Agatha Christie

Writer

Name at birth: Agatha May Clarissa Miller

From the 1920s until the 1970s Agatha Christie was the world's most popular mystery author, reportedly selling more than one billion books worldwide. While other mystery authors like Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett came and went, Christie continued to turn out gentle stories of murder and detection in polite society, sometimes publishing two or three books in a year. Her two most popular detectives, Hercule Poirot and Miss Jane Marple, were featured in 30 and 12 novels, respectively. Dozens of Christie's stories became movies, most notably the star-studded 1974 film Murder on the Orient Express. In 1971 Christie was made a Dame of the British Empire for her contributions to British literature and culture.

Extra credit: Christie's play The Mousetrap has been running continuously in London's theater district since its premiere on November 25, 1952. It is now regarded as history's longest-running play.

Dame Christie stars with Amelia Earhart in our loop on famous Disappearing Acts.