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143-438: Ellery Queen was the pseudonym of the team of Frederic Dannay and Manfred B. Lee , who had been writing under the name since 1929. EQMM was created to provide a market for mystery fiction above the common run of pulp crime magazines of the day. Dannay served as the magazine's editor-in-chief (although still under the name Ellery Queen) from its creation until his death in 1982, when managing editor Eleanor Sullivan succeeded to

286-559: A Morris Cowley , was discovered at Newlands Corner in Surrey , parked above a chalk quarry with an expired driving licence and clothes inside. It was feared that she might have drowned herself in the Silent Pool , a nearby beauty spot. The disappearance quickly became a news story. The press sought to satisfy their readers' "hunger for sensation, disaster, and scandal". Home Secretary William Joynson-Hicks pressured police, and

429-772: A Voluntary Aid Detachment nurse (unpaid) then as a dispenser at £16 (approximately equivalent to £1,130 in 2023) a year from 1917 after qualifying as an apothecary's assistant. Her war service ended in September 1918 when Archie was reassigned to London, and they rented a flat in St. John's Wood . Christie had long been a fan of detective novels, having enjoyed Wilkie Collins 's The Woman in White and The Moonstone , and Arthur Conan Doyle 's early Sherlock Holmes stories. She wrote her first detective novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles , in 1916. It featured Hercule Poirot ,

572-681: A barrister in the Indian Civil Service , Archie was a Royal Artillery officer who was seconded to the Royal Flying Corps in April 1913. The couple quickly fell in love. Three months after their first meeting, Archie proposed marriage, and Agatha accepted. With the outbreak of World War I in August 1914, Archie was sent to France to fight. They married on Christmas Eve 1914 at Emmanuel Church, Clifton , Bristol, close to

715-505: A "handle" (a term deriving from CB slang ), " user name", " login name", " avatar ", or, sometimes, " screen name ", " gamertag ", "IGN ( I n G ame ( N ick) N ame)" or " nickname ". On the Internet, pseudonymous remailers use cryptography that achieves persistent pseudonymity, so that two-way communication can be achieved, and reputations can be established, without linking physical identities to their respective pseudonyms. Aliasing

858-726: A Web server that disguises the user's IP address. But most open proxy addresses are blocked indefinitely due to their frequent use by vandals. Additionally, Misplaced Pages's public record of a user's interest areas, writing style, and argumentative positions may still establish an identifiable pattern. System operators ( sysops ) at sites offering pseudonymity, such as Misplaced Pages, are not likely to build unlinkability into their systems, as this would render them unable to obtain information about abusive users quickly enough to stop vandalism and other undesirable behaviors. Law enforcement personnel, fearing an avalanche of illegal behavior, are equally unenthusiastic. Still, some users and privacy activists like

1001-485: A closer relationship between the two magazines. After Sullivan became editor of EQMM and Cathleen Jordan became the editor of AHMM in 1982, they worked together to keep both magazines prosperous, and often passed stories to each other to find a more suitable place for them. Janet Hutchings began her career as editor and publisher at the Doubleday Book Clubs, where she was given opportunities to read for

1144-445: A degree of privacy, to better market themselves, and other reasons. In some cases, pseudonyms are adopted because they are part of a cultural or organisational tradition; for example, devotional names are used by members of some religious institutes , and "cadre names" are used by Communist party leaders such as Trotsky and Lenin . A collective name or collective pseudonym is one shared by two or more persons, for example,

1287-421: A favorable reputation, they are more likely to behave in accordance with the site's policies. If users can obtain new pseudonymous identities freely or at a very low cost, reputation-based systems are vulnerable to whitewashing attacks, also called serial pseudonymity , in which abusive users continuously discard their old identities and acquire new ones in order to escape the consequences of their behavior: "On

1430-546: A field dominated by women – have used female pen names. A few examples are Brindle Chase, Peter O'Donnell (as Madeline Brent), Christopher Wood (as Penny Sutton and Rosie Dixon), and Hugh C. Rae (as Jessica Sterling). A pen name may be used if a writer's real name is likely to be confused with the name of another writer or notable individual, or if the real name is deemed unsuitable. Authors who write both fiction and non-fiction, or in different genres, may use different pen names to avoid confusing their readers. For example,

1573-677: A former Belgian police officer with "magnificent moustaches" and a head "exactly the shape of an egg", who had taken refuge in Britain after Germany invaded Belgium. Christie's inspiration for the character came from Belgian refugees living in Torquay, and the Belgian soldiers she helped to treat as a volunteer nurse during the First World War. Her original manuscript was rejected by Hodder & Stoughton and Methuen . After keeping

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1716-485: A global orientation for EQMM , publishing works from writers all over the world, from works by English writers like Agatha Christie to the first English translation of the work of Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges . Dannay published the first black detective story ("Corollary" by Hughes Allison ) in EQMM in 1948. The first EQMM short story contest was held in 1946. William Faulkner, the future Nobel Prize winner, wrote

1859-434: A good reputation. System operators may need to remind experienced users that most newcomers are well-intentioned (see, for example, Misplaced Pages's policy about biting newcomers ). Concerns have also been expressed about sock puppets exhausting the supply of easily remembered usernames. In addition a recent research paper demonstrated that people behave in a potentially more aggressive manner when using pseudonyms/nicknames (due to

2002-591: A hamlet near Wallingford . This was their main residence for the rest of their lives and the place where Christie did much of her writing. This house also bears a blue plaque. Christie led a quiet life despite being known in Wallingford; from 1951 to 1976 she served as president of the local amateur dramatic society . The couple acquired the Greenway Estate in Devon as a summer residence in 1938; it

2145-481: A manner that the new name becomes permanent and is used by all who know the person. This is not an alias or pseudonym, but in fact a new name. In many countries, including common law countries, a name change can be ratified by a court and become a person's new legal name. Pseudonymous authors may still have their various identities linked together through stylometric analysis of their writing style. The precise degree of this unmasking ability and its ultimate potential

2288-472: A meagre income. Two weeks after Boehmer's death, Mary's sister, Margaret West, married widowed dry goods merchant Nathaniel Frary Miller, a US citizen. To assist Mary financially, Margaret and Nathaniel agreed to foster nine-year-old Clara; the family settled in Timperley , Cheshire. The couple had no children together, but Nathaniel had a 17-year-old son, Frederick "Fred", from his previous marriage. Fred

2431-476: A monthly magazine for mystery fiction, debuted in October 1933, with Dannay and Lee as its only employees. In a time when most of the mystery magazines at the time were digests that would cut long novels into pieces before publishing them, Mystery League published only complete short novels, which helped to maintain the quality of the stories it published while leading to a higher selling price of 25¢. When America

2574-497: A more respectful reputation for mysteries and keep the genre strong. Dannay explained his manifesto for Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine as being to "raise the sights of mystery writers generally to a genuine literary form," to "encourage good writing among our colleagues by offering a practical market not otherwise available," and to "develop new writers seeking expression in the genre." To achieve his goal, Dannay worked hard to explore and represent every aspect of mysteries, expanding

2717-535: A new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's own. Many pseudonym holders use them because they wish to remain anonymous and maintain privacy, though this may be difficult to achieve as a result of legal issues. Pseudonyms include stage names , user names , ring names , pen names , aliases, superhero or villain identities and code names, gamer identifications, and regnal names of emperors, popes, and other monarchs. In some cases, it may also include nicknames . Historically, they have sometimes taken

2860-487: A new story for the contest and won second prize, while the first prize went to Manly Wade Wellman . Faulkner was furious about his loss, and in a letter to his agent, he described the contest as "a manufactured mystery story contest." Some contend that the story Faulkner submitted, "An Error in Chemistry," is not among his best. Dannay continued to publish works from Faulkner in EQMM , increasing Faulkner's popularity among

3003-416: A newspaper offered a £100 reward (equivalent to £7,500 in 2023). More than 1,000 police officers, 15,000 volunteers, and several aeroplanes searched the rural landscape. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle gave a spirit medium one of Christie's gloves to find her. Christie's disappearance made international headlines, including featuring on the front page of The New York Times . Despite the extensive manhunt, she

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3146-488: A process known as de-identification . Nicolaus Copernicus put forward his theory of heliocentrism in the manuscript Commentariolus anonymously, in part because of his employment as a law clerk for a church -government organization. Sophie Germain and William Sealy Gosset used pseudonyms to publish their work in the field of mathematics – Germain, to avoid rampant 19th century academic misogyny , and Gosset, to avoid revealing brewing practices of his employer,

3289-431: A pseudonym in literature is to present a story as being written by the fictional characters in the story. The series of novels known as A Series of Unfortunate Events are written by Daniel Handler under the pen name of Lemony Snicket , a character in the series. This applies also to some of the several 18th-century English and American writers who used the name Fidelia . An anonymity pseudonym or multiple-use name

3432-412: A pseudonym is called a stage name , or, occasionally, a professional name , or screen name . Members of a marginalized ethnic or religious group have often adopted stage names, typically changing their surname or entire name to mask their original background. Stage names are also used to create a more marketable name, as in the case of Creighton Tull Chaney, who adopted the pseudonym Lon Chaney Jr. ,

3575-401: A pseudonym representing the trio of James Madison , Alexander Hamilton , and John Jay . The papers were written partially in response to several Anti-Federalist Papers , also written under pseudonyms. As a result of this pseudonymity, historians know that the papers were written by Madison, Hamilton, and Jay, but have not been able to discern with certainty which of the three authored a few of

3718-441: A pseudonym to disguise the extent of their published output, e. g. Stephen King writing as Richard Bachman . Co-authors may choose to publish under a collective pseudonym, e. g., P. J. Tracy and Perri O'Shaughnessy . Frederic Dannay and Manfred Lee used the name Ellery Queen as a pen name for their collaborative works and as the name of their main character. Asa Earl Carter , a Southern white segregationist affiliated with

3861-412: A reference to his famous father Lon Chaney Sr. Chris Curtis of Deep Purple fame was christened as Christopher Crummey ("crummy" is UK slang for poor quality). In this and similar cases a stage name is adopted simply to avoid an unfortunate pun. Agatha Christie Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan , ( née   Miller ; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976)

4004-408: A result, her parents and sister supervised her studies in reading, writing and basic arithmetic, a subject she particularly enjoyed. They also taught her music, and she learned to play the piano and the mandolin. Christie was a voracious reader from an early age. Some of her earliest memories were of reading children's books by Mrs Molesworth and Edith Nesbit . When a little older, she moved on to

4147-667: A right to speak using a pseudonym. This right does not, however, give citizens the right to demand publication of pseudonymous speech on equipment they do not own. Most Web sites that offer pseudonymity retain information about users. These sites are often susceptible to unauthorized intrusions into their non-public database systems. For example, in 2000, a Welsh teenager obtained information about more than 26,000 credit card accounts, including that of Bill Gates. In 2003, VISA and MasterCard announced that intruders obtained information about 5.6 million credit cards. Sites that offer pseudonymity are also vulnerable to confidentiality breaches. In

4290-478: A series of short stories that began publication in December 1927 and were subsequently collected under the title The Thirteen Problems . Marple was a genteel, elderly spinster who solved crimes using analogies to English village life. Christie said, "Miss Marple was not in any way a picture of my grandmother; she was far more fussy and spinsterish than my grandmother ever was", but her autobiography establishes

4433-459: A soldier prêt à boire , ready to drink). In 1716, a nom de guerre was mandatory for every soldier; officers did not adopt noms de guerre as they considered them derogatory. In daily life, these aliases could replace the real family name. Noms de guerre were adopted for security reasons by members of World War II French resistance and Polish resistance . Such pseudonyms are often adopted by military special-forces soldiers, such as members of

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4576-440: A study of a Web dating service and a pseudonymous remailer , University of Cambridge researchers discovered that the systems used by these Web sites to protect user data could be easily compromised, even if the pseudonymous channel is protected by strong encryption. Typically, the protected pseudonymous channel exists within a broader framework in which multiple vulnerabilities exist. Pseudonym users should bear in mind that, given

4719-575: A tour of his expedition site in Iraq. Christie and Mallowan married in Edinburgh in September 1930. Their marriage lasted until Christie's death in 1976. She accompanied Mallowan on his archaeological expeditions, and her travels with him contributed background to several of her novels set in the Middle East. Other novels (such as Peril at End House ) were set in and around Torquay, where she

4862-414: A year, former Jury Box columnist Jon Breen contributes a guest column. Cover artists have included George Salter , Nicholas Solovioff and Norman Saunders . In 2007–2008, EQMM republished covers from the golden age of mystery fiction, circa 1940s. EQMM sponsors the annual Readers Choice Award , voted upon by readers. EQMM has always depended heavily on series characters and stories, such as

5005-406: Is a name used by many different people to protect anonymity. It is a strategy that has been adopted by many unconnected radical groups and by cultural groups, where the construct of personal identity has been criticised. This has led to the idea of the "open pop star", such as Monty Cantsin . Pseudonyms and acronyms are often employed in medical research to protect subjects' identities through

5148-624: Is attributable in large measure to its nearly non-existent initial participation costs. People seeking privacy often use pseudonyms to make appointments and reservations. Those writing to advice columns in newspapers and magazines may use pseudonyms. Steve Wozniak used a pseudonym when attending the University of California, Berkeley after co-founding Apple Computer , because "[he] knew [he] wouldn't have time enough to be an A+ student." When used by an actor, musician, radio disc jockey, model, or other performer or "show business" personality

5291-491: Is frankly experimental." In sharp contrast to Mystery League ' s failure, the first issue of EQMM sold more than 90,000 copies, far beyond anyone's expectations. EQMM has become the leading American magazine of the genre and is credited with setting the standard for modern crime and mystery short stories and keeping short stories of the genre alive and flourishing. Frederic Dannay served as editor-in-chief for EQMM for more than 40 years. As an editor, he aimed to establish

5434-621: Is known to system operators but is not publicly disclosed), and unlinkable pseudonyms (the link is not known to system operators and cannot be determined). For example, true anonymous remailer enables Internet users to establish unlinkable pseudonyms; those that employ non-public pseudonyms (such as the now-defunct Penet remailer ) are called pseudonymous remailers . The continuum of unlinkability can also be seen, in part, on Misplaced Pages. Some registered users make no attempt to disguise their real identities (for example, by placing their real name on their user page). The pseudonym of unregistered users

5577-468: Is overstated, and points out that "in later life she sought to protect him against misrepresentation as powerfully as if he were her own flesh and blood". Unlike Doyle, she resisted the temptation to kill her detective off while he was still popular. She married off Poirot's " Watson ", Captain Arthur Hastings , in an attempt to trim her cast commitments. Miss Jane Marple was introduced in

5720-453: Is the use of multiple names for the same data location. More sophisticated cryptographic systems, such as anonymous digital credentials , enable users to communicate pseudonymously ( i.e. , by identifying themselves by means of pseudonyms). In well-defined abuse cases, a designated authority may be able to revoke the pseudonyms and reveal the individuals' real identity. Use of pseudonyms is common among professional eSports players, despite

5863-506: Is their IP address , which can, in many cases, easily be linked to them. Other registered users prefer to remain anonymous, and do not disclose identifying information. However, in certain cases, Misplaced Pages's privacy policy permits system administrators to consult the server logs to determine the IP address, and perhaps the true name, of a registered user. It is possible, in theory, to create an unlinkable Misplaced Pages pseudonym by using an Open proxy ,

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6006-712: Is uncertain, but the privacy risks are expected to grow with improved analytic techniques and text corpora . Authors may practice adversarial stylometry to resist such identification. Businesspersons of ethnic minorities in some parts of the world are sometimes advised by an employer to use a pseudonym that is common or acceptable in that area when conducting business, to overcome racial or religious bias. Criminals may use aliases, fictitious business names , and dummy corporations ( corporate shells ) to hide their identity, or to impersonate other persons or entities in order to commit fraud. Aliases and fictitious business names used for dummy corporations may become so complex that, in

6149-462: The (Simplon) Orient Express to Istanbul and then to Baghdad . In Iraq, she became friends with archaeologist Leonard Woolley and his wife, who invited her to return to their dig in February 1930. On that second trip, she met archaeologist Max Mallowan , 13 years her junior. In a 1977 interview, Mallowan recounted his first meeting with Christie, when he took her and a group of tourists on

6292-745: The Ambassadors Theatre in the West End on 25 November 1952, and by 2018 there had been more than 27,500 performances. The play was temporarily closed in 2020 because of COVID-19 lockdowns in London before it reopened in 2021. In 1955, Christie was the first recipient of the Mystery Writers of America 's Grand Master Award . Later that year, Witness for the Prosecution received an Edgar Award for best play. In 2013, she

6435-539: The American Civil Liberties Union believe that Internet users deserve stronger pseudonymity so that they can protect themselves against identity theft, illegal government surveillance, stalking, and other unwelcome consequences of Internet use (including unintentional disclosures of their personal information and doxing , as discussed in the next section). Their views are supported by laws in some nations (such as Canada) that guarantee citizens

6578-730: The BBC had acquired exclusive TV rights to Christie's works in the UK (previously associated with ITV ) and made plans with Acorn's co-operation to air new productions for the 125th anniversary of Christie's birth in 2015. As part of that deal, the BBC broadcast Partners in Crime and And Then There Were None , both in 2015. Subsequent productions have included The Witness for the Prosecution but plans to televise Ordeal by Innocence at Christmas 2017 were delayed because of controversy surrounding one of

6721-483: The EQMM editor's blog, was launched in 2012, which formed a community where readers can discuss mystery and crime fiction, and where EQMM editors, writers and readers can communicate more directly. The official website of EQMM offered information about the magazines to both subscribers and writers. In January 2018, EQMM launched its first web-only column, "Stranger Than Fiction", on its official website. Written by Dean Jobb and scheduled to be updated monthly for free,

6864-559: The Guinness Brewery . Satoshi Nakamoto is a pseudonym of a still unknown author or authors' group behind a white paper about bitcoin . In Ancien Régime France, a nom de guerre ( French pronunciation: [nɔ̃ də ɡɛʁ] , "war name") would be adopted by each new recruit (or assigned to them by the captain of their company) as they enlisted in the French army. These pseudonyms had an official character and were

7007-456: The SAS and similar units of resistance fighters , terrorists, and guerrillas . This practice hides their identities and may protect their families from reprisals; it may also be a form of dissociation from domestic life. Some well-known men who adopted noms de guerre include Carlos, for Ilich Ramírez Sánchez ; Willy Brandt , Chancellor of West Germany ; and Subcomandante Marcos , spokesman of

7150-905: The Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN). During Lehi 's underground fight against the British in Mandatory Palestine , the organization's commander Yitzchak Shamir (later Prime Minister of Israel) adopted the nom de guerre "Michael", in honour of Ireland's Michael Collins . Pseudonym was also stylized as suedonim in a common misspelling of the original word so as to preserve the price of telegrams in World War I and II. Revolutionaries and resistance leaders, such as Lenin , Stalin , Trotsky , Golda Meir , Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque , and Josip Broz Tito , often adopted their noms de guerre as their proper names after

7293-878: The leasehold of a villa in Torquay named Ashfield . It was here that their third and last child, Agatha, was born in 1890. She described her childhood as "very happy". The Millers lived mainly in Devon but often visited her step-grandmother/great-aunt Margaret Miller in Ealing and maternal grandmother Mary Boehmer in Bayswater . A year was spent abroad with her family, in the French Pyrenees , Paris, Dinard , and Guernsey . Because her siblings were so much older, and there were few children in their neighbourhood, Christie spent much of her time playing alone with her pets and imaginary companions. She eventually made friends with other girls in Torquay, noting that "one of

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7436-419: The online disinhibition effect ) as opposed to being completely anonymous. In contrast, research by the blog comment hosting service Disqus found pseudonymous users contributed the "highest quantity and quality of comments", where "quality" is based on an aggregate of likes, replies, flags, spam reports, and comment deletions, and found that users trusted pseudonyms and real names equally. Researchers at

7579-729: The " Black Widowers " tales of Isaac Asimov , the " Rumpole of the Bailey " stories of John Mortimer , and the "Ganelon" stories of James Powell . Foremost among series authors was the late Edward D. Hoch , who created at least a dozen independent series for EQMM since his first story appeared in 1962. From May 1973 to May 2007, he had at least one original story in every issue of EQMM , a string that reached an unparalleled 34 years; in that same period he published about fifty stories in EQMM ' s sister publication, Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine . The magazine had an official Spanish version, Selecciones policiacas y de misterio , edited by

7722-416: The "Queen of Crime"—a moniker which is now trademarked by her estate—or the "Queen of Mystery". She also wrote six novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott . In 1971, she was made a Dame (DBE) by Queen Elizabeth II for her contributions to literature. Guinness World Records lists Christie as the best-selling fiction writer of all time, her novels having sold more than two billion copies. Christie

7865-551: The 1970s, but was reinstated in 2008 and continues to run today. Crime novelist and stage magician Clayton Rawson was the magazine's managing editor between 1963 and his death in 1971. Several spin-offs of the magazine came into being and died during this period. Overseas editions for US troops appeared in May 1945 and ceased publication in June 1946 after the end of World War II and the return of US troops. They were almost identical to

8008-583: The Air Force at the end of the war and began working in the City financial sector on a relatively low salary. They still employed a maid. Her second novel, The Secret Adversary (1922), featuring new detective couple Tommy and Tuppence , was also published by The Bodley Head. It earned her £50 (approximately equivalent to £3,400 in 2023). A third novel, Murder on the Links , again featured Poirot, as did

8151-652: The Department of First Stories in 1949. The magazine has long enjoyed contributions from international writers. EQMM was one of a relative handful of fiction magazines to survive the decline in American short-fiction publications from the 1950s to the 1970s. It is now the longest-running mystery fiction magazine in existence. Throughout its history it has actively encouraged new writers, and today, when most major publications only accept submissions through literary agents, EQMM still accepts unsolicited submissions through

8294-485: The Desert but suggested a second novel. Meanwhile, Christie's social activities expanded, with country house parties, riding, hunting, dances, and roller skating. She had short-lived relationships with four men and an engagement to another. In October 1912, she was introduced to Archibald "Archie" Christie at a dance given by Lord and Lady Clifford at Ugbrooke , about 12 miles (19 km) from Torquay. The son of

8437-469: The Ellery Queen Award. EQMM has always striven to explore the broadest possible range of mystery, trying to present every aspect of the genre, which results in a great variety of stories, including hard-boiled stories, classic English mysteries, noirs, suspense, cozy mysteries and the work of literary writers. With publishing the best as its principle, EQMM has also helped to break down

8580-554: The French-language phrase nom de plume (which in French literally means "pen name"). The concept of pseudonymity has a long history. In ancient literature it was common to write in the name of a famous person, not for concealment or with any intention of deceit; in the New Testament, the second letter of Peter is probably such. A more modern example is all of The Federalist Papers , which were signed by Publius,

8723-462: The Internet, nobody knows that yesterday you were a dog, and therefore should be in the doghouse today." Users of Internet communities who have been banned only to return with new identities are called sock puppets . Whitewashing is one specific form of a Sybil attack on distributed systems. The social cost of cheaply discarded pseudonyms is that experienced users lose confidence in new users, and may subject new users to abuse until they establish

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8866-509: The KKK, wrote Western books under a fictional Cherokee persona to imply legitimacy and conceal his history. A famous case in French literature was Romain Gary . Already a well-known writer, he started publishing books as Émile Ajar to test whether his new books would be well received on their own merits, without the aid of his established reputation. They were: Émile Ajar, like Romain Gary before him,

9009-472: The Mexican Antonio Helú . Pseudonym A pseudonym ( / ˈ sj uː d ə n ɪ m / ; from Ancient Greek ψευδώνυμος ( pseudṓnumos )  ' lit. falsely named') or alias ( / ˈ eɪ l i . ə s / ) is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym ). This also differs from

9152-420: The Middle East and used her first-hand knowledge of this profession in her fiction. According to UNESCO 's Index Translationum , she remains the most-translated individual author . Her novel And Then There Were None is one of the top-selling books of all time, with approximately 100 million copies sold. Christie's stage play The Mousetrap holds the world record for the longest initial run. It opened at

9295-567: The Mystery Guild, to which almost every mystery or crime novel waiting to be published in America would be submitted for possible inclusion. This experience greatly enhanced her passion for mysteries, and later she became Mystery Editor for Walker & Company and published a series of anthologies of stories from Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine . The connection allowed her to meet Sullivan at the EQMM 50th anniversary party in 1991, and she

9438-530: The Ulverscroft Large Print Book Publishers. Mallowan, who remarried in 1977, died in 1978 and was buried next to Christie. Christie was unhappy about becoming "an employed wage slave", and for tax reasons set up a private company in 1955, Agatha Christie Limited, to hold the rights to her works. In about 1959 she transferred her 278-acre home, Greenway Estate, to her daughter, Rosalind Hicks . In 1968, when Christie

9581-817: The University of Cambridge showed that pseudonymous comments tended to be more substantive and engaged with other users in explanations, justifications, and chains of argument, and less likely to use insults, than either fully anonymous or real name comments. Proposals have been made to raise the costs of obtaining new identities, such as by charging a small fee or requiring e-mail confirmation. Academic research has proposed cryptographic methods to pseudonymize social media identities or government-issued identities, to accrue and use anonymous reputation in online forums, or to obtain one-per-person and hence less readily-discardable pseudonyms periodically at physical-world pseudonym parties . Others point out that Misplaced Pages's success

9724-623: The author's true identity being discovered, as with Elena Ferrante and Torsten Krol . Joanne Rowling published the Harry Potter series as J. K. Rowling. Rowling also published the Cormoran Strike series of detective novels including The Cuckoo's Calling under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith. Winston Churchill wrote as Winston S. Churchill (from his full surname Spencer Churchill which he did not otherwise use) in an attempt to avoid confusion with an American novelist of

9867-464: The barrier between supposedly "high" and "low" literary forms while blurring the boundaries of genres. The variety of the magazine is also reflected in its variety of contributing writers. As Dannay explained, the magazine proposed "to give stories by big-name writers, by lesser-known writers, and by unknown writers. But no matter what their source, they will be superior stories." While the magazine published works by great literary figures, it also started

10010-631: The books related to people of their neighbourhood. Anne Brontë 's The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (1848) was published under the name Acton Bell, while Charlotte Brontë used the name Currer Bell for Jane Eyre (1847) and Shirley (1849), and Emily Brontë adopted Ellis Bell as cover for Wuthering Heights (1847). Other examples from the nineteenth-century are novelist Mary Ann Evans ( George Eliot ) and French writer Amandine Aurore Lucile Dupin ( George Sand ). Pseudonyms may also be used due to cultural or organization or political prejudices. Similarly, some 20th- and 21st-century male romance novelists –

10153-417: The breakdown of her marriage and the death of her mother in 1926, she made international headlines by going missing for eleven days. During both World Wars, she served in hospital dispensaries, acquiring a thorough knowledge of the poisons that featured in many of her novels, short stories, and plays. Following her marriage to archaeologist Max Mallowan in 1930, she spent several months each year on digs in

10296-681: The cast members. The three-part adaptation aired in April 2018. A three-part adaptation of The A.B.C. Murders starring John Malkovich and Rupert Grint began filming in June 2018 and was first broadcast in December 2018. A two-part adaptation of The Pale Horse was broadcast on BBC1 in February 2020. Death Comes as the End will be the next BBC adaptation. Since 2020, reissues of Christie's Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot novels by HarperCollins have removed "passages containing descriptions, insults or references to ethnicity". Christie's first published book, The Mysterious Affair at Styles ,

10439-413: The chief pharmacist at UCH. In 1977, a thallium poisoning case was solved by British medical personnel who had read Christie's book and recognised the symptoms she described. The British intelligence agency MI5 investigated Christie after a character called Major Bletchley appeared in her 1941 thriller N or M? , which was about a hunt for a pair of deadly fifth columnists in wartime England. MI5

10582-512: The cinema, or for wireless and television." Further, Dame Agatha's private pleasures were gardening – she won local prizes for horticulture – and buying furniture for her various houses. She was a shy person: she disliked public appearances, but she was friendly and sharp-witted to meet. By inclination as well as breeding, she belonged to the English upper middle class. She wrote about, and for, people like herself. That

10725-542: The city, and Christie continued to work hard at her writing. After living in a series of apartments in London, they bought a house in Sunningdale , Berkshire, which they renamed Styles after the mansion in Christie's first detective novel. Christie's mother, Clarissa Miller, died in April 1926. They had been exceptionally close, and the loss sent Christie into a deep depression. In August 1926, reports appeared in

10868-543: The co-authors of a work, such as Carolyn Keene , Erin Hunter , Ellery Queen , Nicolas Bourbaki , or James S. A. Corey . The term pseudonym is derived from the Greek word " ψευδώνυμον " ( pseudṓnymon ), literally "false name", from ψεῦδος ( pseûdos ) 'lie, falsehood' and ὄνομα ( ónoma ) "name". The term alias is a Latin adverb meaning "at another time, elsewhere". Sometimes people change their names in such

11011-621: The company. In 2020, James Prichard was the company's chairman. Mathew Prichard also holds the copyright to some of his grandmother's later literary works including The Mousetrap . Christie's work continues to be developed in a range of adaptations. In 1998, Booker sold its shares in Agatha Christie Limited (at the time earning £2,100,000, approximately equivalent to £4,700,000 in 2023 annual revenue) for £10,000,000 (approximately equivalent to £22,200,000 in 2023) to Chorion , whose portfolio of authors' works included

11154-469: The current state of Web security engineering, their true names may be revealed at any time. Pseudonymity is an important component of the reputation systems found in online auction services (such as eBay ), discussion sites (such as Slashdot ), and collaborative knowledge development sites (such as Misplaced Pages ). A pseudonymous user who has acquired a favorable reputation gains the trust of other users. When users believe that they will be rewarded by acquiring

11297-442: The disciplined atmosphere. In 1905, her mother sent her to Paris, where she was educated in a series of pensionnats (boarding schools), focusing on voice training and piano playing. Deciding she lacked the temperament and talent, she gave up her goal of performing professionally as a concert pianist or an opera singer. After completing her education, Christie returned to England to find her mother ailing. They decided to spend

11440-1050: The early decades of the magazine, bringing in submissions from all around the world. He published an "All Nations" special issue of EQMM in August 1948, which included stories from every continent but Antarctica. In 2003, current editor Janet Hutchings launched the Passport to Crime department for translations from foreign authors. EQMM regularly publishes short fiction from established mystery novelists such as Edward D. Hoch , Jeffery Deaver , Michael Gilbert , Peter Lovesey , John Lutz , Ruth Rendell , and Janwillem van de Wetering . It has also published authors not generally considered mystery writers, including A. A. Milne , Stephen King , W. Somerset Maugham , P. G. Wodehouse , Joyce Carol Oates , Theodore Sturgeon , and Phyllis Diller . EQMM regularly publishes two nonfiction sections: The Jury Box contains book reviews by Steve Steinbock and Blog Bytes contains reviews and updates of crime and mystery short fiction blogs by Bill Crider. Twice

11583-510: The end as a make-up. An Australian reprint edition started from July 1947 and ceased publication in November 1964, and a UK reprint edition was available between February 1953 and September 1964. Spin-offs that translated the magazine into other languages like Japanese, French, Italian, German were all once available, but all ceased publication eventually. After Frederic Dannay died in 1982, Eleanor Sullivan took his place as editor of EQMM . She

11726-630: The event to embarrass her husband but did not anticipate the resulting public melodrama. Christie's biographer Laura Thompson provides an alternative view that Christie disappeared during a nervous breakdown, conscious of her actions but not in emotional control of herself. Public reaction at the time was largely negative, supposing a publicity stunt or an attempt to frame her husband for murder. In January 1927, Christie, looking "very pale", sailed with her daughter and secretary to Las Palmas , Canary Islands, to "complete her convalescence", returning three months later. Christie petitioned for divorce and

11869-420: The fact that many professional games are played on LAN . Pseudonymity has become an important phenomenon on the Internet and other computer networks. In computer networks, pseudonyms possess varying degrees of anonymity, ranging from highly linkable public pseudonyms (the link between the pseudonym and a human being is publicly known or easy to discover), potentially linkable non-public pseudonyms (the link

12012-521: The fictional Chimneys, Stonygates, and other houses in her stories are mostly Abney Hall in various forms." During World War II, Christie moved to London and lived in a flat at the Isokon in Hampstead , whilst working in the pharmacy at University College Hospital (UCH), London, where she updated her knowledge of poisons. Her later novel The Pale Horse was based on a suggestion from Harold Davis,

12155-478: The first Britons to surf standing up, and extended their time there by three months to practise. She is remembered at the Museum of British Surfing as having said about surfing, "Oh it was heaven! Nothing like rushing through the water at what seems to you a speed of about two hundred miles an hour. It is one of the most perfect physical pleasures I have known." When they returned to England, Archie resumed work in

12298-728: The form of anagrams , Graecisms, and Latinisations . Pseudonyms should not be confused with new names that replace old ones and become the individual's full-time name. Pseudonyms are "part-time" names, used only in certain contexts: to provide a more clear-cut separation between one's private and professional lives, to showcase or enhance a particular persona, or to hide an individual's real identity, as with writers' pen names, graffiti artists' tags, resistance fighters' or terrorists' noms de guerre , computer hackers ' handles , and other online identities for services such as social media , online gaming , and internet forums . Actors, musicians, and other performers sometimes use stage names for

12441-531: The form of a teknonym , either literal or figurative. Such war names have also been used in Africa. Part of the molding of child soldiers has included giving them such names. They were also used by fighters in the People's Liberation Army of Namibia , with some fighters retaining these names as their permanent names. Individuals using a computer online may adopt or be required to use a form of pseudonym known as

12584-417: The general public. After the first few years of Dannay reprinted stories he had gathered for his own personal collection of mysteries while slowly adding previously unpublished stories by both famous and unknown authors. EQMM began accepting novels from the general public in 1948. As another effort to expand the variety of materials of the magazines, during Dannay's editorship, the Department of First Stories

12727-414: The genre", and to publish stories from the broadest possible range of mysteries. In 2003, Hutchings established the Passport to Crime department, which would translate works from other languages on a regular basis. She explained this as the magazine scouting more actively for stories in other languages instead of just waiting for submissions from foreign writers. During Hutchings' editorship, EQMM embraced

12870-574: The great interest in archaeology and Egyptology that developed in her later years. Returning to Britain, she continued her social activities, writing and performing in amateur theatrics. She also helped put on a play called The Blue Beard of Unhappiness with female friends. At 18, Christie wrote her first short story, "The House of Beauty", while recovering in bed from an illness. It consisted of about 6,000 words about "madness and dreams", subjects of fascination for her. Her biographer Janet Morgan has commented that, despite "infelicities of style",

13013-514: The highlights of my existence" was her appearance with them in a youth production of Gilbert and Sullivan 's The Yeomen of the Guard , in which she played the hero, Colonel Fairfax. According to Christie, Clara believed she should not learn to read until she was eight; thanks to her curiosity, she was reading by the age of four. Her sister had been sent to a boarding school, but their mother insisted that Christie receive her education at home. As

13156-734: The home of his mother and stepfather, when Archie was on home leave. Rising through the ranks, he was posted back to Britain in September 1918 as a colonel in the Air Ministry . Christie involved herself in the war effort as a member of the Voluntary Aid Detachment of the British Red Cross . From October 1914 to May 1915, then from June 1916 to September 1918, she worked 3,400 hours in the Town Hall Red Cross Hospital , Torquay, first as

13299-580: The integrity of her creations" and disapproved of " merchandising " activities. Upon her death on 28 October 2004, the Greenway Estate passed to her son Mathew Prichard. After his stepfather's death in 2005, Prichard donated Greenway and its contents to the National Trust . Christie's family and family trusts , including great-grandson James Prichard, continue to own the 36% stake in Agatha Christie Limited, and remain associated with

13442-458: The leading periodical in the genre. From the creation of EQMM , Dannay was determined to make the magazine "a quality publication devoted exclusively to the printing of the best detective-crime short-story literature," making quality the sole criterion for inclusion in the magazine, and this principle was inherited by succeeded editors. The quality of the magazine has been proved by numerous awards won by stories first published on EQMM , and won by

13585-512: The literary estates of Enid Blyton and Dennis Wheatley . In February 2012, after a management buyout , Chorion began to sell off its literary assets. This included the sale of Chorion's 64% stake in Agatha Christie Limited to Acorn Media UK. In 2014, RLJ Entertainment Inc. (RLJE) acquired Acorn Media UK, renamed it Acorn Media Enterprises , and incorporated it as the RLJE UK development arm. In late February 2014, media reports stated that

13728-399: The magazine itself. EQMM has been nominated more than 370 times and has won over 110 awards, including awards from those most eminent mystery organisations in the world, including Agatha Awards , Anthony Awards , Arthur Ellis Awards , Barry Awards , Derringer Awards, Edgar Awards , International Thriller Awards, Macavity Awards , Robert L. Fish Awards, Shamus Awards , Spur Awards , and

13871-463: The magazine. The magazine debuted as quarterly, and thanks to its popularity, it went bimonthly in the following year and then monthly in 1946. Just like "Mystery League", the first issue of EQMM contained seven complete mystery stories from Dashiell Hammett , Margery Allingham , T.S. Stribling , Anthony Abbot , Cornell Woolrich , Fredrick Hazlitt Brennan , and Ellery Queen himself. Dannay admitted in his message to readers that "This first issue

14014-514: The mail. Writers may also use the online submission manager. The magazine's Department of First Stories has introduced hundreds of new writers, many of whom have become regular contributors. EQMM had a global orientation from the beginning. Dannay introduced many international writers, including the Argentine Jorge Luis Borges , to the English literary community. Dannay also ran a number of Worldwide Short Story Contests in

14157-436: The new column studies and presents true crime cases, a topic that EQMM used to lack. Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine has several distinguishing hallmarks, most of which were established during the days of Frederic Dannay's editorship and have been maintained and strengthened since then. It is believed that these characteristics have helped EQMM to survive and flourish for more than 80 years while retaining its reputation as

14300-625: The normal US edition of EQMM , with the only difference of the title "Special Edition for the Armed Forces Overseas" or "Overseas Edition for the Armed Services" printed on the cover. Since advertisements were not allowed in this kind of publication for the US Army, the opening three pages of this edition, where the ads would typically be, were replaced with an additional story. Otherwise, an additional puzzle would be added at

14443-404: The papers. There are also examples of modern politicians and high-ranking bureaucrats writing under pseudonyms. Some female authors have used male pen names, in particular in the 19th century, when writing was a highly male-dominated profession. The Brontë sisters used pen names for their early work, so as not to reveal their gender (see below) and so that local residents would not suspect that

14586-416: The post. Following her death in 1991, Janet Hutchings became editor of EQMM . In Bloody Murder , Julian Symons offered this description of the publication: It is... a compendium of every possible kind of crime story. Some of the kinds are more important than others, not all of the stories are masterpieces, and some will madden anybody who has a fixed idea of what the crime short story should be like. Yet

14729-432: The predecessor of identification numbers : soldiers were identified by their first names, their family names, and their noms de guerre (e. g. Jean Amarault dit Lafidélité ). These pseudonyms were usually related to the soldier's place of origin (e. g. Jean Deslandes dit Champigny , for a soldier coming from a town named Champigny ), or to a particular physical or personal trait (e. g. Antoine Bonnet dit Prettaboire , for

14872-546: The press that Christie had gone to a village near Biarritz to recuperate from a "breakdown" caused by "overwork". In August 1926, Archie asked Christie for a divorce. He had fallen in love with Nancy Neele, a friend of Major Belcher. On 3   December 1926, the pair quarrelled after Archie announced his plan to spend the weekend with friends, unaccompanied by his wife. Late that evening, Christie disappeared from their home in Sunningdale. The following morning, her car,

15015-614: The romance writer Nora Roberts writes mystery novels under the name J. D. Robb . In some cases, an author may become better known by his pen name than their real name. Some famous examples of that include Samuel Clemens, writing as Mark Twain , Theodor Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss , and Eric Arthur Blair ( George Orwell ). The British mathematician Charles Dodgson wrote fantasy novels as Lewis Carroll and mathematical treatises under his own name. Some authors, such as Harold Robbins , use several literary pseudonyms. Some pen names have been used for long periods, even decades, without

15158-478: The same name . The attempt was not wholly successful – the two are still sometimes confused by booksellers. A pen name may be used specifically to hide the identity of the author, as with exposé books about espionage or crime, or explicit erotic fiction. Erwin von Busse used a pseudonym when he published short stories about sexually charged encounters between men in Germany in 1920. Some prolific authors adopt

15301-604: The same time, Christie began work on her first novel, Snow Upon the Desert . Writing under the pseudonym Monosyllaba, she set the book in Cairo and drew upon her recent experiences there. She was disappointed when the six publishers she contacted declined the work. Clara suggested that her daughter ask for advice from the successful novelist Eden Phillpotts , a family friend and neighbour, who responded to her enquiry, encouraged her writing, and sent her an introduction to his own literary agent, Hughes Massie, who also rejected Snow Upon

15444-760: The short stories commissioned by Bruce Ingram , editor of The Sketch magazine, from 1923. She now had no difficulty selling her work. In 1922, the Christies joined an around-the-world promotional tour for the British Empire Exhibition , led by Major Ernest Belcher . Leaving their daughter with Agatha's mother and sister, in 10 months they travelled to South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii, and Canada. They learned to surf prone in South Africa; then, in Waikiki , they were among

15587-505: The story was "compelling". (The story became an early version of her story "The House of Dreams" .) Other stories followed, most of them illustrating her interest in spiritualism and the paranormal . These included " The Call of Wings " and "The Little Lonely God". Magazines rejected all her early submissions, made under pseudonyms (including Mac Miller, Nathaniel Miller, and Sydney West); some submissions were later revised and published under her real name, often with new titles. Around

15730-588: The struggle. George Grivas , the Greek-Cypriot EOKA militant, adopted the nom de guerre Digenis (Διγενής). In the French Foreign Legion , recruits can adopt a pseudonym to break with their past lives. Mercenaries have long used "noms de guerre", sometimes even multiple identities, depending on the country, conflict, and circumstance. Some of the most familiar noms de guerre today are the kunya used by Islamic mujahideen . These take

15873-461: The submission for several months, John Lane at The Bodley Head offered to accept it, provided that Christie change how the solution was revealed. She did so, and signed a contract committing her next five books to The Bodley Head, which she later felt was exploitative. It was published in 1920. Christie settled into married life, giving birth to her only child, Rosalind Margaret Clarissa (later Hicks), in August 1919 at Ashfield. Archie left

16016-467: The surreal verse of Edward Lear and Lewis Carroll . As an adolescent, she enjoyed works by Anthony Hope , Walter Scott , Charles Dickens , and Alexandre Dumas . In April 1901, aged 10, she wrote her first poem, "The Cow Slip". By 1901, her father's health had deteriorated, because of what he believed were heart problems. Fred died in November 1901 from pneumonia and chronic kidney disease . Christie later said that her father's death when she

16159-472: The time of her death in 1976, "she was the best-selling novelist in history." One estimate of her total earnings from more than a half-century of writing is $ 20 million (approximately $ 107.1 million in 2023). As a result of her tax planning, her will left only £106,683 (approximately equivalent to £970,000 in 2023) net, which went mostly to her husband and daughter along with some smaller bequests. Her remaining 36% share of Agatha Christie Limited

16302-453: The trend of digitalization. In the early 1990s, it converted to desktop publishing , and in 2011 Hutchings admitted that she now read submissions entirely on a Kindle. In 2009, EQMM ' s podcast series began, which offered audiences audio renditions of stories from the magazine's archives. In the same year, EQMM ' s first major digital editions became available in addition to the traditional print format. Something Is Going to Happen,

16445-484: The value of the magazine far transcends any criticisms that may be made of it. No doubt short stories would have been written if EQMM had never existed, but they would have been much less various in style and interest, and almost certainly much poorer in quality. Around four years after Ellery Queen's successful debut, The Roman Hat Mystery , Dannay and Lee decided to produce a magazine that would publish only quality mystery fiction. Their first attempt, Mystery League ,

16588-455: The variety of materials of EQMM to a great extent, while he believed his efforts also served to cater to the widest possible range of tastes and attract a larger audience. One of his major efforts was to find and publish stories written by big names with elements of crime or mystery, and as a result, more than forty Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winners, including William Faulkner , Ernest Hemingway , had works published in EQMM . Dannay also set

16731-598: The winter of 1907–1908 in the warm climate of Egypt, which was then a regular tourist destination for wealthy Britons. They stayed for three months at the Gezirah Palace Hotel in Cairo . Christie attended many dances and other social functions; she particularly enjoyed watching amateur polo matches. While they visited some ancient Egyptian monuments such as the Great Pyramid of Giza , she did not exhibit

16874-459: The words of The Washington Post , "getting to the truth requires a walk down a bizarre labyrinth" and multiple government agencies may become involved to uncover the truth. Giving a false name to a law enforcement officer is a crime in many jurisdictions; see identity fraud . A pen name is a pseudonym (sometimes a particular form of the real name) adopted by an author (or on the author's behalf by their publishers). English usage also includes

17017-462: Was Postern of Fate in 1973. Textual analysis suggested that Christie may have begun to develop Alzheimer's disease or other dementia at about this time. In 1946, Christie said of herself: "My chief dislikes are crowds, loud noises, gramophones and cinemas. I dislike the taste of alcohol and do not like smoking. I do like sun, sea, flowers, travelling, strange foods, sports, concerts, theatres, pianos, and doing embroidery." Christie

17160-399: Was 11 marked the end of her childhood. The family's financial situation had, by this time, worsened. Madge married the year after their father's death and moved to Cheadle , Cheshire; Monty was overseas, serving in a British regiment. Christie now lived alone at Ashfield with her mother. In 1902, she began attending Miss Guyer's Girls' School in Torquay but found it difficult to adjust to

17303-470: Was a British author known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictional detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple . She also wrote the world's longest-running play, the murder mystery The Mousetrap , which has been performed in the West End of London since 1952. A writer during the " Golden Age of Detective Fiction ", Christie has been called

17446-639: Was a lifelong, "quietly devout" member of the Church of England , attended church regularly, and kept her mother's copy of The Imitation of Christ by her bedside. After her divorce, she stopped taking the sacrament of communion . The Agatha Christie Trust For Children was established in 1969, and shortly after Christie's death a charitable memorial fund was set up to "help two causes that she favoured: old people and young children". Christie's obituary in The Times notes that "she never cared much for

17589-552: Was almost 80, she sold a 51% stake in Agatha Christie Limited (and the works it owned) to Booker Books (better known as Booker Author's Division ), which by 1977 had increased its stake to 64%. Agatha Christie Limited still owns the worldwide rights for more than 80 of Christie's novels and short stories, 19 plays, and nearly 40 TV films. In the late 1950s, Christie had reputedly been earning around £100,000 (approximately equivalent to £3,000,000 in 2023) per year. Christie sold an estimated 300 million books during her lifetime. At

17732-513: Was an essential part of her charm. Christie died peacefully on 12 January 1976 at age 85 from natural causes at her home at Winterbrook House. Upon her death, two West End theatres – the St. Martin's , where The Mousetrap was playing, and the Savoy , which was home to a revival of Murder at the Vicarage  – dimmed their outside lights in her honour. She

17875-880: Was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 1956 New Year Honours . She was co-president of the Detection Club from 1958 to her death in 1976. In 1961, she was awarded an honorary Doctor of Literature degree by the University of Exeter . In the 1971 New Year Honours , she was promoted to Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE), three years after her husband had been knighted for his archaeological work. After her husband's knighthood, Christie could also be styled Lady Mallowan. From 1971 to 1974, Christie's health began to fail, but she continued to write. Her last novel

18018-436: Was awarded the prestigious Prix Goncourt by a jury unaware that they were the same person. Similarly, TV actor Ronnie Barker submitted comedy material under the name Gerald Wiley. A collective pseudonym may represent an entire publishing house, or any contributor to a long-running series, especially with juvenile literature. Examples include Watty Piper , Victor Appleton , Erin Hunter , and Kamiru M. Xhan. Another use of

18161-691: Was born in New York City and travelled extensively after leaving his Swiss boarding school. He and Clara were married in London in 1878. Their first child, Margaret "Madge" Frary, was born in Torquay in 1879. The second, Louis Montant "Monty", was born in Morristown , New Jersey , in 1880, while the family was on an extended visit to the United States. When Fred's father died in 1869, he left Clara £2,000 (approximately equivalent to £230,000 in 2023); in 1881 they used this to buy

18304-466: Was born into a wealthy upper-middle-class family in Torquay , Devon, and was largely home-schooled. She was initially an unsuccessful writer with six consecutive rejections, but this changed in 1920 when The Mysterious Affair at Styles , featuring detective Hercule Poirot, was published. Her first husband was Archibald Christie ; they married in 1914 and had one child before divorcing in 1928. Following

18447-589: Was born on 15 September 1890, into a wealthy upper middle class family in Torquay , Devon. She was the youngest of three children born to Frederick Alvah Miller, "a gentleman of substance", and his wife Clarissa "Clara" Margaret ( née Boehmer). Christie's mother Clara was born in Dublin in 1854 to British Army officer Frederick Boehmer and his wife Mary Ann (née West). Boehmer died in Jersey in 1863, leaving his widow to raise Clara and her brothers on

18590-433: Was buried in the nearby churchyard of St Mary's, Cholsey, in a plot she had chosen with her husband 10 years previously. The simple funeral service was attended by about 20 newspaper and TV reporters, some having travelled from as far away as South America. Thirty wreaths adorned Christie's grave, including one from the cast of her long-running play The Mousetrap and one sent "on behalf of the multitude of grateful readers" by

18733-521: Was concerned that Christie had a spy in Britain's top-secret codebreaking centre, Bletchley Park . The agency's fears were allayed when Christie told her friend, the codebreaker Dilly Knox , "I was stuck there on my way by train from Oxford to London and took revenge by giving the name to one of my least lovable characters." Christie was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 1950. In honour of her many literary works, Christie

18876-475: Was established in 1949, which aimed to publish works from new writers and fostering new talent. Dannay himself published more than 500 first stories by first-time writers, and many of them, including Stanley Ellin and David Morrell , grew to become famous writers. In 1953, EQMM bought Black Mask Magazine , and turned it into a special department which "features harder-edged works of crime, noir, and private-eye writers." Black Mask ceased to exist in EQMM in

19019-641: Was given to the National Trust in 2000. Christie frequently stayed at Abney Hall , Cheshire , which was owned by her brother-in-law, James Watts, and based at least two stories there: a short story, " The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding ", in the story collection of the same name and the novel After the Funeral . One Christie compendium notes that "Abney became Agatha's greatest inspiration for country-house life, with all its servants and grandeur being woven into her plots. The descriptions of

19162-448: Was granted a decree nisi against her husband in April 1928, which was made absolute in October 1928. Archie married Nancy Neele a week later. Christie retained custody of their daughter, Rosalind, and kept the Christie surname for her writing. Reflecting on the period in her autobiography, Christie wrote, "So, after illness, came sorrow, despair and heartbreak. There is no need to dwell on it." In 1928, Christie left England and took

19305-508: Was inherited by Hicks, who passionately preserved her mother's works, image, and legacy until her own death 28 years later. The family's share of the company allowed them to appoint 50% of the board and the chairman, and retain a veto over new treatments, updated versions, and republications of her works. In 2004, Hicks' obituary in The Telegraph noted that she had been "determined to remain true to her mother's vision and to protect

19448-459: Was later interviewed as a possible successor to the magazine's editor. After Sullivan died in 1991, Hutchings succeeded as editor of EQMM and has held the position since then. Hutchings inherited Dannay's principle of the magazines, making quality the only standard while trying to maintain a great variety of the genre mysteries and a global focus. She said in an interview that her aim had always been to try to "make EQMM's umbrella as wide as that of

19591-746: Was not found for another 10 days. On 4 December, the day after she went missing, it is now known she had tea in London and visited Harrods department store where she marvelled at the spectacle of the store's Christmas display . On 14 December 1926, she was located at the Swan Hydropathic Hotel in Harrogate , Yorkshire, 184 miles (296 km) north of her home in Sunningdale, registered as "Mrs Tressa Neele" (the surname of her husband's lover) from "Capetown [ sic ] S.A." (South Africa). The next day, Christie left for her sister's residence at Abney Hall , Cheadle, where she

19734-914: Was raised. Christie drew on her experience of international train travel when writing her 1934 novel Murder on the Orient Express . The Pera Palace Hotel in Istanbul, the eastern terminus of the railway, claims the book was written there and maintains Christie's room as a memorial to the author. Christie and Mallowan first lived in Cresswell Place in Chelsea , and later in Sheffield Terrace, Holland Park , Kensington . Both properties are now marked by blue plaques . In 1934, they bought Winterbrook House in Winterbrook ,

19877-443: Was released in 1920 and introduced the detective Hercule Poirot , who appeared in 33 of her novels and more than 50 short stories. Over the years, Christie grew tired of Poirot, much as Doyle did with Sherlock Holmes. By the end of the 1930s, Christie wrote in her diary that she was finding Poirot "insufferable", and by the 1960s she felt he was "an egocentric creep". Thompson believes Christie's occasional antipathy to her creation

20020-454: Was sequestered "in guarded hall, gates locked, telephone cut off, and callers turned away". Christie's autobiography makes no reference to the disappearance. Two doctors diagnosed her with "an unquestionable genuine loss of memory", yet opinion remains divided over the reason for her disappearance. Some, including her biographer Morgan, believe she disappeared during a fugue state . The author Jared Cade concluded that Christie planned

20163-576: Was still recovering from the Great Depression , this was too high a price for most people to purchase a magazine. The magazine ceased publication after only four issues, but Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine took over the basic principle of publishing complete short mystery novels of high quality. In the fall of 1941, the first issue of Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine , under the ownership of Lawrence E. Spivak of The Mercury Press, went to press. Dannay assumed primary editorial responsibility for

20306-632: Was the managing editor from 1970 to 1982, hand-picked by Dannay after an interview. She had written many articles under a pen name for newspapers, magazines and books. During Sullivan's editorship, in 1985, the EQMM Readers Award began. This is an annual award for the favorite stories of the magazine's readers. It has since become one of the most important awards of its genre. The first EQMM Readers Award went to Clark Howard. Sullivan also served as editor-in-chief of Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine from 1975 to 1981, which helped to establish

20449-543: Was voted the best crime writer and The Murder of Roger Ackroyd the best crime novel ever by 600 professional novelists of the Crime Writers' Association . In 2015, And Then There Were None was named the "World's Favourite Christie" in a vote sponsored by the author's estate. Many of Christie's books and short stories have been adapted for television, radio, video games, and graphic novels. More than 30 feature films are based on her work. Agatha Mary Clarissa Miller

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