Agatha Christie published “The Mysterious Affair of Styles” in 1920, launching one of the most celebrated literary careers of all time. Christie’s books are translated into more than 100 languages and have sold more than 2 billion copies, and she is named the best-selling fiction writer of all time by the Guinness Book of World Records. With such staggering sales, we have to wonder how many books Christie wrote.
Between 1920 and his death in 1976, Christie published 102 books. these books included 66 mystery novels, for which she was known, but also poetry, short story collections, and nonfiction.
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We examine Christie’s career and break down the many novels, short story collections, and volumes of poetry the author has published. Christie’s beloved characters appeared and returned in many of her stories. Let’s take a look at the various editions that make up Christie’s impressive body of work.
Novels
Widely considered the queen of crime, Agatha Christie wrote detective novels that are still loved by readers today. in total, the author wrote 66 mystery novels. Christie rarely used a character once; her detective stories spanned series, sometimes crossing each other’s worlds. her detective stories inspired movies, radio and television shows. Christie’s Hounds remain iconic today.
hercule poirot
His most popular character, Hercule Poirot, appeared in 33 novels, two plays, and more than 50 short stories between 1920 and 1975. Poirot has appeared in nearly every medium, including:
- radio
- film and television
- stage
- video games
even made it to anime!
Poirot is a Belgian detective with a famous mustache who is intelligent, courteous and witty. He first appeared in “The Mysterious Affair of Styles” and last appeared in “Curtain”.
Hugely popular with massive cultural impact, Poirot received a front-page obituary in the New York Times, the only fictional character to claim this distinction.
just as the public loved poirot, agatha christie hated him. she continued to write poirot in reaction to his enormous popularity; he felt that he owed it to the people who adored him.
certain collaborators frequently appeared in different poirot stories, including:
- captain arthur hastings
- ariadne oliver
- felicity lemon
- chief inspector james harold japp
a wide range of impressive actors have portrayed poirot:
- austin trevor
- john moffatt
- albert finney
- peter ustinov
- ian holm
- tony randall
- alfred molina
- orson welles
- david suchet
- kenneth brannagh
- john malkovich
miss marple
agatha christie wrote miss marple stories for 41 years.
jane marple is the extremely popular spinster detective that christide created to honor spinsters.
He has never been married and lives independently. Marple uses her intellect and her excellent memory to solve mysteries that elude the authorities.
marple appears in 12 novels and 20 short stories.
The character has been adapted into movies, television, radio, stage plays, anime, and manga.
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marple first appeared in “the tuesday night club” and last appeared in “sleeping assassin”.
The iconic character has been played by:
- graciefields
- margaret rutherford
- angela lansbury
- dulcie grey
- helen hayes
- ita ever
- joan hickson
- geraldine mcewan
- june whitfield
- julia mckenzie
- renee michels
- julie cox
the miss marple books don’t adhere to any specific timeline; readers can read the volumes in isolation or in any order they choose.
thomas and prudence beresford
thomas and prudence, or tommy and tuppence, appear in five books by agatha christie: four novels and a collection of short stories.
the married couple complement each other. Tommy isn’t terribly smart or imaginative, but he values evidence and hard, objective truth. tuppence is creative and charming. she’s brilliant and provides insight to society, while tommy keeps it grounded and level.
the couple aged in real time, with the outside world. Tommy and Tuppence are 20 years old in the first novel, published in 1922, and 70 in the last book, published in 1973.
tommy and tuppence have three children: twins and an adopted daughter.
the couple appears in:
- the secret adversary
- accomplices in the crime
- n or me?
- by the prick of my thumbs
- posterna of destiny
tommy and tuppence have been adapted for film, radio and television.
Many actors have played the detective couple, including:
- richard attenborough and sheila sim
- james warwick and francesca annis
- andre dussollier and catherine frot
- anthony andrews and greta scacchi</li
- david walliams and jessica raine
superintendent battle
The Superintendent’s Battle isn’t Christie’s most famous character, but it still inspired five novels:
- the secret of the chimneys
- the mystery of the seven spheres
- the cards on the table
- killing is easy
- towards zero
the policeman exists within the same universe as hercule poirot; the two even worked on “cards on the table” together.
battle is a competent and intelligent police officer. He’s not as uniquely brilliant as wise detectives like Poirot or Sherlock Holmes, but he’s battle capable and smart.
When not investigating, Battle is a family man, married with five children.
story collections
Christie’s corpus of stories is enormous from every point of view. he published 165 short stories, collected in 14 American volumes.
many of christie’s usual suspects appear in her stories, including:
- poirot
- marple
- tommy and tuppence
play
agatha christie enjoyed writing plays more than novels. she preferred to focus on the dialogue without the complications of describing the action and the setting.
christie wrote 27 works in total, some of the most famous are:
- black coffee
- and then there was no
- appointment with death
- the hole
- the mousetrap
- witness for the prosecution
- spider web
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christie is the first playwright to have three plays run simultaneously in the west end.
“The Mousetrap” currently holds the record for the longest running play in the world. the show opened in 1952; more than ten million people have seen it.
non-fiction works
The prolific Christie wrote three non-fiction books.
“Come Tell Me How You Live” was a memoir about Christie’s experience working on an archaeological dig with her husband, Max Mallowan.
“The Grand Tour: Around the World with the Queen of Mystery” is an epistolary work. The book is a collection of letters from his 1922 Grand Tour of the British Empire: South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada.
“Agatha Christie: An Autobiography” was published posthumously in 1977. The book won an Edgar Award.
poetry books
Christie did not limit himself to full-length fiction or detective narratives. the author also published two books of poetry. “The Road of Dreams,” published in 1924, includes 26 poems that Christie composed as a young man. the verses cover many topics, from nature to war and Norse mythology.
christie released the less creatively named “poems” in 1973. “poems” includes “the road of dreams” and another set of unpublished poetry. Much of the “poems” are nostalgic in nature, focusing on Christie’s childhood memories and her passion for nature.
books published as mary westmacott
Christie published six romance novels between 1930 and 1956 under the name Mary Westmacott.
The pseudonym is an amalgamation of Christie’s middle name and her distant relatives.
Mary Westmacott’s books are the best reviewed of Christie’s career.
agatha christie hid the fact that she was mary westmacott for almost 20 years. A journalist exposed Christie as Westmacott in 1949.
books by mary westmacott are:
- giant’s bread
- unfinished portrait
- absent in spring
- rose and yew
- a daughter is a daughter
- the burden
star over bethlehem
“the star over bethlehem” is christie’s only children’s book. The volume collects six stories, five poems, and features illustrations by Elise Wrigley.
The book is Christie’s loving consideration of religion and spirituality. “star over bethlehem” is christie’s passion project; she enjoyed writing it immensely. the author published her exploration of Christianity in 1965.
christie released “star over bethlehem” using the name agatha christie mallowan, her husband’s last name.
conclusion
the cultural impact of agatha christie cannot be underestimated. the author created indelible characters, detectives who still inspire filmmakers and creators today. However, Christie had a career beyond her crime queen status, covering poetry, nonfiction, and even children’s literature.
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