also ghost writer of the novels based on the ITV series Rosemary and Thyme.
Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death is British comedy-drama television film based on the 1992 novel of the same name by M. C. Beaton. The film aired on Sky1 on 26 December 2014. It served as a pilot to a full series entitled Agatha Raisin.
The Potted Gardener is the third Agatha Raisin mystery novel by Marion Chesney under her pseudonym M. C. Beaton.
Agatha Raisin is a British comedy-drama television series, based on M. C. Beaton's book series of the same name about a former PR agent who solves crime mysteries in the Cotswolds village of Carsely.
