Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, was an English writer 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 characterized 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.
Joan Bogle Hickson OBE was an English actress of theatre, film and television. She was known for her role as Agatha Christie's Miss Marple in the television series Miss Marple. She also narrated a number of Miss Marple stories on audiobooks.
Philippa Jane Haywood is an English actress. She won the 2005 Rose d'Or Award for Best Female Comedy Performance for Green Wing (2004–2006). Her other television credits include The Brittas Empire (1991–1997), Chimera (1991) Prisoners' Wives (2012–2013) and Scott & Bailey (2012–2016). In 2018, she played the role of Lorraine Craddock in the BBC television series Bodyguard. In 2019 she appeared in series 4 of the BBC Radio 4 Show The Pin.
Geraldine James OBE is an English actress. She has worked extensively on television, on stage and in film. She is known for her role as Marilla Cuthbert in the Netflix series Anne with an E (2017–2019) and as Queen Mary in the 2019 film Downton Abbey.
Agatha is a 1979 British drama thriller film directed by Michael Apted and starring Vanessa Redgrave, Dustin Hoffman and Timothy Dalton. It was written by Kathleen Tynan. The film focuses on renowned crime writer Agatha Christie's famous 11-day disappearance in 1926. The film was released 9 February 1979, receiving generally positive reviews from critics, who praised the production values and performances.
The Body in the Library is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie and first published in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company in February 1942 and in the UK by the Collins Crime Club in May of the same year. The US edition retailed at $2.00 and the UK edition at seven shillings and sixpence. The novel features her fictional amateur detective Miss Marple.
Ordeal by Innocence is a work of detective fiction by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club on 3 November 1958 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company the following year. The UK edition retailed at twelve shillings and sixpence (12/6) and the US edition at $2.95.
The Pale Horse is a work of detective fiction by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club on 6 November 1961, and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company the following year. The UK edition retailed at fifteen shillings and the US edition at $3.75. The novel features her novelist detective Ariadne Oliver as a minor character, and reflects in tone the supernatural novels of Dennis Wheatley who was then at the height of his popularity. The Pale Horse is mentioned in Revelation 6:8, where it is ridden by Death.
Lucy Boynton is a British actress. Raised in London, she made her professional debut as the young Beatrix Potter in Miss Potter (2006). She appeared in television productions Ballet Shoes (2007), Sense and Sensibility (2008) and Mo (2010), making guest appearances on Lewis, Borgia, Endeavour, and Law & Order: UK. Boynton portrayed writer Angelica Garnett on Life in Squares, which aired on BBC. She appeared as an isolated popular girl in The Blackcoat's Daughter (2015) and starred as a bold aspiring model in Sing Street (2016). She also appeared in horror films I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House (2016) and Don't Knock Twice (2016).
"The Unicorn and the Wasp" is the seventh episode of the fourth series of the revived British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was aired on BBC One on 17 May 2008.
Thirteen at Dinner is a 1985 British-American made-for-television mystery film featuring the Belgian detective Hercule Poirot. Adapted by Rod Browning from the 1933 Agatha Christie novel Lord Edgware Dies, it was directed by Lou Antonio and starred Peter Ustinov, Faye Dunaway, Jonathan Cecil, Diane Keen, Bill Nighy and David Suchet, who was later to play Poirot in the long-running television series entitled Agatha Christie's Poirot. The film first aired on CBS Television on October 18, 1985.
Emily Beecham is an English actress. She is best known for her role in the Coen Brothers film Hail, Caesar!, the AMC series Into the Badlands and the title role in the 2017 film Daphne. She starred in the 2019 film Little Joe, for which she received the Best Actress award at the Cannes Film Festival.
Lucy Worsley is a British historian, author, curator, and television presenter. She is joint chief curator at Historic Royal Palaces but is best known as a presenter of BBC Television and Channel 5 series on historical topics.
Gillian Catherine Gill is a Welsh-American writer and academic who specializes in biography. She is the author of Agatha Christie: The Woman and Her Mysteries (1990); Mary Baker Eddy (1998); Nightingales: The Extraordinary Upbringing and Curious Life of Miss Florence Nightingale (2004); We Two: Victoria and Albert, Rulers, Partners, Rivals (2009) and Virginia Woolf: And the Women Who Shaped Her World (2019).
Colonel Archibald Christie was a British businessman and military officer. He was the first husband of mystery writer Dame Agatha Christie; they married in 1914 and divorced in 1928. They separated in 1927 after a major rift due to his infidelity and obtained a divorce the following year. During that period Agatha wrote some of her most renowned detective novels. Shortly after the divorce, Christie married Nancy Neele, and the couple lived quietly for the rest of their lives. Christie became a successful businessman and was invited to be on the board of directors of several major companies.
Lost Girls is a 2020 American mystery drama film. Lost Girls was directed by Liz Garbus, from a screenplay by Michael Werwie, and based on the book Lost Girls: An Unsolved American Mystery by Robert Kolker. The film revolves around the murders of young female sex workers on the South Shore barrier islands of Long Island, committed by the Long Island serial killer, who remains unknown, but for which a suspect was charged July 14, 2023.
Agatha and the Curse of Ishtar is a 2019 British alternative history television drama film about crime writer Agatha Christie becoming embroiled in a real-life murder case during a trip to an archaeological dig in Iraq following her divorce. The film premiered on Channel 5 in the United Kingdom on 15 December 2019. Filming took place in Malta and was directed by Sam Yates. Agatha and the Curse of Ishtar premiered in the United States on PBS on 18 May 2021.
Rosalind Margaret Clarissa Hicks was the only child of author Agatha Christie.
Agatha and the Midnight Murders is a 2020 British alternative history television drama film about crime writer Agatha Christie. The film premiered on Channel 5 in the United Kingdom on 5 October 2020, and on PBS in the United States 25 May 2021. It was directed by Joe Stephenson.
