159-570: Poirot Investigates is a short story collection written by English author Agatha Christie and first published in the UK by The Bodley Head in March 1924. In the eleven stories, famed eccentric detective Hercule Poirot solves a variety of mysteries involving greed, jealousy, and revenge. The American version of this book, published by Dodd, Mead and Company in 1925, featured a further three stories. The UK first edition featured an illustration of Poirot on
318-559: 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
477-772: 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 ,
636-681: 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
795-617: A 16,000 ft two-storey penthouse in One Hyde Park sold for £140 million. Land in Knightsbridge is for the most part identified by City of Westminster (and by the RBKC , where former Brompton parts are included) as strengthened planning law -governed Conservation Areas : 'Albert Gate', 'Belgravia', 'Knightsbridge' and 'Knightsbridge Green'. Properties must be offered here by developers as refurbished flats or houses meeting
954-581: A 94-year lease. Fourteen of Britain's two hundred most expensive streets are in the neighbourhood, as defined by The Times . In February 2007, the world's most expensive apartment at One Hyde Park , sold off plan for £100 million, bought by a Qatari prince, and another apartment at the same place in February 2009, at almost the same price, was bought by a Qatari prince. Apartments of this secure, optimum specification, address equate to in excess of £4,000 per square foot (£43,000 per square metre). In 2014,
1113-462: A Chinese man, which warn her to return her fabulous diamond jewel, the "Western Star", to where it came from – the left eye of an idol – before the next full moon. Her husband, Gregory Rolf, who bought it from a Chinese man in San Francisco , gave Mary the jewel three years ago. The pair are going to stay at Yardly Chase, the home of Lord and Lady Yardly when the moon is next full to discuss
1272-502: A diplomatic cover-up, and Ascanio denies knowing Foscatini. Poirot invites Ascanio for a talk and forces him to admit that he did know that Foscatini was a blackmailer. Ascanio's morning appointment was to pay him the money he demanded from a person in Italy, the transaction being arranged through the embassy where Ascanio worked. After Ascanio leaves, Poirot tells Hastings that Graves is the killer and explains his reasoning. Graves overheard
1431-464: A firm connection between the fictional character and Christie's step-grandmother Margaret Miller ("Auntie-Grannie") and her "Ealing cronies". Both Marple and Miller "always expected the worst of everyone and everything, and were, with almost frightening accuracy, usually proved right". Marple appeared in 12 novels and 20 stories. Knightsbridge Knightsbridge is a residential and retail district in central London , south of Hyde Park . It
1590-677: 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
1749-591: 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
SECTION 10
#17327824299641908-439: A man threw it into a ditch, used the money to get drunk, and assaulted an officer. Poirot asks Japp to find out whether Davenheim and his wife sleep in separate bedrooms; upon learning that they have done so for six months, he declares the case solved and urges Japp to withdraw any money he has deposited at Davenheim's bank. Soon afterward, the bank's sudden collapse is reported in newspapers all over London and an astounded Japp pays
2067-472: 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
2226-416: 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
2385-583: A non-tabloid paper in 2008. The underlying landowners of the few streets making up, without any dispute, Knightsbridge are the Duke of Westminster , Lord Cadogan and the Wellcome Trust with a minority of the freeholds to houses in each street sold to others . Red-brick Queen Anne revival buildings form most of the Cadogan Estates , whereas white stucco-fronted houses are mostly found on
2544-533: A note of caution but then became more positive: "When in the first of M. Poirot's adventures, we find a famous diamond that has been the eye of a god and a cryptic message that it will be taken from its possessor 'at the full of the moon' we are inclined to grow indignant on behalf of our dear old friend the moonstone . But we have no right to do so, for the story is quite original". The review further described Poirot as "a thoroughly pleasant and entertaining person". The New York Times Book Review chose to review
2703-554: A packet, and placed in his trunk, which was fitted with a lock for which only he and the managers had keys. A few hours before the ship arrived in New York, Ridgeway discovered that someone had tried to force the lock, but then picked it and stolen the bonds. The ship and its personnel and passengers were thoroughly searched, but no trace of them was found. Following the theft, the bonds were being offered for sale in New York so quickly that one broker claimed to have bought some even before
2862-510: A penny, and the nephew returned to New York, where he sank lower and lower and then shot himself, leaving a suicide note saying that he was a leper and an outcast. Poirot and Hastings travel to Egypt and join the expedition, only to find that there has been another death in the party, that of an American by tetanus . As Poirot investigates the dig, he feels the forces of evil at work. One night, an Arab servant delivers Poirot his cup of chamomile tea. Hastings hears Poirot choking, after drinking
3021-408: 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
3180-595: A robbery worth £60 million. In 2005, 22-year-old beautician Clare Bernal was gunned down by her ex -boyfriend Michal Pech on the shopfloor of Harvey Nichols in front of colleagues and shoppers before Pech fatally turned the gun on himself. The case attracted extensive coverage in the media, and Clare's mother Patricia has since led a campaign to address flaws in the system, which allowed her daughter's murder to happen. Many residential buildings are heavily covered by CCTV and are staffed by security guards, and railings or bars on lower floor windows are commonplace. To
3339-588: A round dozen?) published in this volume. All of them have point and ingenuity, and if M. Poirot is infallibly and exasperatingly omniscient, well, that is the function of the detective in fiction." Unlike The New York Times , the reviewer favourably compared some of the stories to those of Sherlock Holmes and concluded, "We hope that the partnership [of Poirot, Hastings and Japp] will last long and yield many more narratives as exciting as these. With The Mysterious Affair at Styles and this volume to her credit (to say nothing of others) Miss Christie must be reckoned in
SECTION 20
#17327824299643498-416: A separate room from his wife to keep the deception hidden from her. He staged the safe break-in, fled with the contents before Lowen arrived in order to set him up, threw his usual clothes into the lake after changing at the boathouse, and got himself arrested as Kellett to avoid police scrutiny. Poirot and Hastings are in their rooms with a neighbour, Dr Hawker, when the medical man's housekeeper arrives with
3657-478: 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
3816-482: A squad of detectives to Boulogne, Poirot harbouring suspicions about both Daniels and O'Murphy. Once the group arrives in France, Poirot insists that they should check into a hotel instead of searching for MacAdam; after thinking for five hours, he announces that they must return to England in order to investigate the case properly. Accompanied by Hastings and the detectives, Poirot enquires at several cottage hospitals to
3975-400: A table set for three people, with the meals finished. The Count is alone and dead – his head crushed in by a small marble statue. Poirot is interested in the remains on the table. He questions the kitchen staff at the top of the building. They describe the meal they served and the dirty plates passed up to them in the service elevator. Poirot seems especially interested in the fact that little of
4134-575: 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
4293-491: A visit from Miss Violet Marsh, whose Uncle Andrew has recently died. He had returned to England after making his fortune in Australia, and he vehemently opposed her efforts to pursue an education. Andrew's will stipulates that Violet may live in his house for one year, during which time she must "prove her wits" in order to inherit his estate; if she fails, it is to be donated to various charitable institutions. Poirot interprets
4452-473: A visit from a Mr Roger Havering, the second son of a Baronet who is married to an actress. Mr Havering stayed at his club in London the previous evening and the following morning received a telegram from his wife saying that his Uncle Harrington Pace was murdered the previous evening and to come at once with a detective. As Poirot is indisposed, Hastings sets off with Havering for the scene of the crime. Mr Pace,
4611-465: A visitor he was expecting, should be shown into the study to await his return. However, Davenheim never returned and no trace of him was found; the police were called on Sunday, and a safe hidden in his study was found broken open and emptied of its contents − cash, bonds, and jewels − on Monday. Lowen and Davenheim were known to be on bad terms with one another, and the police have Lowen under observation but have not arrested him. Poirot takes interest in
4770-480: A will he had drawn up; however, he said that he had made a mistake and tore it up, then rewrote it with them as witnesses again. Andrew then left the house to settle some tradesmen's accounts. Poirot learns that Andrew had had a secret compartment built into the bricks of the fireplace, which proves to contain the burnt remnants of a will. A defeated Poirot and Hastings begin the journey back to London, but Poirot abruptly insists that they leave their train and return to
4929-402: Is a sterner test of the 'detective' writer than the full-grown novel. With ample space almost any practised writer can pile complication upon complication, just as any man could make a puzzling maze out of a ten-acre field. But to pack mystery, surprise and a solution into three or four thousand words is to achieve a feat. There is no doubt about Miss Christie's success in the eleven tales (why not
Poirot Investigates - Misplaced Pages Continue
5088-462: Is back in London, Poirot gives Hastings his theory – Mrs Middleton never existed. She was Zoe Havering in disguise. Only Mr Havering claims to have seen the two women together at the same time. Havering did go to London with one of the pistols which he dumped and Mrs Havering shot her uncle with the other pistol. Japp is convinced of the theory but does not have enough evidence to make an arrest. The Haverings inherit their uncle's fortune but not for long:
5247-400: Is east of Exhibition Road and west of Sloane Street . Brompton Road , Beauchamp Place and the western section of Pont Street serve roughly as its southern border together with their adjacent gardens and squares such as Ovington Square , Lennox Gardens and Cadogan Square . South of this area, the district fades into Chelsea while Belgravia lies to the east and South Kensington to
5406-532: Is identified in the London Plan as one of two international retail centres in London, alongside the West End . Knightsbridge is also the name of the roadway which runs near the south side of Hyde Park from Hyde Park Corner . Knightsbridge is an affluent district in London with a rich history and high property prices. The name has Old English origins, meaning "bridge of the young men or retainers." The area
5565-492: Is in debt. When Poirot learns this he arranges to visit Yardly Chase and is there when the lights go out and Lady Yardly is attacked by a Chinese man and her jewel stolen. The next day, Mary's jewel is stolen from her London hotel. Poirot makes his investigations and returns the Yardlys' jewel to them. Poirot tells Hastings that there never were two jewels or any Chinese man – it was all an invention by Rolf. Three years before in
5724-682: Is located between Exhibition Road and Sloane Street, with its southern border along Brompton Road , Beauchamp Place, and the western section of Pont Street. The district has been a target for high-profile crimes throughout history, including the Spaghetti House siege, the Walton's Restaurant bombing, and the Knightsbridge Security Deposit robbery. It is served by the Knightsbridge station on the Piccadilly line and
5883-465: Is located in Knightsbridge. The district and the road itself, which is the only definitive place within it, is small, which assists its cachet: more than half of the zone closest to its tube station (and nearer to no others) is Knightsbridge Underground station . Knightsbridge had in its park side, east and west gold-coloured blocks of exceptional wealth in philanthropist Charles Booth 's late Victorian Poverty Map , formerly excluding Brompton Road to
6042-468: 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
6201-508: Is referenced in the Rolling Stones song " Play with Fire ", released in 1965. Knightsbridge is used as an indicator of a character's affluence, as opposed to the more working class Stepney . According to season 3 episode 'Happy New Year,' Knightsbridge is the setting of the television series " Absolutely Fabulous ." St. Columba's Church in Knightsbridge is the setting of a wedding in the 1996 episode 'The Last Shout.' Knightsbridge
6360-449: Is referenced in the story book Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman as a place the protagonists need to cross to go to the next floating market. "The Knightsbridge" is used as metaphor for the night and its dangers they need to pass through. In the 2017 film The Foreigner , Knightsbridge is the location of a detonated bomb that sets the plot in motion. On his 2017 mixtape Working on Dying Swedish rapper Bladee references Knightsbridge in
6519-406: 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
Poirot Investigates - Misplaced Pages Continue
6678-617: The A315 road . West of Rutland Gardens, the road becomes Kensington Road . It is served by Knightsbridge station on the Piccadilly line , and Sloane Square station on the District and Circle lines . Brompton Road station closed in 1934. Eric Coates uses Knightsbridge as the setting of a march for the 3rd movement of his London Suite (1933). It gained popularity through the radio show In Town Tonight (1933–1960). Knightsbridge
6837-692: 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
6996-682: 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
7155-613: The First World War , Hastings calls on Poirot to discuss a recent assassination attempt targeting David MacAdam, the British Prime Minister . Two high-ranking government officials arrive with an urgent request for Poirot's assistance in locating MacAdam, who has been kidnapped while travelling to Versailles for a secret peace conference. Upon reaching Boulogne-sur-Mer in France, he had entered what he believed to an official car waiting for him. Both this car and
7314-466: The Grosvenor Estate , designed by architect Thomas Cubitt . The Brompton Oratory , a place of Catholic worship, marks one of the transitions into Kensington , but Belgravia and Brompton have competing mapped neighbourhood status in the east and south of the neighbourhood, and as they have no eponymously named tube stations or historic parish boundaries, their limits are arbitrary and
7473-671: The Walton's Restaurant bombing . In 1980, the Iranian Embassy siege took place, lasting several days. It ended when the Special Air Service stormed the building, which was on live television. In 1983, three Christmas shoppers and three Metropolitan Police officers were killed by an IRA car bomb outside Harrods . In 1987, the Knightsbridge Security Deposit centre was the target of
7632-445: The dust jacket by W. Smithson Broadhead, reprinted from the 21 March 1923 issue of The Sketch magazine. The UK edition retailed at seven shillings and sixpence (7/6) while the 1925 US edition was $ 2.00. Note: the plots of the televised versions differ from these originals. Poirot receives a visit from Miss Mary Marvell, the famous American film star on her visit to London. She has received three letters, handed to her by
7791-878: 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
7950-558: The opening of trade between Britain and the Far East , Humphreys' Hall in Knightsbridge hosted an exhibition of Japanese culture in a setting built to resemble a traditional Japanese village. The exhibition was very popular, with over 250,000 visitors during its early months. Japanese artisans illustrated "the manners, customs and art-industries of their country, attired in their national and picturesque costumes. Magnificently decorated and illuminated Buddhist temple. Five o'clock tea in
8109-416: 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
SECTION 50
#17327824299648268-399: The 1924 UK publication of the novel in its edition of 20 April that year, rather than wait for the 1925 Dodd, Mead publication. The unnamed reviewer liked the book but seemed to consider the stories somewhat clichéd and not totally original, making several comparisons to Sherlock Holmes . He began, "Agatha Christie's hero...is traditional almost to caricature, but his adventures are amusing and
8427-583: 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
8586-501: The Count invited the two men to dinner the next evening. Graves says that the next night Foscatini unexpectedly gave him the night off after dinner, when the port had been served. Ascanio is quickly arrested, but Poirot states three points of interest: the coffee was very black, the side dish and dessert were relatively untouched, and the curtains were not drawn. The Italian ambassador provides an alibi for Ascanio, which leads to suspicions of
8745-485: 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
8904-577: The Japanese tea-house. Japanese Musical and other Entertainments. Every-day Life as in Japan". W. S. Gilbert and his wife attended the exhibition, which is said to have inspired him to write The Mikado . When the Mikado requests of Ko-Ko the address of his son (Nanki-Poo) after Ko-Ko tells the Mikado that Nanki-Poo has "gone abroad", Ko-Ko replies that Nanki-Poo has gone to Knightsbridge. Knightsbridge
9063-420: 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
9222-661: The Sloane Square station on the District and Circle lines. Knightsbridge is an ancient name, spelt in a variety of ways in Saxon and Old English, such as Cnihtebricge (c. 1050); Knichtebrig (1235); Cnichtebrugge (13th century); and Knyghtesbrugg (1364). The meaning is "bridge of the young men or retainers," from the Old English cniht (genitive case plural –a) and brycg . Cniht , in pre-Norman days, did not have
9381-530: 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
9540-584: The United States for England. That night, when the Robinsons' flat is empty, Poirot and Hastings lie in wait and apprehend another Italian who has come to kill Hardt and her accomplice in revenge for the death of Valdarno. They disarm the man and take him to another house in London, which Poirot has verified as the spies' new residence. The pair had rented the Knightsbridge flat under the name of Robinson, but moved out upon discovering that an Italian gang
9699-456: The United States he had an affair with Lady Yardly and blackmailed her into giving him the diamond which he then gave to his wife as a wedding present. Lady Yardly's was a paste copy that would have been discovered when her husband sold it. She was starting to push back against her blackmailer and Rolf arranged the deception against his wife that Lady Yardly copied when Hastings told her of the threats. Poirot's threats manage to persuade Rolf to give
SECTION 60
#17327824299649858-566: The Western Star , Lady Yardly was advised to visit Poirot by her friend Mary Cavendish, a long time friend of Hastings. Cavendish appears in The Mysterious Affair at Styles , Christie's first mystery novel, and the one which introduced Hercule Poirot to the literary world. Agatha Christie Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan , ( née Miller ; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976)
10017-577: The area was renowned as the haunt of highwaymen , robbers and cutthroats targeting travellers on the western route out of London, but its fortunes were transformed in the 19th century. However, the area has been a target of several high-profile crimes. In September and October 1975, the Spaghetti House siege happened. In November 1975, two civilians were killed by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) in
10176-430: The audience. Poirot, Hastings, and Japp discuss the disappearance of a banker, Mr Davenheim, from his country house three days earlier. Poirot claims that he can solve the case in one week without leaving his chair, as long as the relevant facts are brought to him, and accepts a five-pound wager from Japp to do so. Davenheim had left the house on Saturday afternoon to post some letters. He left instructions that Mr Lowen,
10335-417: 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
10494-474: The brother of Mr Havering's mother, owns a hunting lodge on the Derbyshire moors. When Hastings and Havering arrive there they meet Inspector Japp as Scotland Yard has been called. As Havering goes off with Japp, Hastings speaks with the housekeeper, Mrs Middleton, who tells him she showed a black-bearded man into the house the previous evening who wanted to see Mr Pace. She and Mrs Zoe Havering were outside
10653-529: The camp was his uncle but that could not have been the case as they argued so frequently. Despite having no money, Rupert returned to New York, which shows that he did have an ally in the expedition. This was a false ally – the doctor, who told Rupert he had contracted leprosy in the South Seas and it must be part of the curse. Rupert merely had a normal skin rash . After Dr Ames killed his uncle, Rupert believed himself cursed and shot himself. His note refers to
10812-732: 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 ,
10971-521: The chambermaid and valet to examine, but neither admits to having seen it before. Poirot abruptly returns to London, then reports to Hastings and the Opalsens the following evening that the case has been solved, the necklace recovered, and the thieves arrested. The chambermaid and valet had conspired to steal the necklace; once Célestine left the room, the chambermaid took the box from its drawer, which had been lubricated to minimize noise, and passed it to
11130-413: 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
11289-512: 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
11448-542: 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
11607-445: The club. Soon the missing pistol is found dumped in Ealing . Hastings wires to Poirot with the facts, but Poirot is interested only in the clothes worn by and descriptions of Mrs Middleton and Mrs Havering. Poirot wires back to arrest Mrs Middleton at once but she disappears before this can happen. Upon investigation, no trace can be found of her existence, either from the agency that sent her or how she reached Derbyshire. Once Hastings
11766-621: 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
11925-488: The conventional sleuth is not. He is gay, gallant, transparently vain, and the adroitness with which he solves a mystery has more of the manner of the prestidigitator than of the cold-blooded, relentless tracker-down of crime of most detective stories. He has a Gallic taste for the dramatic, and in The Tragedy of Marsdon Manor he perhaps gives it undue rein, but mainly the eleven stories in the book are agreeably free from
12084-483: The death. Poirot interviews Black and by using word association finds out that he knew of someone who committed suicide with a rook rifle in East Africa when he was there. Poirot figures out that this story, told at the dinner table the day before the tragedy, gave Mrs Maltravers the idea of how to kill her husband by making him demonstrate to her how the victim would have put the gun in his mouth and then pulling
12243-421: The desserts. Coffee was served for three and presumably drunk, but Foscatini's brilliant white teeth show that he never drank such staining substances. Finally, the open curtains show that Graves left the flat before nightfall and not after, which would not have been the case if the account given by Graves were true. This theory is passed on to Japp, and when he investigates, Poirot is proven right. Poirot receives
12402-442: 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
12561-426: The document as a challenge to find something that Andrew has hidden on the grounds – either a sum of money, or a second will naming Violet as heir. Poirot and Hastings travel to the house and begin to search; Poirot notes that all the keys are neatly labelled except for the one to a roll-top desk, which is tagged with a dirty envelope. He questions Mr and Mrs Baker, Andrew's housekeepers, who state that they witnessed
12720-411: The elaborate contrivance which is always rather a defect in such tales. Poirot is confronted with a problem and Miss Christie is always convincing in the manner in which she shows how he lights upon a clue and follows it up. Robert Barnard remarked that this was one of her "Early stories, written very much under the shadow of Holmes and Watson." His critique was that "The tricks are rather repetitive and
12879-507: The enhanced architectural demands in the local Conservation Areas policy of the Local Plan. Within each many buildings are covered by the similar but separate requirements of being listed . Growing demand has since 2000 persuaded the authority to revise its planning policies to permit roof terraces and basement extensions, for residential facilities from leisure suites to private nightclubs, a degree of economic liberalisation documented by
13038-630: 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
13197-503: The fact that the property has a lake and boathouse, and also in a recent picture of Davenheim that shows him wearing long hair and a full beard and moustache. The next day, Japp brings word that the police have found Davenheim's clothes in the lake and arrested Lowen, based on a maid's statement that she saw him crossing the grounds toward the study on the day Davenheim vanished. Furthermore, a petty criminal named Billy Kellett has been arrested; he had picked up and pawned Davenheim's ring after
13356-521: 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,
13515-478: 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
13674-567: The first available ship so that he could reach London in time to establish his cover story. Lady Willard, the widow of the famous Egyptologist , Sir John Willard consults Poirot. Her husband was the archaeologist on the excavation of the tomb of the Pharaoh Men-her-Ra together with an American financier, Mr Bleibner. Both men died within a fortnight of each other, Sir John of heart failure and Mr Bleibner of blood poisoning . A few days later Bleibner's nephew, Rupert, shot himself and
13833-484: The first rank of the detective story writers." The Scotsman of 19 April 1924 said, "It might have been thought that the possibilities of the super-detective, for the purposes of fiction, had been almost exhausted. Miss Agatha Christie, however, has invested the type with a new vitality in her Hercule Poirot, and in Poirot Investigates she relates some more of his adventures. Poirot is most things that
13992-565: The four London buildings of Hill House School are located here at Cadogan Gardens and Hans Place . Knightsbridge takes its name from the road that runs along the south side of Hyde Park , west from Hyde Park Corner , spanning the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea . Up to Brompton Road , it is a part of the A4 arterial road , while the remainder is part of
14151-574: 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",
14310-514: 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
14469-734: 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
14628-423: The hotel chambermaid assigned to clean the room. Célestine has orders to be present in the room whenever the chambermaid is there, but admits that she twice stepped out briefly to fetch items from her own adjoining room. Each woman blames the other for the theft, and the police search them both but find no trace of the necklace on either one. Poirot determines that during the time it took Célestine to leave and return,
14787-490: The house. Once there, he lights a fire in the fireplace, unfolds the envelope attached to the desk key, and warms it over the flames. It proves to be a second will written in invisible ink , dated after the one Violet was given and leaving Andrew's estate to her. Andrew had written two copies of the will Violet received, burnt and hidden one as a ruse, then written the one on the envelope with a tradesman and his wife as witnesses. Poirot comments that even though Violet did not find
14946-707: The impressive Brompton Oratory (Catholic church, Brompton Road) and the CoE Holy Trinity Church behind it, a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Exhibition Road, the Russian Orthodox Church in Ennismore Gardens, St Columba's Church of Scotland, Pont Street , and Deutsche Evangelische Christuskirche . The former St Saviour's church, designed by George Basevi , is now a private home. Notably, two of
15105-513: The insurance premiums and then committed suicide for the benefit of his beautiful young wife. Poirot and Hastings travel to Marsdon Manor in Essex where the dead man was found in the grounds, with a small rook rifle by his side. They interview the widow and can find nothing wrong. They are leaving when a young man, Captain Black, arrives. A gardener tells Poirot that he visited the house the day before
15264-580: 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
15423-521: The later meaning of a warrior on horseback, but simply meant a youth. The allusion may be to a place where cnihtas congregated: bridges and wells seem always to have been favourite gathering places of young people, and the original bridge was where one of the old roads to the west crossed the River Westbourne . However, there is possibly a more specific reference to the important cnihtengild ('guild of cnihtas ‘) in 11th-century London and to
15582-436: The lease. Poirot rents another flat in the building and, by use of the coal lift, manages to gain entry to the Robinsons' flat and fix the locks so he can enter at will. Inspector Japp tells Poirot that important American naval plans were stolen from that country by an Italian called Luigi Valdarno who managed to pass them to a suspected spy for Japan, Elsa Hardt, before being killed in New York. Hardt and an accomplice then fled
15741-700: The leprosy, which everyone assumed was a metaphorical reference, not a real condition. Bleibner and the American, respectively, were also killed by the doctor, using injections of bacterial cultures. While staying at the Grand Metropolitan Hotel in Brighton , Poirot and Hastings meet the wealthy Opalsen couple. Mrs Opalsen offers to show Poirot a pearl necklace, but discovers that it has been stolen when she goes to fetch it from her room. Suspicion falls on Mrs Opalsen's personal maid, Célestine, and
15900-516: The lights went out. Hastings is at a friend's house with several other people when the talk turns to flats and houses. Mrs Robinson tells the party how she and her husband have managed to obtain a flat in Knightsbridge for a very attractive price. Poirot is interested and decides to investigate. The porter at the flat tells them that the Robinsons have been there for six months, despite Mrs Robinson's telling Hastings they had only just obtained
16059-518: The limits of its jurisdiction (certainly Knightsbridge was one of the limits of the commercial jurisdiction of the City of London in the 12th century). Knightsbridge was a hamlet located primarily in the parish of St Margaret (detached) and partly in St Martin in the Fields (the part that later became St George Hanover Square ). It also extended into the parishes of Kensington and Chelsea . It
16218-512: 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
16377-637: The making of a film there and Mary is determined to go with her diamond. Both Poirot and Hastings remember society gossip from three years back that linked Rolf and Lady Yardly. The Yardlys also own an identical diamond that came from the right eye of the idol – the Star of the East. After Mary has gone Poirot goes out and Hastings receives a visit from Lady Yardly, who was advised to visit Poirot by her friend Mary Cavendish. Hastings deduces that she too has received warning letters. Her husband plans to sell their jewel as he
16536-477: The message that a client, Count Foscatini, has phoned for the doctor, crying out for help. Poirot, Hastings and Hawker rush to Foscatini's flat in Regent's Court. The lift attendant there is unaware of any problems. The attendant says that Graves, the Count's manservant, left half an hour earlier with no indication of anything wrong. The flat is locked but the manager of the building opens it for them. Inside, they find
16695-405: The monetary transaction, and realised that Ascanio could not admit to the relationship with Foscatini hence enabling theft of the ill-gotten lucre. Graves killed Foscatini when he was alone – there never were any dinner guests - then ordered dinner for three and ate as much of the food as he could; but after consuming the three main courses, he could eat only a little of the side dishes and none of
16854-662: The north of the area, is the Hyde Park Barracks of the Household Cavalry , with a distinctive 33-storey tower by Sir Basil Spence . The Royalty and Diplomatic Protection Department is based in Walton Street . The Embassy of Libya is located at 15 Knightsbridge, the Embassy of France at no 58 and the Embassy of Kuwait at 2 Albert Gate, just off Knightsbridge. On the religious side it contains
17013-473: The pair, and staging both the shooting and the Boulogne abduction. Poirot's check of the cottage hospitals had revealed that no patient had come in that day to have a facial wound treated. The house where MacAdam and O'Murphy were found belonged to the woman brought out with them, a wanted German spy in league with Daniels. MacAdam reaches Versailles in time for the conference and his remarks are well received by
17172-444: The police can arrest the thief. The culprit is Shaw, who had prepared a duplicate dummy packet and given it to Ridgeway prior to the crossing. Shaw had sent the real bonds on a faster ship, with instructions for an accomplice to begin selling them just after Ridgeway docked, and boarded Ridgeway's ship in disguise to steal the duplicate (using the key he carried) and throw it overboard. Upon reaching New York, Shaw booked return passage on
17331-536: The press is full of stories of an Egyptian curse . Lady Willard's son, Guy, has now gone out to Egypt to continue his father's work and she fears that he will die next. To Hastings' surprise, Poirot states that he believes in the forces of superstition and agrees to investigate. Poirot cables New York for details concerning Rupert Bleibner. The young man was travelling in the South Seas and borrowed enough money to take him to Egypt. His uncle refused to advance him
17490-546: 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,
17649-458: The problems lack variety". The Prime Minister who features in the story The Kidnapped Prime Minister is also referenced in the 1923 short story The Submarine Plans , which was published in book form in the 1974 collection Poirot's Early Cases . It is possible that his name, "David MacAdam", is a Celtic wordplay on the name of the real Prime Minister during the latter days of the First World War , David Lloyd George . In The Adventure of
17808-473: The problems which he unravels skilfully tangled in advance." He did admit that "it is to be feared that some of the evidence [Poirot] collects would fare badly in criminal courts" but concluded, "Miss Christie's new book, in a word, is for the lightest of reading. But its appeal is disarmingly modest, and it will please the large public which relishes stories of crime, but likes its crime served decorously." The Observer of 30 March 1924 said, "The short story
17967-506: The real diamond back and leave the Yardlys in peace. Poirot is asked by a friend, who is the director of the Northern Union Insurance Company, to investigate the case of a middle-aged man who died of an internal haemorrhage just a few weeks after insuring his life for fifty thousand pounds. There were rumours that Mr Maltravers was in a difficult financial position and the suggestion has been made that he paid
18126-455: The real one that was supposed to pick him up were later found, with no injuries to either the driver of the former or MacAdam's secretary, Captain Daniels; however, MacAdam has not been seen since. The earlier attempt on his life had occurred while he was being driven back to London from Windsor Castle , accompanied by Daniels and a police escort. His car suddenly turned off the main road and
18285-434: The room where the two men were talking when they heard a shot. The door to the room was locked but they found an open window; gaining entry, they found Mr Pace dead, shot by one of two pistols on display in the room. The pistol and the man are now missing. Mrs Middleton sends Zoe Havering to see Hastings and she confirms the housekeeper's story. Japp confirms Havering's alibi for his train times to London and his attendance at
18444-604: 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
18603-408: The ship had docked. After Vavasour states that Shaw has just recovered from a bout of bronchitis , Poirot and Hastings travel to Liverpool , where the ship has recently returned from its ocean crossing. Learning from the stewards that an elderly invalid man occupied the cabin adjacent to Ridgeway's and hardly ever left it, Poirot declares the case solved and sends an explanation to Scotland Yard so
18762-760: 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
18921-482: The side dish and none of the dessert were eaten, while the main course was consumed entirely. He also points out that after crying out for help on the phone, the dying man replaced the receiver. The police arrive at the flat as Graves returns. He tells them the two dinner guests first visited Foscatini on the previous day. One was a man in his forties, Signor Ascanio, and a younger man. Graves said that he listened to their first conversation, and heard threats uttered; then
19080-505: 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
19239-461: 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
19398-523: 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
19557-453: The tea. He fetches the expedition surgeon , Dr Ames. This is, however, a pretext to get the doctor into their tent where Poirot orders Hastings to secure him. The doctor, however, quickly swallows a lethal cyanide capsule. Poirot explains that Rupert was Bleibner's heir, and the doctor, secretly, must have been Rupert's heir. Sir John died of natural causes. His death started superstitious speculation. Everyone assumed that Rupert's friend in
19716-462: The thief could not have found Mrs Opalsen's jewelry box, unlocked it, taken the necklace, relocked the box, and returned it to its drawer. A necklace is found hidden in Célestine's bed, but Poirot spots it as a fake. He and Hastings examine an adjoining empty room and question a hotel valet who looks after Mr Opalsen's room, directly across the corridor from his wife's. Poirot presents a card for both
19875-472: 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
20034-598: The triangular salient of Brompton, administratively in Kensington, as part of South Kensington , once coloured mid-wealth by Charles Booth, is now blurred with 'Knightsbridge', into which it long projected. Brompton is only used when the postcode and/or Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea is being emphasised, rather than the modern Central London 'district' definitions, which suggest Knightsbridge or South Kensington, either tube station , being at most 350 m away and thus can be easily found on all maps. For centuries,
20193-419: The trigger. A maid claims to see Mr Maltravers standing in the hall; shortly afterward, the lights suddenly go out. Mr Maltravers appears in the room, his index finger glowing and pointing at his wife's hand, which is now covered in blood. Terrified, she confesses to the murder. Poirot reveals that he hired an actor to impersonate the victim, and that he gripped Mrs. Maltravers' hand to mark it with fake blood when
20352-579: The two are soon killed in an aeroplane crash. The fiancée of Philip Ridgeway asks Poirot to clear his name in the theft of $ 1 million in Liberty bonds issued by the bank for which he works. Ridgeway explains to Poirot that he had been entrusted by the managers, Mr Shaw and Mr Vavasour (Ridgeway's uncle), to transport the bonds by ship across the Atlantic Ocean for sale in the United States. They had been counted out in his presence in London, sealed in
20511-414: The valet waiting in the empty adjoining room. He unlocked the box, took the necklace, and later passed the box back to the chambermaid so she could return it to the drawer once Célestine left again. The card that Poirot had them handle was treated to yield good fingerprints, which he gave to Japp so the latter could confirm the pair's identities as known jewel thieves and make the arrest at the hotel. During
20670-418: The wager. Davenheim had been systematically embezzling from the bank and converting some of the money into bonds and jewels for easier transport. Several months earlier, under the guise of going abroad on business, he created the identity of Kellett, changed his appearance, and committed a crime that earned him a three-month jail sentence. After being released, he had to wear a wig and false beard and sleep in
20829-510: The west but extending well into Piccadilly, St James's to the east. Knightsbridge is home to many of the world's richest people and has some of the highest property prices in the world. In 2014 a terrace of 427m sold for £ 15,950,000, a home in Montpelier Square . The average asking price for all the properties in slightly wider SW7 was £4,348,911 (as at Autumn 2014). On-street parking spaces have sold for as much as £300,000 for
20988-400: The west of London, then directs them to a house where the police bring out a woman and two men, one of whom he identifies as O'Murphy. He has the other man taken to an airport and put on a plane to France; only now does Hastings recognise him as an uninjured MacAdam. Daniels had orchestrated the kidnapping, incapacitating both MacAdam and O'Murphy, having two accomplices substitute themselves for
21147-557: The west. Knightsbridge is home to many expensive shops, including the department stores Harrods and Harvey Nichols , and flagship stores of many British and international fashion houses, including those of London-based shoe designers Jimmy Choo and Manolo Blahnik , and two Prada stores. The district also has banks that cater to wealthy individuals. Some of London's most renowned restaurants are here, as well as many exclusive hair and beauty salons, antiques and antiquities dealers, and chic bars and clubs. One of Bonhams auction houses
21306-496: The will herself, her decision to ask for his help meant that she had outwitted Andrew in the end and thus deserved her inheritance. The American edition of the book, published one year later, featured an additional three stories which did not appear in book form in the UK until 1974 with the publication of Poirot's Early Cases . The review in The Times Literary Supplement of 3 April 1924 began with
21465-598: 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
21624-462: 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
21783-399: 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
21942-415: 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
22101-639: 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
22260-413: Was accosted by a gang of masked men, who shot at MacAdam and grazed his cheek when he put his head out of the window. MacAdam stopped at a local cottage hospital to have the wound bandaged, then continued on his journey to France. The car was later found in an area known to be frequented by German agents, and its driver − a police officer named O'Murphy − had also gone missing. Poirot and Hastings accompany
22419-552: 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
22578-513: 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
22737-938: 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
22896-628: 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
23055-466: 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
23214-589: 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
23373-433: 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
23532-521: 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
23691-641: 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
23850-503: 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
24009-508: 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
24168-436: Was initially divided between local authorities and has been home to several parishes. Knightsbridge has been associated with exclusive shops including Harrod’s and Harvey Nichols , banks catering to wealthy individuals, renowned restaurants, and high-end salons. Property prices in the district are among the highest in the world, with the most expensive apartment at One Hyde Park selling for £100 million in 2007. Knightsbridge
24327-746: 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
24486-914: 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 ,
24645-443: 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
24804-454: 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
24963-573: Was targeting them. The spies rented the flat cheaply to a real couple of the same name whose wife roughly matched Elsa's description, in the hope that they would be killed in the spies' place. Hardt reveals the hiding place of the plans before the Italian tries to shoot her with an empty revolver and escapes; Japp arrests the spies, and an agent of the United States Secret Service recovers the plans. Poirot and Hastings receive
25122-454: Was therefore divided between local authorities from a very early time. In the time of Edward I , the manor of Knightsbridge appertained to the abbey of Westminster. It was named after a crossing of the River Westbourne , which is now an underground river . It is recorded that the citizens of London met Matilda of England at the Knight's Bridge in 1141. From 1885 to 1887, as a result of
25281-543: 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
#963036