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Agatha Christie is considered the most widespread novelist, as her works have been published extensively across ages and in all languages, and only Shakespeare's works surpassed her in sales; more than a billion copies of her novels in English have been sold, along with another billion in one hundred foreign languages. Agatha Christie wrote eighty crime novels, collections of short stories, nineteen plays, two autobiographies, and six other novels written under a pseudonym, "Mary Westmacott." She initially tried to write detective stories while working at a medical clinic during World War I, creating the legendary character "Detective Hercule Poirot" in her first novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles*. In her 1930 novel, Murder in the Mews**, she introduced the beloved detective Miss Jane Marple. Among the characters in her series are the crime-fighting team of husband and wife Tommie and Tuppence Beresford, private investigator Parker Pyne, and Scotland Yard detectives: Inspector Japp and Chief Inspector Battle. Many of Christie’s novels and short stories have been adapted into plays, movies, and TV series. One of her most famous plays is The Mousetrap, which first premiered in 1952 and holds the record for the longest-running play in theater history. Among the most famous films based on her novels are Murder on the Orient Express*** (1974) and Death on the Nile**** (1978); in both, the role of Hercule Poirot was played by "Albert Finney" and "Peter Ustinov," respectively. On television, actor "David Suchet" played Poirot in a way that is unforgettable, and actress "Joan Hickson" played Miss Marple, followed by "Geraldine McEwan" and "Julia McKenzie" in this role. Christie was first married to Archibald Christie, then married archaeologist Sir Max Mallowan, whom she accompanied on his exploratory trips to countries she used as settings in many of her novels. In 1971, Christie received one of the highest British honors when she was made a Dame of the British Empire. Christie died in 1976 at the age of eighty-five. Her 120th birthday was celebrated worldwide in 2010. Author: Agatha Christie Number of pages: 330 Jarir Bookstore editions