Girl Friday: Agatha Christie

Agatha Christie (1890 - 1976) is the biggest-selling author other than Shakespeare and the authors of the Bible. 2 billion copies of her books have been sold, half of those in English, and half translated into other languages.

She didn't put a huge amount of description or emotion into her writing. The important thing about her books is the structure. A lot of them are based on Nursery Rhymes, for example.

Who else could write a book set on an island which no-one can get onto or leave, and where, one by one, everyone dies, but even after the last person is dead you are still left wondering which of them was the killer?

I'm referring to her book "And Then There Were None", which was the first of hers I read as a teenager, and again recently (in Greek translation this time). I can't go into too much detail about any of her stories, since it's important not to spoil the mystery for anyone who might want to read them.

I finished "Endless Night" recently, and whilst reading it tried to think of the least likely murderers, and who it might be. But even though I've read plenty of her books, I had not even considered the actual villain! She had me again, hook line and sinker.

She was an expert in poisons, having worked in a pharmacy, so a lot of her victims are killed that way. She created several famous characters, one of whom will make an appearance on this blog before too long.

So, there's a reason that she's notched up 2 billion sales. Her books are fantastic.