Agatha Christie (1890-1976) was an English novelist and playwright whose work became central to the development of modern detective fiction. Over the course of a career spanning more than five decades, she published sixty-six detective novels, numerous short story collections, and the long-running play The Mousetrap.Christie created enduring fictional detectives including Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple, whose investigations combined intricate plotting with close observation of social character. Her novels are noted for their structural precision, carefully controlled revelation of evidence, and exploration of motive within domestic and social settings.Translated into more than one hundred languages and widely adapted for stage and screen, Christie remains one of the most widely read authors of the twentieth century. Her work continues to shape the conventions of mystery fiction and occupies a permanent place in the history of popular literature.
