Agatha Christie Summary

Christie, Agatha (1890-1979) Deemed the creator of the modern detective fiction novel and nicknamed the Duchess of Death, Agatha Christie continues to be one of the most popularly read authors since... Read more

Biography EssayAgatha Christie is a towering figure in the history of crime literature for two reasons. First, she consolidated the form of the pure mystery novel, achieving in five or six of her book... Read more

"Oh, I'm an incredible sausage machine," the late mystery writer Agatha Christie once jokingly claimed, speaking of her prolific output of novels, stories, and plays. Christie's many works sold well o... Read more

Agatha Christie is a towering figure in the history of crime literature for two reasons. First, she consolidated the form of the pure mystery novel, achieving in five or six of her books puzzle storie... Read more

Critical Essay by William Rose BenÉt "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" really turns a new trick in detective fiction, surely a difficult enough achievement "with the competiti... Read more

Critical Essay by Anthony Boucher Since Agatha Christie is so pre-eminently the mistress of the straight detective story, we're apt to forget how good she can be on her occasional ventures int... Read more

Critical Essay by Anthony Boucher I strongly suspect that future scholars of the simon-pure detective novel will hold that its greatest practitioner, out-ranking even Ellery Queen and John Dickson Ca... Read more

Critical Essay by Francis Wyndham Of course nobody is expected to care in any humanist sense: it is, quite simply, that one has to know. Agatha Christie at her best writes animated algebra. She dares... Read more

Critical Essay by Julian Barnes Ingenious to the last, Agatha Christie kept back one Poirot and one Miss Marple story, each written some 30 years ago, for publication after her death. The date of its... Read more

Critical Essay by Emma Lathen Why do Americans gulp down Agatha Christie in such quantity? Our most eminent literary critics have asked the question with genuine and growing bewilderment. Their pardo... Read more

Critical Essay by E. F. Bargainnier Hercule Poirot and Jane Marple are the detectives of Agatha Christie known to millions; somewhat less well known are Tuppence and Tommy Beresford and Inspector Bat... Read more

Critical Essay by Will Cuppy ["Murder in the Calais Coach" is] your best mystery bet of the moment by quite some distance—a thoroughly up-to-snuff Christie that ought to go down ... Read more

In the following essay, Benedict considers the culpability of Christie's murders, arguing that Christie may have paved the way for justifiable murders in mystery fiction. Just as in politics... Read more

In the following essay, Grossvogel explores why Christie's works remain popular today. It is not uncommon for the demise of an author's popularity to coincide with his actual death, t... Read more

In the following essay, Bargainnier analyzes Christie's collection of poetry, discussing what her poems reveal about her personality. In her autobiography Agatha Christie wrote, "The ... Read more

In the following essay, the reviewers argue that Christie's writing is more complex than critics credit her. Agatha Christie's position in the critical discourse surrounding the detec... Read more