Agatha Christie – England’s Crime Writer
Dame Agatha Christie was England’s most successful crime writer, with over 2 billion copies of her books sold worldwide. Her stories were intelligent puzzles, without gratuitous violence, set in nostalgic villages.
Agatha Mary Clarissa Miller was born in 1890 in Torquay, Devon. Raised in a wealthy family, her American father loved to read to her, and her mother encouraged her imagination.
Agatha’s father’s early death put a stop on many of the family finances. Her sister married well, although her brother was more rebellious, a professional hunter who was often getting into trouble. Agatha meanwhile was more fun, becoming the first women in England, to surf standing up!
She had a controversial life, going missing once for 11 days, during an episode of intense stress before her marriage breakdown. It’s now believed she was genuinely suffering from memory loss, and it was not a publicity stunt, as often claimed.
Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple
Agatha Christie’s most legendary sleuths were Belgium Hercule Poirot (a retired detective) and Miss Marple, a village spinster, who saw patterns in people, that others missed). Both were turned into much-loved TV shows. Her book popularity puts her only second to William Shakespeare, with her books having been translated into 100 languages.
Agatha’s home Greenway in Devon is one of the most popular National Trust destinations. Described by the author as ‘the loveliest place in the world’, she and her second husband (archaeologist Max Mallowan) lived here, in the house that had originally been built for a sea merchant. The walled gardens are home to a restored peach house and vinery, plus there is a local allotment cared for by local children.
Joan Hickson: The Undisputed Miss Marple!
Without doubt, the best Miss Marple was the actress Joan Hickson. The RADA-trained actress (who starred as a nurse and drunk in Carry on Nurse and Carry on Constable), later became one of our most beloved character actresses.
After appearing on stage in the 40s in the play Appointment with Death, Agatha Christie wrote her a note, saying ‘I will call you to play Miss Marple one day, if I can find the time to write another play’.
Joan was already 78 when she eventually played the title role, until she decided to retire from the series several years later. Never a ‘star’, she refused to appear on Wogan. But remained an actress until her death at 92, writing ‘Retirement is fatal. If you retire you go POP’.
Joan (her doctor husband died in the late 1960s) lived for over 40 years in a cottage in the Essex village of Wivenhoe. One of her two children wrote The Story of Wivenhoe, which covers the history of the town over several hundred years.
