Agatha Christie is one of the most celebrated authors in literary history, often dubbed the “Queen of Crime.” Over her career, she penned detective novels, short story collections, and the world’s longest-running play, The Mousetrap.
Her work has sold over two billion copies worldwide, making her the best-selling fiction writer of all time. A few years before her death, the author shared which works of her own were her favourite – and a famous novel featuring the beloved detective Hercule Poirot doesn’t make the cut.
Christie is best known for her iconic fictional detectives – Poirot, the meticulous Belgian sleuth, and Miss Marple, the observant village spinster.
Poirot features in some of the most successful novels of Christie, including Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile. Yet, when asked by a fan about her own favourite books, she failed to mention the latter, a 1937 classic that, over the years, has inspired many film adaptations.
In response to a fan’s list of favourite, in 1972 Christie wrote: “My own 10 would certainly vary from time to time because every now and then I re-read an early book for some particular reason, to answer a question that has been asked me perhaps, and then I alter my opinion – sometimes thinking it is much better than I thought it was – or not so good as I had thought.”
Reflecting on some of her writing, she said And Then There Were None is one of her favourites.
The author said: “A difficult technique which was a challenge and so I enjoyed it, and I think dealt with it satisfactorily.”
But this is not the only insight she gave into her reasoning. Christie also said Murder on the Orient Express is one of her favourites. She said she liked the novel “because it was a new idea for a plot.”