A hundred years ago Agatha Christie’s first crime novel ‘The Mysterious Affairs at Styles’ hit the book stores. It had been written 4 years earlier on a dare from the author’s sister. After 6 rejections it finally found a publisher. During WW1, she had served as a hospital dispenser and had become familiar with drugs and poisons. It was the latter knowledge which she used to deadly effect in her first novel and then in many others.

The book also introduced Hercule Poirot, a well-known Belgian detective. Agatha Christie first visualised him amongst the stream of refugees from Europe during the first Great War. The foppish little man with a fetish for order and neatness. The egg-shaped head held at a slight tilt and the eyes turning green when excited. The dapper clothes and the patent leather shoes, the taste for tisane and the delicate stomach- all fleshed out the famous persona. The magnificent moustaches added to the flamboyance. But it was his reliance on ‘the little grey cells’ which captured the public imagination. Over the years, he evolved into one of the world’s great fictional characters. Hercule Poirot remains the only fictional character to be honoured by an obituary in the New York Times after ‘Curtain-Poirot’s Last Case’ was released in 1975.

‘The Murder of Roger Ackroyd’ in 1926 was that break-out book which took Christie and Poirot into the rarefied celebrity levels. It is still considered a must read for crime fiction connoisseurs. A classic village murder mystery garnished with intrigue and suspicion. The novel garnered huge acclaim due its unique narrative style and a startling denouement.

Another masterpiece featuring Poirot was the ‘Murder on the Orient Express’ which came out in 1934. The plot was inspired by the kidnapping tragedy of the baby boy of the famed American aviator Charles Lindbergh, two years earlier. Poirot’s flair for deduction makes it a journey to remember. He does not miss out on the physical evidence but it is his order and method approach and uncanny understanding of human nature that uncovers the crime.

In 1930 with ‘Murder in the Vicarage’ arrived a fascinating amateur sleuth, Miss Jane Marple. A little, old spinster from the village of St Mary’s Mead, whose insights into the comings and goings of village life and the universality of human nature facilitates the solutions to gory murders. Unnoticed and considered harmless, the old lady picks up clues and snatches of conversations and nudges the hapless police in the right direction. “Intuition,” says Miss Marple, “is like reading a word without having to spell it out.”

It is surmised that through her character Agatha Christie was taking a sly dig at the spinster stereotype which had become a recurrent theme in the UK between the wars. Women outnumbered men and single ones were seen as lonely, superfluous and sexually frustrated. Hence, the irony of an old, independent- minded spinster sleuth stepping in to right the course of the police investigation.

‘The Moving Finger’ – A flurry of poison pen letters wrecks a peaceful village life and leads on to, what else, murders. The novel has a unique Christie clue that means something different from what is normally assumed. If the reader cracks this, everything falls into place. Miss Marple appears periodically to readjust the focus and to guide the investigation.

She plays the central role in ‘4.50 from Paddington’. The fascinating premise is drawn from the fact that her friend sees a murder being committed in a passing train. “She stared out of the carriage as a man remorselessly tightened his grip on the neck of a young woman.” No body, no other eye-witnesses and no suspects- the authorities do not believe her. However, Miss Marple believes her and takes it upon herself to put together and solve this amazing crime-puzzle.

Poirot appears in 33 novels and 50+ short stories; Miss Marple in 12 books and 20 short stories. Interestingly, the former’s last case (Curtain) was actually written in the early 40’s- prompted by the devastations of war and the desire to give the detective a fitting finale. For three decades this work lay in the vaults. Likewise ‘Sleeping Murder’ with Miss Marple was published posthumously in 1976 but likely penned a couple of decades earlier.

Agatha Christie’s most celebrated book, ‘And Then There Were None’ does not showcase either sleuth. The author called it her most difficult book to conceive. Ten strangers are forced to confront their dark pasts as they are trapped on an isolated island. It becomes clear that everybody is doomed- their fate caught up in the verses of a macabre poem. There is mystery and suspense to increase the heartbeats but what stays with the reader is the sinister atmosphere.

‘The Witness for the Prosecution’ a shocking tale of lust and betrayal remains as popular as ever. This chilling short story has been reimagined for different media- stage/film/TV- starting as a radio play ‘Three Blind Mice’ with its haunting background score. The stage version won the coveted Edgar award in 1955. Released as a major film two years later, directed by Billy Wilder, it hit the BO bulls-eye and was nominated for 6 Academy awards. The film’s poster read- “You’ll talk about it. Please don’t tell the ending.”

Another Christie creation ‘The Mousetrap’ has created history as the longest running play in history. 28000 shows have been staged at London’s West End since 1952. “Nobody is what they seem,” says a character adding to the chills. Everyone is trapped inside a guesthouse in a snowstorm. There is no contact with the outside world. And the murderer is one of them. Today, watching the play has become a part of the London experience for tourists.

So, what is the secret behind the enduring appeal of her books? What makes her the Maestro of the Whodunits? Agatha Christie was a brilliant exponent in the art of misdirection but she never cheated the readers. Yes, there are red-herrings and dead ends; she had the consummate magician’s sleight of hand and adroitly played with the cards. But the reader is provided with all the information needed through deftly placed clues and conversational pointers. In ‘Towards Zero’ we are told that it was dark and raining on the night of the murder. Should it raise the antennae of the readers?!! Or is it just general narration. Readers became arm-chair detectives joining in the quest to solve the crime.

Her books are easy reads. However, her control over the plot was sublime. She completely understood the arc of the set-up, development and payoff. Although unpredictable and original, her plots were linked to a single fascinatingly clever idea. “‘After the Funeral’ does something very clever on the motive front. It offers us a two layer motive of the following sort- X committed the murder for reason Y. And why did X have reason Y as a motivation. Because of reason Z.” said Sophie Hannah-crime writer.

Her unorthodox brilliance shows up again in another class act- where she assembles a cast of characters to be at a certain place at a certain time. ‘Towards Zero’. The book cover succinctly says, “It is all part of a carefully laid plan for murder.”

Some of the cleverly devised conversations have their own undercurrents in the context of the story.  Sample this from ‘Witness for the Prosecution’, “Curious things,habits. People themselves never know they had them.” The author’s observation on human nature was acute and revealing. They added spice and depth to the narrative.

Her simple, succinct ways of stoking curiosity at the end of a chapter made many of her novels a single-sitting experience. Consider Poirot’s unusual remark in ‘The Murder of Roger Ackroyd’, “Three motives. It is almost too much. I am inclined to believe, after all, that Ralph Paton is innocent.”

Her characters were perfectly suited to the genre of books she wrote. Miss Lemon, Poirot’s secretary, with her passion for the perfect filing system, Captain Hastings, Poirot’s very own Watson, and, the good Chief Inspector Japp. Ariadne Oliver, the novelist, a delightful dig at herself as the writer. Dr Shepherd in Roger Ackroyd, the good country doctor, with his dry wit and his coaxing of Poirot out of retirement. The tyrannical Simeon Lee in Hercule Poirot’s Christmas, whose character is at the very centre of the grisly tale of murder and revenge.

But even the super successful have their critics. Agatha Christie books have been dismissed as cozy, ingenious puzzles which lack art. Others have panned her for not developing and detailing her characters as per classic literature works. Her prose has been derided as flat and functional. She was roasted in comparisons with her two contemporary writers and rivals, Margery Allingham and Dorothy Sayers.

Ahem!!! Her book sales have only been surpassed by the Holy Bible and Shakespeare’s works. A billion copies plus in English and a billion and a half in other languages. Amongst her avid readers at that time were Sigmund Freud, TS Eliot, PG Wodehouse, Queen Mary, French philosopher Roland Barthes… and the British POW’s.

Agatha Miller was born in 1890 into an upper class family in Torquay, Devon in south west England.   She was largely home-schooled and got into reading at the late age of 8. She married Colonel Archibald Christie in 1914 and they had a daughter, Rosalind. Her biggest unsolved mystery revolved around herself when she disappeared for 11 days in December 1926. More than 1000 people were involved in a nationwide search which included Arthur Conan Doyle and Dorothy Sayers. She re-appeared at a hotel where she had registered in the name of her husband’s lover. A very private person she later claimed it was amnesia. Many speculated that it was revenge against her philandering spouse whom she divorced in 1928. Some even mentioned that she had contemplated suicide but her Christian beliefs had kept her away from this sin. Does this relate with the anguished and then re-born Angus MacWhirter character in ‘Towards Zero’?

She remarried in 1930, Max Mallowan a well-known archaeologist. Her dry humour again surfaces through her comment, “An archaeologist is the best husband a woman can have. The older she gets, the more interested he is in her.” Every year she spent months with him at his digs in the Middle East getting a first-hand experience of his profession. This was beautifully presented in the ‘Murder in Mesopotamia’.

Agatha Christie became Dame Commander of the British Empire ( DBE) in 1971. Max Mallowan had been knighted in 1968.  Plaudits continued to pour in even posthumously. In 2013, ‘The Murder of Roger Ackroyd’ was voted as the finest crime novel by an association of 600 established crime writers. Two years years later ‘And Then There Were None’ was acclaimed as the World’s favourite Christie.

Sophie Hannah wrote a Christie continuation Poirot novel ‘The Monogram Murders’ in 2014. Translated into 34 languages, it made the best-seller lists in 20 countries. Such is the Agatha Christie legacy.

The 1974 film adaptation of ‘The Murder on the Orient Express’ directed by Sidney Lumet became the biggest British film grosser. ‘The Mirror Crack’d’ , a Miss Marple mystery, had Elizabeth Taylor in the role of the glamorous film star. For the latter, Agatha Christie had again turned to real life for inspiration. Influenced by the tragic story of American star, Gene Tierney, who gave birth to a disabled child after a chance meeting with a fan.

‘And Then There Were None’ had its first motion picture release in 1945. It was successfully adapted as ‘Gumnaam’  in Hindi, in 1965. It made for a sensational TV series in Russia in 1987 and by Asahi TV in Japan in 2017. Some other inspired Indian movies have been ‘Dhund’ in Hindi- ‘The Unexpected Guest’, ‘Shubho Mahurat’ in Bengali- ‘The Mirror Crack’d’  and the Malyalam film ‘GrandMaster’ – ‘ABC Murders’. ‘The Mousetrap’ has long been a favourite play for many Indian theatre groups. And her books continue to sell across Indian languages in packs of 4’s and 6’s.

The major British ITV series ‘Agatha Christie’s Poirot’ screened from 1989 to 2013. 13 blockbuster seasons with 70 episodes. Starring David Suchet in the eponymous role it became a phenomenon. Reigniting fond memories for the oldies and striking a chord with even the millennials.

So what about the constant query- Is she still relevant in this age of gritty realism and bloody gore?!! The answer- her books have never been out of print and continue to sell around 5 million copies a year. The Harper Collins contract with the Agatha Christie Ltd now extends till 2030. The global footprint keeps expanding through plays, movies and TV serials and now the OTP platform. Across peoples, races, generations and borders, Agatha Christie continues to influence, entertain and delight.

A salute to the Queen of Crime!