A mysterious affair: the phenomenon of Agatha Christie
Country Life UK|May 13, 2020
It’s 100 years since her first novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, was published. What is the secret of Agatha Christie’s enduring popularity? Emma Hughes investigates
Emma Hughes
A mysterious affair: the phenomenon of Agatha Christie
IT sounds as if it couldn’t possibly be true, but it is: the only books to outsell Agatha Christie’s are Shakespeare’s plays and the Bible. The woman labelled the queen of ‘cosy crime’ (quite wrongly; more on that later) is the world’s most translated author, has history’s longest continually running play to her name in The Mousetrap and has sold well over four billion books.

Greenways, her Devon holiday home on the Dart estuary, now in the care of the National Trust, attracts pilgrims in their thousands and she will feature on the new £2 coin released later this year. The Golden Age of detective fiction produced dozens of distinguished alumni, but only Christie remains a household name. What’s her secret?

Part of the answer can be found on Amazon. Her contemporaries seem frozen in aspic, but you only have to type Christie’s name into the search bar to see how adaptable she has proved. Over the years, her novels have been successfully reissued with covers that nod to the design cues of almost every genre, from Hitchcockian thriller to modern Scandi noir.

On the screen, it’s the same story. David Suchet’s Poirot may be the gold standard, but Christie’s influence stretches far beyond straight-up period pieces—last year saw rave reviews for Knives Out, a 21st-century love letter to her starring Daniel Craig as Benoit Blanc, an eccentric Louisiana detective. Director Rian Johnson (of ‘Star Wars’ fame), who discovered Christie as a little boy on his grandparents’ bookshelves, has gone out of his way to praise her ‘modern sensibility’.

この記事は Country Life UK の May 13, 2020 版に掲載されています。

7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。

この記事は Country Life UK の May 13, 2020 版に掲載されています。

7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。

COUNTRY LIFE UKのその他の記事すべて表示
Kitchen garden cook - Apples
Country Life UK

Kitchen garden cook - Apples

'Sweet and crisp, apples are the epitome of autumn flavour'

time-read
2 分  |
October 23, 2024
The original Mr Rochester
Country Life UK

The original Mr Rochester

Three classic houses in North Yorkshire have come to the market; the owner of one inspired Charlotte Brontë to write Jane Eyre

time-read
5 分  |
October 23, 2024
Get it write
Country Life UK

Get it write

Desks, once akin to instruments of torture for scribes, have become cherished repositories of memories and secrets. Matthew Dennison charts their evolution

time-read
6 分  |
October 23, 2024
'Sloes hath ben my food'
Country Life UK

'Sloes hath ben my food'

A possible paint for the Picts and a definite culprit in tea fraud, the cheek-suckingly sour sloe's spiritual home is indisputably in gin, says John Wright

time-read
3 分  |
October 23, 2024
Souvenirs of greatness
Country Life UK

Souvenirs of greatness

FOR many years, some large boxes have been stored and forgotten in the dark recesses of the garage. Unpacked last week, the contents turned out to be pots: some, perhaps, nearing a century old—dense terracotta, of interesting provenance.

time-read
3 分  |
October 23, 2024
Plants for plants' sake
Country Life UK

Plants for plants' sake

The garden at Hergest Croft, Herefordshire The home of Edward Banks The Banks family is synonymous with an extraordinary collection of trees and shrubs, many of which are presents from distinguished friends, garnered over two centuries. Be prepared to be amazed, says Charles Quest-Ritson

time-read
7 分  |
October 23, 2024
Capturing the castle
Country Life UK

Capturing the castle

Seventy years after Christian Dior’s last fashion show in Scotland, the brand returned under creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri for a celebratory event honouring local craftsmanship, the beauty of the land and the Auld Alliance, explains Kim Parker

time-read
6 分  |
October 23, 2024
Nature's own cathedral
Country Life UK

Nature's own cathedral

Our tallest native tree 'most lovely of all', the stately beech creates a shaded environment that few plants can survive. John Lewis-Stempel ventures into the enchanted woods

time-read
5 分  |
October 23, 2024
All that money could buy
Country Life UK

All that money could buy

A new book explores the lost riches of London's grand houses. Its author, Steven Brindle, looks at the residences of plutocrats built by the nouveaux riches of the late-Victorian and Edwardian ages

time-read
8 分  |
October 23, 2024
In with the old
Country Life UK

In with the old

Diamonds are meant to sparkle in candlelight, but many now gather dust in jewellery boxes. To wear them today, we may need to reimagine them, as Hetty Lintell discovers with her grandmother's jewellery

time-read
5 分  |
October 23, 2024