Agatha Christie is
probably one of the most famous mystery writers of all time. She
was born in England in 1890 and died at the age of 84. During
her writing career, she wrote 66 crime novels and 19 plays.
Her first novel, the Mysterious Affair at Styles, was written
towards the end of the First World War. In it, she created
Hercule Poirot, the little Belgian detective who was destined to
be the most popular detective in crime fiction since Sherlock
Holmes.
Her female detective, Miss Marple was introduced in a short
story, The Tuesday Night Club, published in 1927. It's
interesting to note that Agatha Christie never wrote a book
where both of her detectives, Poirot and Miss Marple, appear.
She revealed the reason for this. "Poirot is ego-centric and
would not like being taught his business or having to take
suggestions made to him by an elderly spinster lady."
Agatha Christie's books have sold over a billion copies in the
English language, with another billion in 44 foreign languages.
Her most famous novel, "Murder on the Orient Express" was
made into a sensational film.
Here is a
short interview with "the woman of crime".
-----Tell me please, why do you believe your books are so
popular, especially with woman.
..........I think women read my books to escape from the usual
routine of daily life.
-----I noticed that very often you use poison in your stories,
instead of a revolver. Is there any particular reason for this
preference?
..........Oh yes, I don't understand very much about revolvers.
Instead during the First World war, I acquired a wide range of
knowledge of different kinds of poisons. Poison is clean and
safe!
-----I was told you receive hundreds of letters a day from your
fans.
..........Yes, I do, and not only from housewives. There are
letters from doctor, lawyers, heads of state and Prime
Ministers.
-----Is it true that your books are translated into more
languages than Shakespeare?
......... Yes, it's quite an honor for me.
-----And it has been an honor for me to have talked with you.
Thank you very much.
The
students who have read a book by Agatha Christie can talk about
it and perhaps there can also be a discussion about a modern day
"woman of crime" author.
I always
enjoy the Mary Higgins Clark novels. "The Cradle Will Fall" is
my favourite.
The above interview can also stimulate the students to write up
their own interviews. I already spoke about this in my blog post
25.
A Nice
Thought
"Never read a book because you have to, read a book because you
want to."