An Analysis Of Agatha Christie

British’s literature is one of the biggest treasures of literary, poetry, play that famous around the world. The place that all the name like William Shakespeare, William Golding , and Philip Larkin… come from. Love story, romantic story, fantasy and fairytales are some topics that many author/writer want to write about, usually based on their personal life. Therefore, when people talk about literature, it’s only a small amount of people interested in mystery and murder stories and one of the reason is because “mystery and crime stories as we know them today did not emerge until the mid-nineteenth century when Edgar Allan Poe introduced mystery fiction’s first fictional detective, Auguste C. Dupin, in his 1841 story, “The Murders in the Rue Morgue.” The acknowledged father of the mystery story, Poe continued Dupin’s exploits in novels such as “The Mystery of Marie Roget” (1842) and “The Purloined Letter” (1845)”. (Mystery Time Line Group). Even though appeared really late in literature’s history but it coming popular quickly. And many authors became famous by writing this type of stories like Edgar Allan Poe, Dorothy L. Sayers, and according to Hack, a woman spent her entire life writing about mystery and murder Stories Agatha Christie.

It truly began in 1841 when Edgar Allan Poe introduced Monsieur C. Auguste Dupin in the short story “The Murders in the Rue Morgue”. Two women were brutally murdered in a baffling an grotesque manner, the police appear baffled, Dupin leads his own investigation and succeeds were regular authorities have failed, so getting in stone the basic of countless detective fiction novels to come (R.D Collin).

After that, many other stories, novels appeared as mystery fiction and became very famous. According to Mystery Time Line Group, Dickens Charles became popular by “Bleak House” (1853). “The Mystery of Edwin Drood” (1870), a prolific writer, Collins wrote “The Woman in White” (1860). “The Moonstone”(1868),and a brilliant Sir Arthur Conan Doyle who we know as Sherlock Holmes. Many people wonder that why crime fiction became popular so quickly. Most writer novel usually write their story, they based on real story and it difference from all other category of writing, it include many difference small stories in one big story in order to find the final answer. While reading, reader feels like they are the main character and wants to find the puzzled as soon as possible, it’s mysterious mixing with reality because it based on things that surround us.

By the 1920s British mysteries had become extremely popular, particularly the cozy, a style of mystery usually featuring “a small village setting, a hero with faintly aristocratic family connections, a plethora of red herrings and a tendency to commit homicide with sterling silver letter openers and poisons imported from Paraguay.(Murder Ink)

From a regular novel of finding puzzle, it spread out in to other category, involved more violation and sex one of them are “I, The Jury” which became one of the best selling mystery books back in those days, sold over 6 million copied and most of them are mal reader. Heavy gut and bloody mystery are interested many people too parallel with love mystery. It became more and more successful and that why mystery fiction became so famous in a short period of them. Not stopping there, crime fiction step in television and theater. “TV has provided mystery lovers with a seemingly endless stream of colorful characters over the years and into the present. Characters such as Perry Mason and Simon Templar (“The Saint”) were extremely popular during the early years of TV, followed more recently by the likes of Lieutenant Columbo (“Columbo”), Jim Rockford (“The Rockford Files”), and Jessica Fletcher (“Murder, She Wrote”), among many others.” (Mystery Time Line Group). Consequently, mystery keeping it own position of strength and dot not losing any sign of abating. Many new novels had published and it not only convinces British but fan all over the world. And speaking of famous, Christie Agatha is woman that famous by her writing and nonpareil skill.

Agatha Christie, full name was Agatha Mary Clarissa Miller. According to Janet Morgan, Agatha came from a middle class family in Torquay. In April 1878, Frederick Miller married to Clara Miller, they had three beautiful daughter together,

into this well equipped house hold, Agatha was born on September 15, 1890, she was much-loved ‘ after through’ ; her mother was thirty-six and her father was forty-four and there was a gap of eleven years between Agatha and Madge and ten years between Agatha and Madge( Morgan, 8)which mean Agatha had two older sister and she was the youngest of all. By Morgan, we know that Agatha was educated when she was young and only educated at home (19). Agatha proved that she really intelligent, interesting in book, good at cooking and singer and in her early life, Agatha dreaming of becoming nurse, Agatha said, “during her school day that she wanted to be a nurse but Mr. Miller had other ideas. She would deadly have loved her daughter become a concert pianist or a professional singer, perhaps in grand opera.”(Hack 24). When Agatha was young, she “wrote short stories and composed a collection of poems which were later publishes by Geoffrey Bles in 1925 and called The Road of Dream” (Robyns 27). Conform to Richard Hack; Agatha worked at a hospital as a nurse in the First World War. This is the point when Agatha came up with an idea to write crime fiction novel while nursing for her patients. August 1914 she met an an aviator name Archibald Christie, it’s happen to be her future husband, surprised everyone when they got married in a Christmas Eve 1914 in a local church without any preparing , ” Agatha remembering the memory, wrote ‘no bride could have taken less trouble about her appearance. No white dress, no veil, not even a smart frock. I was an ordinary coat and skirt with a small purple velvet hat.'”(Hack 59). A baby girl was born in August 5, 1919 is a result of this married, Agatha gave birth to a baby girl in her own bed room and name it Rosalind (69). According to Richard hack, Archibald Christie only came home to see the baby and Agatha for a couple hours a day and left after that. Agatha felt depressed and sad when her body changed after pregnant and the loneliness while Mr. Miller usually away from home, looking at the sad corner in her house, Agatha decided to continue her novel that she started when she was a nurse in World War 1 (70). The book names “The mysterious Affair at Styles”, it was a bid success, and The New York Times was really impressed with this book: “The only fault this story has is that it is almost too ingenious”, they wrote:

Though this may be the first published book of Miss Agatha Christie, she betrays the cunning of an old hand … You must wait for the last-but-one chapter in the book for the last link in the chain of evidence that enabled Mr. Poirot to unravel the whole complicated plot and lay the guilt where it really belonged. And you may safely make a wager with yourself that until you have heard M. Poirot’s final word on the mysterious affair at Styles; you will be kept guessing at its solution and will most certainly never lay down this most entertaining book. (New York Times)

Agatha keeping up with her writing career and thinking that this is what she love to do, she published: ” The Secret Adversary” which appeared in 1922,” Murder on the link”(1923) “the man in the brown suit “( 1924) (Robyns 48). Richard hack informed that Archie asked for a divorce in late 1926, he claims that he was falling in love with another woman and asking Agatha for a quit. Disappointing and painfully, while she still in a pain of the lost of her mother not too long ago (95). In December 1926, Agatha disappeared, the Monday morning paper wrote an article for Agatha’s manhunt:

Missing from home, the Styles, sunning dale, Berkshire, Mrs. Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, age 35; height 5 feet 7inches; hair, red, hinged part grey; complexion, fair, built slight, dressed in grey stockinet skirt, green, jumper, grey and dark cardigan and small velour hat; wearing a platinum ring with on pearl; no wedding ring; black handbag with purse containing perhaps L5 or L 10. Left home by car at 9:45 P.M. Friday leaving note saying that she was going for a drive ( Robyns 66)

” Fifteen thousand fans join police from four counties looking for Agatha” ( Robyns 67), she appeared three week later in Swan Hydropathic Hotel in Harrogate, she claimed that she has loss her memories and do not remember anything happen before. According to Gwen, the doctor had diagnosed her as suffering from amnesia, typical case of mental reprisal, a person got hurt from someone or some impact event that affected them. In this case, it might be the depressing of losing her mother and the betrayed of her husband that made Agatha decided to disappear for a short period of time. It’s difficult for Agatha Christy to recovery after all things happen so she decided to ” take a long holiday and choose the West Indies”( Robyns 91) to distress and find a new source of inspiration for her next book. On this trip, she met Max Mallowan, an archaeologist, who Agatha spent the rest 45 year of her life with.

On September 11, 1930, Mrs. Agatha Christie and Professor Max Mallowan were married quietly in Edinburgh to avoid the sensation that it would have caused in London press. The ceremony took place at St. Cuthbert’s church in the district of St. Giles with her daughter and two secretaries, Charlotte and Mary Fisher, as witness. ( Robyns 94).

After married Agatha Christie returned to write book and success after success. Agatha got ideas from things she saw and turned to novels, masterpieces. Christie wrote the first novel ” The Mysterious Affair at Styles” , got an idea when she was a nurse in a hospital in World War I, and the plot of the story was base on World War I. “The Murder of Roger Ackroyd” was finish during the death of her mother and a divorce with her ex husband. She translate her sadness in to the story and “The Murder of Roger Ackroyd” became one of the most selling book in Agatha Christie career, it “place Agatha Christie at the top of her profession… the un disputed Queen of crime”(Robyns 53). Agatha love it and know this is what she love and something that she will keep doing till the rest of her life.

12 January 1976 ” In St. MARY’S CHURCHYARD, Cholsey, Berkshire, forty seven miles west of London, lies Lady Mallowan- Dame Agatha Christie- who was known to millions of people throughout the world as the Queen of Crime, as she prefer, the Duchess of Death.”(Robyns 3)

According to Gwen Robyns, Agatha Christie has the most unique style of writing story, she doesn’t base on and literature rule and still turn it into many wonderful novels. A lot of professor study about Agatha Christie’s writing. Like Professor Behr proved that the way her character say maybe misleading or false but on the other hand, it real and true, really inevitable (189). People wonder if she used that character from real life. Agatha replied:

No, I don’t. I invent them. They are mine. They’ve got to be my character- doing what I want them to do, being what I want them to be- coming alive for me, having their own ides sometimes, but only because I’ve made them become real. (Robyn 190)

Like she said she Agatha Christie had no ambition to create a literary style, she uses her own world as her own strength. Her stories use easy language, easy to understand, that helps reader have a way to connect to the character and make it real. She put so much effort in to what’s she doing. In order to write a book, she has to work through all winter, and spring to be able to publish in September. Agatha said: “you must decide what kind of style you want to work in and then read book that have a same style.” (Robyns 197) “People think that writing is much easy for me. It ‘isn’t. It’s murder.” (197). Even though Agatha think she can’t write but the fans still cannot find a small mistake in her ingenious writing. Mr. Max Mallowan shard with reader about his wife’s writing style:

My wife always wrote the last chapter first. In this way she was able to gather up all the clues and nearly tie parcel. It was only after she had done this that she went back to the beginning and worked her way through.(Robyns 195)

Agatha unique writing style is incredible, she thought of some ideas that people would never thought of. Like “Murder on the Orient Express”, the victim got murder while walking to the gas station and the last seem reader knew before he death that he was looking at a back of the woman wearing kimono ( Christie 38). In “Murder with Mirror” by Christie, she created many character in order to trick viewer by thinking there would be a multiple choice of murderer. Most of the time the answer will review in the very end of the story and it always surprise fans. Creative, ingenious, incredible still not a word that we can describe Agatha Christie’s works.

People got blow away while reading to her books, follow every step that Mr. Hercule Poirot make who is an imagine character made by Mrs. Christie. According to Janet Morgan, he appeared in 33 of Christie’s novels and 54 short stories (108) became the most famous character made by the “Crime Queen”. “She named her detective Hercule Poirot for no particular reason.” (Hack 64). Even though Agatha Christie is a very famous writer, but she still read and discovered about crime fiction by looking up other famous author. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is one of the them, Agatha read and learn that if she want her book to be famous and unique, she need to created some one that creative and as smart as the most famous detective of the day, Sherlock Holmes and his friend Dr. John H. Watson, and that is how Hercule Poirot was born (64) go along with his friend Captain Hasting. Poirot was Agatha biggest “child”, followed her through her life. According to Hack, in 1975, Agatha released “the held Poirot manuscript titled Curtain”( 229) to make an end for Poirot, it sold more than one hundred twenty thousand copies.

Fans of Hercule Poirot were visibly moved by the book which found him now crippled with pain ,and, on the last page of the novel, he said farewell to his friend Captain Hasting.( Hack 229)

Another famous character that created by Christie is a woman name Jane Marple. According to Hack she Miss Marple was introduced in the short stories, “The Tuesday Night Club” establishes 1928; “Murder at the Vicarage” in 1930, she name Miss Marple after the Maple Hall during visited her sister and this character was dedicated to her only daughter Rosalind (131). “Agatha never forgot the graceful decay she saw at this once fine house and name Jane Marple in its honor.”The Tuesday Night Club”, “Murder at the Vicarage” gave Agatha a critical success goes along with some book like: ‘”The Murder of Roger Ackroyd” (1926), “Murder on the Orient Express” (1934), and “Death on the Nile” (1937).’ ( Mystery Time Line group).

In Miss Marple, Agatha found a spirit whose observations she enjoy creating. The character herself was a spin-off from Caroline Sheppard, a spinster in The Murder of Roger Ackroyd.

Agatha Christie had fun and interested with this character, Miss Marple gave Agatha many success in short stories category. Like Poirot, Agatha gave Miss Marple an end in the book Sleeping Murder and it was a gift for her love Max, “while Rosalind was given Curtain, the final case for Hercule Poirot.” (Hack 163)

“Agatha Christie wrote ninety-four books all told and was translated into 103 languages, 14 more than Shake Speare. She wrote eighty-three detective stories, six straight novels (under the pseudonym of Mary Wesrmacott), one book of reminiscences, two of poems, and her autobiography. Four hundred million copies of her book have already been sold and there is no sign of a decline in sale.” (Robyns 3)Agatha is truly a legend of crime fiction, the “queen of crime “like people use to call her. Murder/crime fiction come a long way and still developing itself. Agatha Christie, a name that we’ll never forget she gave her all and never want much for herself. She left behind so many great novel and wonderful art work and she will always be the most popular mystery writer of all time. Because like she said: “I did not have to be polite when saying that I could see no limit to the popularity of my story” ( Robyns 200)