On September 15, 1890, in the seaside town of Torquay, England, Agatha Christie, the Queen of Crime, was born.
Christie’s career spanned over five decades and produced a body of work so influential it continues to shape mystery fiction and television today. With 66 detective novels, 14 short story collections, and the world’s longest-running play (The Mousetrap), she holds the Guinness World Record as the best-selling fiction writer of all time. Her books have sold more than two billion copies—second only to the Bible and Shakespeare.
But numbers don’t tell the whole story. What makes Christie enduring isn’t just her productivity, but her knack for weaving puzzles that are both diabolical and delightful. She mastered the art of the red herring, led us confidently down false trails, and then revealed endings that made us gasp, laugh, or mutter “of course!”—usually all at once.
The Characters Who Captured Our Hearts
Christie gave us some of the most iconic detectives in the mystery canon. Hercule Poirot, the fastidious Belgian with his egg-shaped head and impeccable mustache, insists that logic and the “little grey cells” can solve any crime. Then there’s Miss Marple, the unassuming village spinster whose sharp understanding of human nature allows her to outwit professional policemen.
Both characters have made their way into countless television adaptations. For me, nothing feels more comforting than an evening with David Suchet’s Poirot, his every mannerism a love letter to Christie’s creation. Likewise, Joan Hickson’s Miss Marple (said to be Christie’s personal favorite) is a reminder that appearances can deceive—even the gentlest grandmotherly figure might see straight into the darkest corners of the human heart.
Christie on Screen
It’s no exaggeration to say that without Christie, there might be no BritBox mystery section at all. Her works have been adapted into dozens of films and television series, from classic Poirot and Miss Marple to star-studded reinterpretations like Murder on the Orient Express. Even today, her stories continue to inspire new productions—Murder Is Easy and Why Didn’t They Ask Evans? have recently been reimagined for modern audiences.
Each adaptation offers something new: the glamour of period costumes, the charm of English country villages, and the timeless satisfaction of watching order restored after chaos.
Why She Endures
For me, Agatha Christie is more than just a writer I admire—she’s the one who made me fall in love with the genre. I’ll never forget reading And Then There Were None late into the night, or sipping tea while streaming The Murder of Roger Ackroyd and realizing I’d been gloriously duped again. Christie reminds us that mysteries aren’t just about death—they’re about life, community, and the messy web of secrets people hide behind polite smiles.
Raise a Cup
So today, let’s raise a teacup to Dame Agatha Christie: the woman who taught us that even the quietest village could hide a murderer, that the smallest clue could unlock the truth, and that no alibi is ever quite as airtight as it seems.
Happy Birthday, Dame Agatha. May your puzzles continue to confound us for another hundred years.