Major Awards and Honors
Titles of the British Empire
- 1971: Dame Commander of the British Empire
Edgar (Allan Poe) Awards
- 1955: Grand Master Award – Lifetime Achievement (first ever Grand Master Edgar Award)
Anthony Awards
- 2000: Best Series of the Century – "Hercule Poirot"
- 2000: Best Writer of the Century
Agatha Christie
(1890 – 1976)
Bibliography
Hercule Poirot Mysteries
- The Mysterious Affair at Styles (1920)
Poirot and Hastings.
- The Murder on the Links (1923)
Poirot and Hastings.
- Poirot Investigates (1924)
Short stories; all originally published in the magazine The Sketch throughout 1923.
Poirot and Hastings.
- The Adventure of the Western Star
- The Tragedy at Marsdon Manor
- The Adventure of the Cheap Flat
- The Mystery of Hunter's Lodge
- The Million Dollar (Bond) Bank Robbery
- The Adventure of the Egyptian Tomb
- The Jewel Robbery at the Grand Metropolitan
- The Kidnapped Prime Minister
- The Disappearance of Mr. Davenheim
- The Adventure of the Italian Nobleman
- The Case of the Missing Will
- The Veiled Lady
Also contained in Poirot's Early Cases (1974).
- The Lost Mine
Also contained in Poirot's Early Cases (1974).
- The Chocolate Box
Also contained in Poirot's Early Cases (1974).
- The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (1926)
Adapted for the stage under the title Alibi by Michael Morton (1928).
- The Big Four (1927)
Poirot and Hastings.
- The Mystery of the Blue Train (1928)
- The Underdog and Other Stories (1929)
Short stories; originally published in various magazines. Except for the 1926 title story, all from 1923 and later republished in Poirot's Early Cases (1974).
Poirot and Hastings (all).
- The Underdog (1926)
Also contained in The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding (1960).
- The Plymouth Express
- The Affair at the Victory Ball (1923)
- The Market Basing Mystery (1923)
- The Lemesurier Inheritance (1923)
- The Cornish Mystery (1923)
- The King of Clubs (1923)
- The Submarine Plans (1923)
- The Adventure of the Clapham Cook (1923)
- Peril at End House (1932)
Adapted for the stage by Arold Ridley (1940).
Poirot and Hastings.
- Lord Edgeware Dies (1933)
A/K/A: Thirteen at Dinner
Poirot and Hastings.
- Three-Act Tragedy (1934)
A/K/A: Murder in Three Acts
Poirot and Satterthwaite.
- Murder on the Orient Express (1934)
A/K/A: Murder on the Calais Coach
- Death in the Clouds (1935)
A/K/A: Death in the Air
- The ABC Murders (1935)
A/K/A: The Alphabet Murders
Poirot and Hastings.
- Murder in Mesopotamia (1936)
- Cards on the Table (1936)
Adapted for the stage by Leslie Darbon (1981).
Poirot, Ariadne Oliver, Superintendent Battle and Colonel Race.
- Dumb Witness (1937)
A/K/A: Poirot Loses a Client, Murder at Littlegreen House and The Mystery at Littlegreen House.
Poirot and Hastings.
- Death on the Nile (1937)
Adapted for the stage by Christie under the title Murder on the Nile (1946).
Poirot and Colonel Race.
- Murder in the Mews (1937)
A/K/A: Dead Man's Mirror
– Short stories.
- Dead Man's Mirror
A/K/A: Hercule Poirot and the Broken Mirror; expansion of the nonseries short storyThe Second Gong from The Witness for the Prosecution and Other Stories (1948).
- The Incredible Theft
- Murder in the Mews
A/K/A: Good Night for a Murder
- The Triangle at Rhodes
A/K/A: Before It's Too Late and Double Alibi
- Hercule Poirot's Christmas (1938)
A/K/A: Murder for Christmas and A Holiday for Murder.
- Appointment with Death (1938)
Adapted for the stage by Christie in 1945.
- Sad Cypress (1939)
- One, Two, Buckle My Shoe (1940)
A/K/A: The Patriotic Murders and An Overdose of Death.
- Evil Under the Sun (1941)
- Five Little Pigs (1941)
A/K/A: Murder in Retrospect
Adapted for the stage by Christie in 1960.
- The Hollow (1946)
A/K/A: Murder After Hours
Adapted for the stage by Christie in 1951.
- The Labors of Hercules (1947)
Short stories.
- How It All Came About
- The Nemean Lion
- The Lernean Hydra
- The Arcadian Deer
- The Erymanthian Boar
- The Augean Stables
- The Stymphalean Birds
- The Cretan Bull
- The Horses of Diomedes
- The Girdle of Hippolyta
- The Flock of Geryon
- The Apples of the Hesperides
- The Capture of Cerberus
- Taken at the Flood (1948)
A/K/A: There is a Tide
- Mrs. McGinty's Dead (1952)
A/K/A: Blood Will Tell
Poirot and Ariadne Oliver.
- After the Funeral (1953)
A/K/A: Funerals Are Fatal
- Hickory, Dickory, Dock (1955)
A/K/A: Hickory, Dickory, Death
- Dead Man's Folly (1956)
Poirot and Ariadne Oliver.
- Cat Among the Pigeons (1959)
- The Clocks (1963)
Features Superintendent Battle's son Colin Lamb.
- Third Girl (1966)
- Hallowe'en Party (1969)
Poirot and Ariadne Oliver.
- Elephants Can Remember (1972)
Poirot and Ariadne Oliver.
- Poirot's Early Cases (1974)
Short stories; originally published in magazines.
- The Affair at the Victory Ball (1923)
Also contained in The Underdog and Other Stories (1929).
Poirot and Hastings.
- The Adventure of the Clapham Cook (1923)
Also contained in The Underdog and Other Stories (1929).
Poirot and Hastings.
- The Cornish Mystery (1923)
Also contained in The Underdog and Other Stories (1929).
Poirot and Hastings.
- The Adventure of Johnny Waverly
A/K/A: At the Stroke of Twelve; also contained in Three Blind Mice and Other Stories (1950).
Poirot and Hastings.
- The Double Clue (1923)
Also contained in Double Sin and Other Stories (1961).
Poirot and Hastings.
- The King of Clubs (1923)
Also contained in The Underdog and Other Stories (1929).
Poirot and Hastings.
- The Lemesurier Inheritance (1923)
Also contained in The Underdog and Other Stories (1929).
Poirot and Hastings.
- The Lost Mine (1923)
Also contained in Poirot Investigates (1924).
Poirot and Hastings.
- The Plymouth Express (1923)
Also contained in The Underdog and Other Stories (1929).
Poirot and Hastings.
- The Chocolate Box (1923)
Also contained in Poirot Investigates (1924).
Poirot and Hastings.
- The Submarine Plans (1923)
Also contained in The Underdog and Other Stories (1929).
Poirot and Hastings.
- The Third Floor Flat
Also contained in Three Blind Mice and Other Stories (1950).
- Double Sin (1928)
A/K/A: By Road or Rail; also contained in Double Sin and Other Stories (1961).
Poirot and Hastings.
- The Market Basing Mystery (1923)
Also contained in The Underdog and Other Stories (1929).
Poirot and Hastings.
- Wasp's Nest (1928)
Also contained in Double Sin and Other Stories (1961).
Poirot and Hastings.
- The Veiled Lady (1923)
Also contained in Poirot Investigates (1924).
Poirot and Hastings.
- Problem at Sea (1936)
A/K/A: Poirot and the Crime in Cabin 66 and The Quickness of the Hand; also contained in The Regatta Mystery and Other Stories (1939).
- How Does Your Garden Grow? (1935)
Also contained in The Regatta Mystery and Other Stories (1939).
- Curtain (1975)
Poirot and Hastings.
- Hercule Poirot's Casebook (1984)
Collection of all Poirot short stories; published posthumously.
Miss Marple Mysteries
- The Murder at the Vicarage (1930)
Adapted for the stage by Moie Charles and Barbara Toy (1949).
- The Thirteen Problems (1932)
A/K/A: The Tuesday Club Murders
– Short stories.
- The Tuesday Night Club
- The Idol House of Astarte
- Ingots of Gold
- The Bloodstained Pavement
- Motive v. Opportunity
- The Thumbmark of St. Peter
- The Blue Geranium
- The Companion
- Four Suspects
- A Christmas Tragedy
- The Herb of Death
- The Affair at the Bungalow
- Death by Drowning
- The Body in the Library (1942)
- The Moving Finger (1942)
- A Murder is Announced (1950)
Adapted for the stage by Christie; play first published 1977.
- They Do It with Mirrors (1952)
A/K/A: Murder with Mirrors
- A Pocket Full of Rye (1953)
- 4:50 from Paddington (1957)
A/K/A: What Mrs. McGillicuddy Saw! and Murder, She Said
- The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side (1962)
A/K/A: The Mirror Crack'd
- A Caribbean Mystery (1965)
- At Bertram's Hotel (1965)
- Nemesis (1971)
- Sleeping Murders (1976)
- Miss Marple's Final Cases and Two Other Stories (1979)
Short stories; republished posthumously.
- Sanctuary (1954)
A/K/A: The Man on the Chancel Steps; also contained in Double Sin and Other Stories (1961).
- Strange Jest
Also contained in Three Blind Mice and Other Stories (1950).
- The Tape-Measure Murder
Also contained in Three Blind Mice and Other Stories (1950).
- The Case of the Caretaker
Also contained in Three Blind Mice and Other Stories (1950).
- The Case of the Perfect Maid
Also contained in Three Blind Mice and Other Stories (1950).
- Miss Marple Tells a Story (1939)
Also contained in The Regatta Mystery and Other Stories (1939).
- The Dressmaker's Doll (1954)
Also contained in Double Sin and Other Stories (1961).
Nonseries story.
- In a Glass, Darkly (1934)
Also contained in The Regatta Mystery and Other Stories (1939).
Nonseries story.
- Miss Marple: The Complete Short Stories (1985)
Collection of all Miss Marple short stories; published posthumously.
Tommy & Tuppence Beresford Mysteries
- The Secret Adversary (1922)
- Partners in Crime (1922)
Short stories.
- A Fairy in the Flat
- A Pot of Tea
- The Affair of the Pink Pearl
- The Affair of the Sinister Stranger
- Finessing the King
- The Gentleman Dressed in Newspaper
- The Case of the Missing Lady
- Blindman's Bluff
- The Man in the Mist
- The Crackler
- The Sunningdale Mystery
- The House of the Lurking Death
- The Unbreakable Alibi
- The Clergyman's Daughter
- The Red House
- The Ambassador's Boots
- The Man Who Was Number 16
- N or M? (1941)
- By the Pricking of My Thumbs (1968)
- Postern of Fate (1973)
Superintendent Battle Mysteries
- The Secret of Chimneys (1925)
- The Seven Dials Mystery (1929)
- Murder Is Easy (1939)
A/K/A: Easy to Kill
Adapted for the stage by Clive Exton (1993).
- Towards Zero (1944)
A/K/A: Come and Be Hanged
Adapted for the stage by Agatha Christie and Gerald Verner in 1956.
Colonel Race Mysteries
- The Man in the Brown Suit (1924)
- Sparkling Cyanide (1945)
A/K/A: Remembered Death.
Expansion of the 1937 Poirot short story Yellow Iris, contained in The Regatta Mystery and Other Stories (1939).
Quin & Satterthwaite Mysteries
- The Mysterious Mr. Quin (1930)
Short stories.
- The Coming of Mr. Quin
- The Shadow on the Glass
- At the Bells and Morley
- The Sign in the Sky
- The Soul of the Croupier
- The World's End
- The Voice in the Dark
- The Face of Helen
- The Dead Harlequin
- The Bird With the Broken Wings
- The Man From the Sea
- Harlequin's Lane
Parker Pyne Mysteries
- Mr. Parker Pyne, Detective (1934)
A/K/A: Parker Pyne Investigates
– Short stories.
- The Case of the Middle-Aged Wife
- The case of the Discontented Soldier
- The Case of the Distressed Lady
- The Case of the Discontented Husband
- The Case of the City Clerk
- The Case of the Rich Woman
- Have You Got Everything You Want?
- The Gate of Baghdad
- The House at Shiraz
- The Pearl of Price
- Death on the Nile
No connection with the Poirot novel of the same name.
- The Oracle at Delphi
Short Story Collections Featuring Several Different Detectives
- The Regatta Mystery and Other Stories (1939)
First published in various magazines.
- The Regatta Mystery (1939)
Parker Pyne.
- The Mystery of the Baghdad Chest (1932)
Expanded into The Mystery of the Spanish Chest, contained in the collection The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding (1960).
Poirot and Hastings.
- How Does Your Garden Grow? (1935)
Also contained in Poirot's Early Cases (1974)
Poirot.
- The Problem at Pollensa Bay (1936)
Parker Pyne.
- Yellow Iris (1937)
A/K/A: Hercule Poirot and the Sixth Chair
Adapted by Christie as a radio play in 1937; later expanded into the 1945 Colonel Race novelSparkling Cyanide, A/K/A: Remembered Death.
Poirot.
- Miss Marple Tells a Story (1939)
Also contained in Miss Marple's Final Cases and Two Other Stories (1979).
Miss Marple.
- The Dream (1937)
A/K/A: The Three Strange Points; also contained in The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding (1960)
Poirot.
- In a Glass, Darkly (1934)
Also contained in Miss Marple's Final Cases and Two Other Stories (1979).
Nonseries story.
- Problem at Sea (1936)
A/K/A: Poirot and the Crime in Cabin 66 and The Quickness of the Hand; also contained in Poirot's Early Cases (1974)
Poirot.
- Three Blind Mice and Other Stories (1950)
- Three Blind Mice
Adapted into Christie's play The Mousetrap (radio 1947, stage 1952).
Nonseries story.
- Strange Jest
Also contained in Miss Marple's Final Cases and Two Other Stories (1979).
Miss Marple.
- The Tape-Measure Murder
Also contained in Miss Marple's Final Cases and Two Other Stories (1979).
Miss Marple.
- The Case of the Perfect Maid
Also contained in Miss Marple's Final Cases and Two Other Stories (1979).
Miss Marple.
- The Case of the Caretaker
Also contained in Miss Marple's Final Cases and Two Other Stories (1979).
Miss Marple.
- The Third Floor Flat
Also contained in Poirot's Early Cases (1974).
Poirot.
- The Adventure of Johnny Waverly
A/K/A: At the Stroke of Twelve; also contained in Poirot's Early Cases (1974).
Poirot and Hastings.
- Four and Twenty Blackbirds
A/K/A: Poirot and the Regular Customer; also contained in The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding (1960).
Poirot.
- The Love Detectives (1926)
A/K/A: At the Crossroads; first published in a magazine.
Quin & Satterthwaite.
- The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding (1960)
- The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding
Expansion of the 1923 story The Theft of the Royal Ruby (see Double Sin and Other Stories, 1961), A/K/A: The Christmas Adventure (see While the Lights Last and Other Stories, 1997).
Poirot and Hastings.
- The Mystery of the Spanish Chest
Expansion of The Mystery of the Baghdad Chest (1932), contained in The Regatta Mystery and Other Stories, 1939).
Poirot and Hastings.
- The Underdog (1926)
Also contained in The Underdog and Other Stories (1929).
Poirot and Hastings.
- Four and Twenty Blackbirds
A/K/A: Poirot and the Regular Customer; also contained in Three Blind Mice and Other Stories (1950).
Poirot.
- The Dream (1937)
A/K/A: The Three Strange Points; also contained in The Regatta Mystery and Other Stories (1939).
Poirot.
- Greenshaw's Folly
Also contained in Double Sin and Other Stories (1961).
Miss Marple.
- Double Sin and Other Stories (1961)
In part originally published in various magazines.
- Double Sin (1928)
A/K/A: By Road or Rail; also contained in Poirot's Early Cases (1974).
Poirot and Hastings.
- Wasp's Nest (1928)
Also contained in Poirot's Early Cases (1974).
Poirot and Hastings.
- The Theft of the Royal Ruby (1923)
A/K/A: The Christmas Adventure (see While the Lights Last and Other Stories, 1997); expanded into The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding (title story of the 1960 collection of the same name).
Poirot and Hastings.
- The Dressmaker's Doll (1954)
Also contained in Miss Marple's Final Cases and Two Other Stories (1979).
Nonseries story.
- Greenshaw's Folly
Also contained in The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding (1960)
Miss Marple.
- The Double Clue (1923)
Also contained in Poirot's Early Cases (1974).
Poirot and Hastings.
- The Last Séance (1933)
Also contained in The Hound of Death and Other Stories (1933).
Nonseries story.
- Sanctuary (1954)
A/K/A: The Man on the Chancel Steps; also contained in Miss Marple's Final Cases and Two Other Stories (1979)
Miss Marple.
- While the Lights Last and Other Stories (1997)
A/K/A The Harlequin Tea Set and Other Stories
Short stories; originally published in magazines; posthumously compiled and republished in book form.
- The House of Dreams (1926)
Nonseries story.
- The Actress (1923)
A/K/A A Trap for the Unwary
Nonseries story.
- The Edge (1927)
Nonseries story.
- The Christmas Adventure (1923)
A/K/A The Theft of the Royal Ruby (see Double Sin and Other Stories, 1961); expanded into The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding (title story of the 1960 collection of the same name)
Poirot and Hastings.
- The Lonely God (1926)
Nonseries story.
- Manx Gold (1930)
Nonseries story.
- Within a Wall (1925)
Nonseries story.
- The Mystery of the Spanish Chest
Originally contained under this title in the collection The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding (1960); expansion of The Mystery of the Baghdad Chest (1932), contained in The Regatta Mystery and Other Stories (1939).
– Poirot and Hastings.
- While the Light Lasts (1923)
Nonseries story.
- The Harlequin Tea Set (1971)
Quin and Satterthwaite.
Nonseries Books
- The Sittaford Mystery (1931)
- The Hound of Death and Other Stories (1933)
Short stories; in part originally published in magazines.
- The Hound of Death
Also contained in The Witness for the Prosecution (1948) and The Golden Ball and Other Stories (1971). Adapted for the stage by Christie in 1953.
- The Red Signal (1924)
Also contained in The Witness for the Prosecution and Other Stories (1948).
- The Fourth Man (1925)
Also contained in The Witness for the Prosecution and Other Stories (1948).
- The Gypsy
Also contained in The Golden Ball and Other Stories (1971).
- The Lamp
Also contained in The Golden Ball and Other Stories (1971).
- Wireless (1926)
A/K/A: Where There's a Will; also contained in The Witness for the Prosecution and Other Stories (1948).
- The Witness for the Prosection
Also contained in The Witness for the Prosecution and Other Stories (1948); adapted for the stage by Christie in 1953.
- The Mystery of the Blue Jar
- The Strange Case of Sir Arthur Carmichael
Also contained in The Golden Ball and Other Stories (1971).
- The Call of Wings
Also contained in The Golden Ball and Other Stories (1971).
- The Last Séance (1933)
Also contained in Double Sin and Other Stories (1961).
- S.O.S. (1926)
Also contained in The Witness for the Prosecution and Other Stories (1948).
- The Listerdale Mystery and Other Stories (1934)
Short stories; in part originally published in magazines.
- The Listerdale Mystery (1925)
A/K/A: The Benevolent Butler; also contained in The Golden Ball and Other Stories (1971).
- Philomel Cottage (1924)
Also contained in The Witness for the Prosecution and Other Stories (1948); adapted for the stage under the name Love From A Stranger by Frank Vosper (1936).
- The Girl in the Train (1924)
Also contained in The Golden Ball and Other Stories (1971).
- Sing a Song of Sixpence
Also contained in The Witness for the Prosecution and Other Stories (1948).
- The Manhood of Edward Robinson (1924)
A/K/A: The Day of His Dreams; also contained in The Golden Ball and Other Stories (1971).
- The Accident
Also contained in The Witness for the Prosecution and Other Stories (1948).
- Jane in Search of a Job (1924)
Also contained in The Golden Ball and Other Stories (1971).
- A Fruitful Sunday
Also contained in The Golden Ball and Other Stories (1971).
- Mr. Eastwood's Adventure (1924)
A/K/A: The Mystery of the Spanish Shawl and The Mystery of the Second Cucumber
- The Golden Ball
- The Rajah's Emerald (1926)
Also contained in The Golden Ball and Other Stories (1971).
- Swan Song (1926)
Also contained in The Golden Ball and Other Stories (1971).
- Why Didn't They Ask Evans (1934)
A/K/A: The Boomerang Clue
- And Then There Were None (1939)
A/K/A: Ten Little Indians
Adapted for the stage by Christie under the title Ten Little Indians (1943).
- Death Comes as the End (1945)
- The Witness for the Prosecution and Other Stories (1948)
Short stories; republication of stories from other collections.
From The Hound of Death and Other Stories (1933):
- The Witness for the Prosecution
Adapted for the stage by Christie in 1953.
- The Hound of Death
- The Red Signal (1924)
- The Fourth Man (1925)
- Wireless (1926)
A/K/A: Where There's a Will
- S.O.S. (1926)
From The Listerdale Mystery and Other Stories (1934):
- The Mystery of the Blue Jar
- Philomel Cottage (1924)
Adapted for the stage under the name Love From A Stranger by Frank Vosper (1936).
- The Accident
- Sing a Song of Sixpence
Other:
- The Second Gong
Expanded into the Poirot short story Dead Man's Mirror, A/K/A: Hercule Poirot and the Broken Mirror, in Murder in the Mews (1937).
- The Crooked House (1949)
- They Came to Baghdad (1951)
- Destination Unknown (1954)
A/K/A: So Many Steps to Death
- Ordeal by Innocence (1958)
- The Pale Horse (1961)
Features Ariadne Oliver.
- Endless Night (1967)
- Passenger to Frankfort (1970)
- The Golden Ball and Other Stories (1971)
Short stories; originally published in magazines and largely also contained in other short story collections.
From The Listerdale Mystery (1925):
- The Listerdale Mystery (1925)
A/K/A: The Benevolent Butler
- The Girl in the Train (1924)
- The Manhood of Edward Robinson (1924)
A/K/A: The Day of His Dreams
- Jane in Search of a Job (1924)
- The Rajah's Emerald (1926)
- A Fruitful Sunday
- Swan Song (1926)
From The Hound of Death and Other Stories (1933):
- The Hound of Death
- The Gypsy
- The Lamp
- The Strange Case of Sir Arthur Carmichael
- The Call of Wings
Not contained in other collections:
- The Golden Ball (1934)
- Magnolia Blossom (1926)
- Next to a Dog
Plays
- Black Coffee (1930)
Novelized by Charles Osborne (1998).
- The Wasp's Nest (1937)
TV play.
- The Yellow Iris (1937)
Radio play; adaptation of the 1937 short story of the same name contained in The Regatta Mystery and Other Stories (1939).
- A Daughter's a Daughter (1937 – 1939)
Adapted into the 1952 novel written under the pseudonym of Mary Westmacott.
- Ten Little Indians (1943)
Adaptation of the 1939 nonseries novel And Then There Were None.
- Appointment with Death (1945)
Adaptation of the 1938 Poirot novel of the same name.
- Murder on the Nile (1946)
Adaptation of the 1937 Poirot/Colonel Race novel Death on the Nile.
- The Mousetrap (1947)
Originally written as a radio play called Three Blind Mice; adapted for the stage and renamed in 1952. Based on the nonseries story Three Blind Mice, the title story of the 1950 collection of the same name.
- Butter in a Lordly Dish (1948)
Radio play.
- The Hollow (1951)
Adaptation of the 1946 Poirot novel of the same name.
- The Witness for the Prosecution (1953)
Adaptation of the short story of the same name from The Hound of Death and Other Stories (1933).
- Spider's Web (1954)
Novelized by Charles Osborne (2000).
- Towards Zero (1956)
Adaptation (co-written by Gerald Verner) of the 1944 Superintendent Battle novel of the same name.
- Verdict (1958)
- The Unexpected Guest (1958)
Novelized by Charles Osborne (1999).
- Go Back for Murder (1960)
Adaptation of the 1941 Poirot novel Five Little Pigs.
- Personal Call (1960)
Radio play.
- Rule of Three (1962)
- Afternoon at the Seaside
- The Patient
- The Rats
- Fiddlers Three (1972)
Adaptation of Christie's unpublished play Fiddlers Five.
- Akhnaton (1973)
- A Murder is Announced (1977)
Adaptation of the 1950 Miss Marple novel of the same name.
- The Mousetrap and Other Plays (2000)
- The Mousetrap
- Ten Little Indians
- Witness for the Prosecution
- Appointment With Death
- The Hollow
- Go Back for Murder
- Verdict
Other Works As Agatha Christie
- The Road of Dreams (1924)
Poetry.
- Poems (1973)
- An Autobiography (1977)
Writing as Agatha Christie Mallowan
- Come, Tell Me How You Live (1946)
- Star Over Bethlehem (1965)
Poems and children's stories.
Writing as Mary Westmacott
- Giant's Bread (1930)
- Unfinished Portrait (1934)
- Absent in the Spring (1944)
- The Rose and the Yew Tree (1948)
- A Daughter's a Daughter (1952)
Adapted from Christie's 1937 – 1939 play.
- The Burden (1956)
Themis-Athena's Reviews
Miss Marple:
The Complete Short Stories
Dear Aunt Jane's Shorter Cases
"Miss Marple insinuated herself so quickly into my life that I hardly noticed her arrival," Agatha Christie
wrote in her posthumously-published autobiography (1977) about the elderly lady who, next to Belgian
super-sleuth Hercule Poirot, quickly became one of her most beloved characters. Somewhat resembling Christie's
own grandmother and her friends, although "far more fussy and spinsterish" and "not in any way a picture"
of the author's granny, like her, she had a certain gift for prophecy and, "though a cheerful person, she
always expected the worst of everyone and everything, and was, with almost frightening accuracy, usually
proved right."
Although Christie herself considered Miss Marple her favorite creation – preferred even over the
prim and proper Belgian with the many "little grey cells," of whose exploits she occasionally tired and whom
she brought back again and again chiefly because of her audience's undying demand – there are only
twelve Miss Marple novels and twenty short stories: while no small feat in any other author's body of work,
just over one tenth of the lifetime output of the writer justifiedly dubbed The Queen of Crime.
This compilation unites the twenty short stories revolving around St. Mary Mead's elderly village sleuth,
beginning with the canon of originally six and, after an expansion for republication in book form, later
thirteen stories which, in addition to the novel "A Murder at the Vicarage" (1930) introduced Miss Marple
to the world; a series of unsolved problems told by her guests one Tuesday night, to be followed by six
further problems narrated during a similar gathering at the home of village squire Colonel Bantry and his
wife Dolly, about a year later. In attendance on those two nights are a number of people who make recurring
appearances next to Miss Marple; first and foremost her doting nephew – thriller novelist Raymond West
– and retired Scotland Yard Commissioner Sir Henry Clithering, as well as village solicitor Petherick,
and of course the Bantrys (who will move center stage, much to their embarrassment, in "A Body in the Library,"
1942); furthermore Raymond's new flame, artist Joyce (later reincarnated as his wife Joan), a doctor, a
clergyman, and a well-known actress. Later stories also feature appearances of Miss Marple's niece Diana
"Bunch" Harmon, married to the vicar of Chipping Cleghorn, a village not unlike St. Mary Mead (see "A Murder
Is Announced," 1950), St. Mary Mead's Dr. Haydock, several maids called Gladys, as well as Inspectors Slack
and Craddock and Colonel Melchett of Melchester C.I.D. and village Constable Palk; and of course the usual
cast of other unique characters, many of whom could just as well figure in one of the elderly lady's "village
parallels," those seemingly unimportant events summing up her knowledge of life, on which she unfailingly
draws in unmasking even the cleverest killer. Avid Christie readers will also recognize certain other
character types, plot snippets, settings and other features here and there; for Dame Agatha was known to
draw repeatedly on devices she found to have worked before, and she tended to use her short stories as
mini-laboratories for elements later expanded on in novels. Caveat, lector, of premature conclusions, however,
for Christie was equally known to throw in a little extra twist in such cases: what is a real clue in one
instance may well be a red herring in another and vice versa, and one story's innocent bystander may easily
be the next story's murderer.
The Thirteen Problems
(1932, a/k/a "The Tuesday Club Murders"):
The Tuesday Night Club: Sir Henry Clithering opens the evening with the case of a woman's
mysterious poisoning by arsenic.
The Idol House of Astarte: A man inexplicably dies after a costume party's nightly
excursion to a pagan temple.
Ingots of Gold: Raymond West tells about a treasure hunt, sunken ships and murder on
the Cornish coast.
The Bloodstained Pavement: Joyce and the case of a drowned wife in a Cornish watering
place called Rathole.
Motive vs. Opportunity: Mr. Petherick's tale of a will that mysteriously vanishes from
its sealed envelope.
The Thumb Mark of St. Peter: Miss Marple's story how she quashed rumors about the
sudden death of her niece Mabel's husband.
The Blue Geranium: Opening the second round of mysteries, Colonel Bantry's narration
about a prophecy involving death and three uncharacteristically blue flowers.
The Companion: Two English ladies go on a holiday in Tenerife, but only one returns
home alive.
The Four Suspects: Sir Henry Clithering's account of the murder of a retired secret agent.
A Christmas Tragedy: Having failed to prevent a murder, Miss Marple is all the more
eager to unmask the murderer.
The Herb of Death: Mrs. Bantry's gifts as a storyteller, a serving of sage and foxglove,
and a charming young girl's unexpected death.
The Affair at the Bungalow: Double-dealings, charades and mischief on stage and off,
just outside of London.
Death by Drowning: A village girl "in trouble" finds a desperate solution – or
does she?
From "The Regatta Mystery and Other Stories" (1939):
Miss Marple Tells a Story: Miss Marple assists Mr. Petherick in the case of a client
accused of having murdered his wife.*
From "Three Blind Mice and Other Stories" (1950):
Strange Jest: A rich iconoclast's final joke – at the expense of his heirs?*
Tape-Measure Murder: Miss Marple's knowledge of village life and human nature (once
more) corrects the all-too straightforward path of Inspector Slack's investigation of an elderly lady's
murder.*
The Case of the Caretaker: Dr. Haydock's story about a rural rascal, a poor little rich
girl, an old estate and its grumpy caretaker.*
The Case of the Perfect Maid: Domestic service and burglary in a Victorian
estate-turned-apartment building.*
From "The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding" (1960):
Greenshaw's Folly (republished in Double Sin, below): A
reverse-locked-room mystery at an eccentrically-built country estate.
From "Double Sin and Other Stories" (1961):
Sanctuary (first published 1954, a/k/a The Man on the Chancel Steps):
The last secret of a man found dying on Chipping Cleghorn's church steps.*
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For further information consult:
Agatha Christie's official website
Themis-Athena's annotated alphabetical Agatha Christie bibliography
Themis-Athena's select annotated numerical Agatha Christie bibliography
Themis-Athena's guide to Agatha Christie's Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot mysteries
Themis-Athena's annotated bibliography of Agatha Christie's Poirot and Hastings mysteries
Themis-Athena's annotated bibliography of Agatha Christie's Miss Marple mysteries
Themis-Athena's annotated bibliography of Agatha Christie mysteries featuring other recurring detectives
Themis-Athena's guide to Agatha Christie's mysteries featuring other detectives
Themis-Athena's annotated bibliography of Agatha Christie's nursery rhyme mysteries
Themis-Athena's annotated bibliography of Agatha Christie's oriental mysteries
Themis-Athena's Hercule Poirot (TV series) page
Themis-Athena's Miss Marple (TV series) page
Themis-Athena's Partners in Crime (TV series) page
Themis-Athena's "Witness for the Prosecution" movie page
Agatha Christie's biography at the Kirjasto Authors' Calendar
Themis-Athena's select British detectives bibliography and filmography
Themis-Athena's select British detectives audiography
Themis-Athena's select women sleuths bibliography
Themis-Athena's Guide to Women Writers: Part 1,
Part 2 and
Part 3
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