Agatha Christie

An English author from Torquay, Devon, Agatha Christie remains one of the best-selling novelists of all time. She wrote 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, along with the world's longest-running play, The Mousetrap. Christie created the famous detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. Her books have sold roughly two billion copies, placing her in the Guinness World Records.

Born in 1890, she began writing as a young woman and published her first novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, in 1920. Over the next five decades, she produced an impressive body of work, including romances under the pen name Mary Westmacott. Her plots often featured clever twists and surprising conclusions.

Christie's personal life included service as a volunteer nurse during World War I, where she learned about poisons, a knowledge she used in many stories. She died in 1976 at the age of 85, leaving a literary legacy that continues to captivate readers.